Facts on suicide; What you can do...

I got these facts on suicide from SPAN USA.  I hope you can take the time to read them and follow the link at the bottom to a site that lists things you can do to help.  This is a issue that is dear to my heart.  I have placed a free suicide hotline number in a red box in my sidebar if anyone needs it.  It will remain there.  Thanks, my friends.  I will be back soon to let everyone know what is up in my life.  Alot has happened.  Chelsea and her boys are on their way back to Florida.  They moved =(  AGAIN.  Stay warm, take care and be good to one another.  Hugs, Val xox

FACTS ON SUICIDE

* More than 31,000 Americans die by suicide each year.
* There is 1 suicide every 16 minutes and 88 suicides per day.
* Suicide is the:
   
    - 11th leading cause of death overall in America;
    - 3rd leading cause of death for young Americans between the
       ages of 10-24; and
    - 2nd leading cause of death for American college-aged students.

* For every US suicide death there are 8 to 26 attempts.
* There are an estimated 1.4 million attempts per year in the U.S.
* For every suicide death there are an estimated six new
   survivors.

Suicide is an often ignored and stigmatized topic

* Suicide deaths consistently outnumber homicide deaths by a margin
   of three to two.       
* There are more suicides globally than deaths from war and violence
   combined. 
* Approximately twice as many Americansdie by suicides than from  
   HIV/AID.

Suicides can be prevented

* More than 90 percent of people who die by suicide have depression
   or another diagnosable mental or substance abuse disorder.
* In a national poll, 78 percent of Americans think that many
   suicides are preventable with appropriate research, interventions
   and services.
* And 86% of Americans surveyed think it is important to invest in
  the prevention of suicide.

Risk and protective factors can vary according to age, gender, ethnic group, or occupation, and can vary over time. Some examples, are:

* 20% of all suicide deaths occur among veterans.
* More women attempt suicide, more men die by suicide.
* 80% of completed suicides are men.
* Elderly comprise 12.6% of the population yet account for 16% of
   suicides.
* Older white men have the highest suicide rate of all age groups.
* According to several nationally representative studies, in any given
   year, about 5% to 7% of adults have a serious mental illness. A
   similar percentage of children (about 5% to 9%) have a serious
   emotional disturbance.
* These figures mean that millions of adults and children are disabled
   by mental illnesses every year.
* In addition to the tragedy of lost lives, mental illnesses come with a
   devastatingly high financial cost.  In the U.S., the annual economic,
   indirect cost of mental illnesses is estimated to be $79 billion
   ($63 billion in lost productivity, $12 billion in mortality costs, and
   $4 billion in productivity losses for incarcerated individuals and
   for the time of those who provide family care).

What you can do

            

Tags: suicide, Suicide Prevention Action Network USA, SPAN USA, depression, mental illness, suicide prevention, please help, this is for you Jessie