Suicide Awareness/ Prevention Mission
The mission of Suicide Awarness/Prevention is to spread awarenss about the disease of Suicide amongst young people.
To
educate people about the disease, so that if they are in trouble, or
someone they know is in trouble they can help them before it's to
late.Many people dont know that
Suicide
is a mental disease . The
mission is also to get people to be proactive by speaking up if
they know people that want to commit suicide.The last part of the
mission is to show people that are
suicidal that they can get help ,and to show them their lives are
actually
meaningful to those around them.
There
are many ways that you can commit sucide. People often think when
people commit suicide they used a gun. The thing is people commit
suicde by hangingimg themselves,or accidental drug overdose, and
alcohol posioning. Even thogh they kill themselves by accident its
still considred a sucide attemot.
Many people don't think suicide is a big deal.Through religion
many
people go by the bible that sucide is a sin.So a lot of people don't
have any sympathy for sucidal people ,they dont care when they kill
themselves. The problem is suicide is a huge deal, and
people should start taking it more seriously. This is how suicide
effects our country the United States.
"Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15- 24 yearolds."
(Edwards 1)"In the United states every 15 minutes a person
commits
suicide.So in a day we lose ninety six young people to
suicide".(The Real Truth Magazine) Still think suicide isn't a big
deal?
For a country that is suppose to be land of the free and is suppose to
be the best country these stats dont reflect it. To many of
our young people are commiting suicide and some are not evn full grown
adults yet. Suicde is more common amongst white people ,and more common
amongst
males."(Edwards 1) There is no one factor that contributes
to commiting suicide many factors contribute to it.Some
people commit suicide because they
had a set back either finacially,or personally some one dying.One
particular incident that comes to mind is a middle school teacher Rigoberto Ruelas Jr
who committed suicide. The teacher was said to be a great tecaher by
his students he worked at a school in a poverished community. Despite
this he was still a good teacher. One Day Los Angeles Times wrote
about
him saying he wasn't a good teacher because his students didn't do well
on tests. Shortly after Ruelas killied him self. This is an example of
a personal set back because the assumption is that he killied himself
because he was mad about his evaluation. .
Middle school and Highschool students often commit suicide because they
are victims of bullying.A recent example of this is a highschool
student named Phoebe Prince. Prince killed herself after she was cyber
bullied by a group of girls. The girls
constantly harrased her calling her names. After school one day she
hung
her self. If Phoebe got help by talking to one of her
teachers she probaly wouldn't have taken her life. Many gay
and transgender people commit suicide because they are often targeted
in
school because of their sexual orientation a recent case of this
is Jamie Hubley a teen from canada. He documented on line how he
committed suicide because student constantly beat him up bcause he was
gay..Others commit suicide
because they have addiction
to drugs and alcohol .Really common in college students stress from a
heavy work load like mid terms, and final exams can cause students to
kill themselves.
One
of the biggest reasons why people commit sucide is because some have
metal diseases ,and these diseases have not been treated or
diagnosed. Some mental diseases include
"bipolar( where you can be happy and your mood switches to
depressed and angry),and really
common schizophrenia.( schizophrenia is when you hear voices in
your head which constantly dictate you
action."){(Edwards 5)The person doesn't know that they have a
mental problem ,and the people around him or her dont know they
have a mental problem either. They pass their behavior as just being
crazy or simply irresponsible.When people are finally diagnosed they
can get help. If people are not diagnosed then they will continue to
have that problem throughout their whole life. That mental disease can
evetually lead them to commit suicide . For some mental diseases you
can take
medication to help you feel better. I know for bipolar and
schizophrenia there are medications that allow you to feel better. I
dont believe there is a cure fully.
So why is Suicide important?
Its
important to know that sucide is a disease and with treatment you can
overcome this. You might know someone like a friend , a family
memeber
,or even yourself,that wants to commit suicide. There are alot of
signs that sucidal people show that give the idea that they are
sucidal.
There
are ways that you can help if you know someone that is suicidal.
Majority of the time you can tell in their body language. "They
might be deppressed which may cause a great drop in their mood.They
might not do the same activities they once did,or might just want to
lay in bed all day. Another way you can tell if someone is
suicidal is when you hear them simply stating that they want to kill
themselves."(Edwards 5). If you hear this don't take it lightly ,and
dont think that they are just joking , they might be serious.More
common in females you can see cutting on hands and legs. Usually
cutters wear baggy clothes to hide the scars.Its also important because
many peolple that commit suicide tend to believe that they will be
better off dead ,and that their loved ones will not miss them. All to
often they commit sucide and their loved ones didn't even
recognize the pain they were going through. They failed to
regognize that they needed help.
There are many ways that a
person can go about getting help.One way is to get counseling.
"Counseling helps because it allows the person to confront ,and face the
problem they are going through rather than just keep quiet.Family also
plays a big role in helping a sucidal person becuase it helps the
person see that they have people that care about them ,and that they're
not just going to give up".(Edwards 5) Majority times people need to talk to people about their problems.
Resources
There
are many places where you can get help if you ,or anybody you know have
sucidal thoughts. You can go to your local school nurse , counselor, an adult you trust,family member or, a staff
that works at your school, or in your local community.
You
will not get in any trouble because the people are there to help
you. Nurses and doctors and even psycharchrist have doctor patient
cpnfidetiallity but they are allowed to seek further help if you
express that you want to hurt yourself. For my fellow students who are
seeking help you can get help
within University of Harford.
you can contact Connecticut Renaissance Norwalk Adult Outpatient Clinic This clinic has an alliance with the University.
Phone number (203) 866-2541
Buisness Hours Mon-Thurs 8:00am -9:00 pm
Fridays 9:00 am -5:00 pm
You can always leave a voice
message with your contact info if you can't reach someone and they will
get back to you.Also you can remain annoynomous if you want to you will
not get any trouble. The people are not there to judge you or the
person you want to help they are there assist you the best way possible.
or
you can just get help at the university.University of Hartford Student
Health Services (If you dont know where it is its near the sports
center you cant miss it and you can always ask peolple for directions)
University Of Hartford Health Services
860-768-6601
Mon-Thurs
8:00 AM-4:45 PM Friday 8:00 am-4:15 PM
(GSU)
Gengras Student Union is also another place that works with students
who are going through obstacles. One of the big things they do is they
put on shows like the Tunnel of Opression . it's a way to look at the
problems in our society and suicide was a huge topic . They give
scenarios where you can be faced with and after debrief
them I partcipated in it and I thought it was benfcial to me I
learned alot.
In an emergency dont wait to go to a hospital call 911 right away they will be more likley to help quicker than hospitals.
For
people who can prevent other people from harminmg themselves please do
so its not fun to lose anyone to suicide. take it seriuosly
sucide is a problem that is a world wide problem that is effecting the
young peolple greatly.
Always
remember that you can get help no matter what you're going through.
Always remember that you will never get in trouble for trying to help
yourself,or
someone that is suicidal. Always remember that you have people that care
about you and suicide is not the way to go.Lastly remember that
no matter what you're
going through you can overcome it. No obstacle is
to big to overcome. I urge you to reach out to those in trouble
break the silience and speak up.
History of the Yellow Ribbon
The
Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Campaign was actually started by a
couple in Colorado whose son had committed suicide, . When his friends
asked what they could do to help, his mother told them to never do it
themselves and to call her, anytime, if they ever thought about it.
Soon, a family friend typed this message, which they decorated with a yellow ribbon for the funeral.
Soon
the cards had made their way to Wyoming, and now millions of cards are
in circulation in all 50 states and more than 50 countries, said Schott.
The
card is meant to be a lifeline, a silent cry for help by someone who
might not be able to put their thoughts into words. Anyone who is
handed a Yellow Ribbon Card Ð whether a parent, friend, teacher, or
minister Ð should stay with the person, listen to them, and get
help if needed. In emergency situations, call the 24-hour suicide
hotline at 1-800-SUICIDE or call 9-1-1 or go to the emergency
room.(Jacobson)
LINKS
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-03-29/news/27060348_1_facebook-town-hall-meetings-school-library
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/805459-overview
http://www.ulifeline.org/main/page/53/SuicidePrevention?gclid=CNCtwMPL86wCFQdN4AodSgruNA
http://contactwecare.org/?gclid=COft2tfb86wCFcUSNAod0j-TTg
Works Cited
Edwards,
Roxanne. "Suicide Cont." . Medicine Net,INC, 02/10/2011. Web. 8 Dec
2011. <http://www.medicinenet.com/suicide/page3.htm>.Hyun, Gina. "Depression, suicide rising among
college students. “Student Life
independent newspaper of Washington universityent29/03/2010. n. pag.
Print. <http://www.studlife.com/news/>.
Martindale, Gayla. "Suicide and Suicidal Behaviors
among college students ." College and University blog.
N.p., 24/01/2011. Web. 2 Oct 2011.
<http://www.stateuniversity.com/blog/permalink/Suicide-and-Suicidal-Behaviors-Among-College-Students.html>.
TramEditorial, Healthline.
"Depression Causes."Healthline
connect to better health. N.p., 29 07 2010. Web. 1 Oct 2011.
<Mnn/how-to-help-a-suicidal-person.html>.
Guide, Health. "Suicide and suicidal
Behaviors." NewyorkTimes02/10/2010.
n. pag. Print. <http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/suicide-and-suicidal-behavior/overview.html>.
"National Sucide Hotlines." Sucide hotlines.net.
Crisis Chat.org, n.d. Web. 2 Oct 2011.
"Four
Suicides Occur Per hour in the U.S." . The Real Truth, 12/16/2011. Web.
<http://www.realtruth.org/news/111114-009.html>.
Picture(Information)
Jacobson Michael Paynesville schools launch suicide prevention program 04/30/03 Web. http://www.paynesvillearea.com/news/headlinesarticles/archives/043003/0430suicide.html