Friday, August 31, 2018

Worship Poster

Health Agency to mine social media for study on suicide trends, risk factors

Health agency to mine social media for study on suicide trends, risk factors

The Canadian PressAugust 30, 2018

Health agency to mine social media for study on suicide trends, risk factors

OTTAWA — Federal health researchers are looking to mine social media to more quickly identify suicide-related behaviours, instead of relying on woefully outdated data.

What the Public Health Agency of Canada wants is an artificial intelligence program that combs social media platforms for keywords to give its researchers a better view of trends and risk factors linked to suicide-related behaviours.

The proposed pilot project, outlined in federal bidding documents, would also give a window into suicide risks based on sex, age, ethnicity, and geographic location.

The agency says it is not, however, looking to make the pilot project a tool to predict suicides or identify specific people at risk of attempting to die by suicide.

Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Canadian teens.

The health agency produces regular reports on suicide trends using death and hospital data, but the information can be up to five years old when the agency gets it.

The agency says to better prevent suicide, it needs more up-to-date information of "suicide-related behaviours, which occur further upstream," to figure out how to craft earlier interventions for those who need the help.

The bid documents say social media sweeps would start in June 2019. By the end of next year, the agency expects to produce monthly social media monitoring reports.

The cost to create a program to sweep sites like Facebook and Twitter for information is expected to be up to $150,000, excluding taxes, according to the request for proposals.

The contract runs until March 2020.

The Canadian Press

3 Ontario Provincial Police die by Suicide

OPP launch internal review after 3 officers die by suicide

By Alanna RizzaThe Canadian Press

Thu., Aug. 30, 2018

The recent suicides of three officers in as many weeks has prompted Ontario’s provincial police force to launch an internal review on what might be preventing those within its ranks from seeking help with mental health issues.
In announcing the analysis that will examine suicides and attempted suicides involving force members over the last five years, Ontario Provincial Police also said they would work on developing ways to boost supports offered to officers.

“The OPP recognizes that there is stigma associated with suicide and mental illness,” Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Vince Hawkes, left, said Thursday. (Frank Gunn / THE CANADIAN PRESS file photo)

“The OPP recognizes that there is stigma associated with suicide and mental illness,” Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Vince Hawkes said Thursday. “Although we don’t have all the answers, and I certainly don’t have all the answers, we will continue to work together to break down the barriers and provide support.”
Read more:
OPP union president urges members to seek help in wake of three officer suicides

Opinion | Readers’ Letters: End stigma of mental illness in OPP
The force’s internal review will try to identify similarities between suicides and attempted suicides in the force and look at what might have hindered those individuals from getting help, Hawkes said.
A series of round tables — made up of officers, mental health experts and family of first responders — will also be launched to craft recommendations on how the force can improve the mental health assistance it offers, he said.
The initiatives will build on the force’s mental health strategy created in response to a 2012 ombudsman report that looked at OPP officers suffering from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder due to trauma on the job. The report said the force was failing to help those officers and a list of recommendations was provided.
“The OPP continues to make mental health a priority for our people and our community but clearly we need to do more,” Hawkes said. “There are serious gaps and barriers that require further examination, review and evaluation.”

Earlier this month, Sgt. Sylvian Routhier, Det. Inspector Paul Horne and Const. Joshua De Bock died by suicide within a three-week period, the OPP said. Their jobs ranged from front-line work to special investigations and they were posted in different parts of the province, the force said.
The deaths prompted the head of the union representing provincial police officers to write a deeply personal letter urging members to reach out if they found themselves in emotional distress.

Hawkes said the entire force had spent the last few weeks grieving the loss of the three officers, adding that their deaths left a “tremendous void.”
In the last 30 years, the OPP has documented 24 force members and nine retired members that died by suicide, Hawkes said.
The commissioner added that the force is also meeting with the province to determine how the government can help provide better mental health support to first responders.
Vince Savoia, executive director of the Tema Conter Memorial Trust, which focuses on the mental health of first responders, said he’s “thankful” that the OPP is conducting an internal review and having more discussions about mental illness.
Savoia said he looks forward to the review’s completion and that he hopes the OPP makes the findings of the exercise public. He added that it will be important to compare the findings of the review to information available from other police forces.
“The internal review is integral to be able to analyze those findings,” Savoia said. “This will bring attention to the reality that first responders are at risk of suicide.”

I'll be at Valley View Sept 10th

I sit here sipping my coffee this morning. My husband's out of town relatives have left on the Greyhound bus yesterday to Kamloops. Soon there will be no bus service via Greyhound in British Columbia, so I have no idea what they will do when they have another specialist appointment on the Lower Mainland. One of the girls was highly medicated due to a psychosis episode in her life. It is not the girl I remember from 10 years ago. This girl truly did not get it from using drugs, so it must be somehow genetic.
I was hoping to do some traveling before the fall routines begin, but with the high gas prices, and my husbands medical condition;I don't think that will be a reality. The weather has turned cooler, the garden awaits me. More decisions ahead regarding courses. Should I sign up for 'Grief Share', a 13 week program in our community? Am I ready for this support group, and bare my heart about Deborah once again? We just got over the anniversary of her death once more. Four long years! September the 10th as you probably know is World Suicide Prevention Day! There will be an event at the place Deborah is buried, at Valley View funeral Home in Surrey. I will be there. I want to hear the speakers, and fellowship with others who have lost loved ones to suicide. It falls on a Monday this year. Please check on a neighbour, a loved one, a friend in order to talk about their mental health. Take the time to visit with them, take them out for tea/coffee. Also be gentle to yourself; do self-care whatever shape or form that takes place in your mind and life.

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

B.C government sues opioid manufacturers

B.C. government sues opioid manufacturers

By Tessa VikanderStarMetro Vancouver

Wed., Aug. 29, 2018

VANCOUVER—The provincial government has filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.
In a joint announcement at the Supreme Court in Vancouver, Attorney General David Eby and Mental Health and Addictions Minister Judy Darcy announced their plans to hold the pharmaceutical industry accountable for the opioid addiction and overdose crisis.

B.C. is experiencing an opioid overdose crisis. (Patrick Sison / The Associated Press File Photo)

In 2016, there were 2,861 opioid-related deaths in Canada. As of last June, another 1,460 deaths had been attributed to the drugs and the total number for 2017 was predicted to reach about 4,000, fuelled by a combination of over-prescribing by doctors and an influx of synthetic opioids, such as illicitly manufactured fentanyl and carfentanil.
Read more: Doctors release national guideline for treating opioid addictions

Ohio sues drugmakers over opioid epidemic

Tuesday, August 28, 2018

Is Fidel Castro Justin Trudeau's Father?

Justin Trudeau's eyebrow FALLS OFF during G7

Apparently, when he was cross dressing as a woman and shaved his eyebrows; they never grew back properly... There is so much wrong about this guy..

9-year-old commits suicide after being bullied

The End of South Africa, Prepare Yourself | Stefan Molyneux

World Suicide Prevention Day 2018

World Suicide Prevention Day Countdown Clock

0Months1Week5Days15Hours22Minutes51Seconds

World Suicide Prevention Day

Click here to go to the web page where you can read the official brochure for World Suicide Prevention Day 2018 and will be able to download the brochure in PDF format in various languages.

Show Brochure text (705 More Words)

Cycle Around the Globe

Join us in Cycling Around the Globe to raise awareness of the risks of suicide and to fund suicide prevention activities.We know that a person dies every 40 seconds by suicide and up to 25 times as many again make a suicide attempt. There are also many more people who have been bereaved by suicide or have been close to someone who has made an attempt. This World Suicide Prevention Day event is about our global community: to encourage us to engage with each other and to join together to spread awareness of suicide prevention. Click here to download Cycle, info, FAQ Sheets, Fundraising Programme Info, Sponsorship documents, Cycle Materials and more.
Click here to register and to submit distances pledged or click here to see distances pledged.

Take a Minute

Click here to download the World Suicide Prevention Day document that discusses how taking a minute to reach out to someone could change the course of another’s life

Banners

The IASP is preparing World Suicide Prevention Day banners in various languages so that bloggers and writers can help increase suicide prevention awareness locally and worldwide by writing about suicide and suicide prevention in their native languages. Individuals, organizations and companies can use the banners on their Web sites to promote World Suicide Prevention Day. Teachers can also use these materials to increase awareness that suicide can be prevented. In addition, we offer these banners freely to organizations and groups that are holding events on the day. Click here to download banners in PDF and PNG formats.

Light a Candle

The IASP is preparing “World Suicide Prevention Day Light a Candle Near a Window at 8 PM” e-cards or postcards in various languages so supporters can send these reminders to friends, colleagues and loved ones. Also, these e-cards or postcards can be used by bloggers, writers and others so that they can share information about suicide, suicide prevention and World Suicide Prevention Day. Click here to download e-cards to send to loved ones.

WSPD Activities

Click here to view World Suicide Prevention Day activities.
Click here to submit World Suicide Prevention Day activities.
Click here to go to the WSPD Suggested Activities page.

Suicide Facts and Help

home / mental health center / mental health a-z list / suicide center / suicide article

Suicide

Medical Author: Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD
Medical Editor: Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD

Suicide facts

Suicide is the act of purposely ending one's own life. How societies view suicide varies by culture, religion, ethnic norms, and the circumstances under which it occurs.
More than 800,000 people worldwide commit suicide each year -- more than 39,000 each year in the United States.
Self-mutilation is the act of deliberately hurting oneself without meaning to cause one's own death.
Physician-assisted suicide refers to a doctor ending the life of a person who is incurably ill in a way that is either painless or minimally painful for the purpose of ending the suffering of the individual.
The effects of suicide on the loved ones of the deceased can be devastating, resulting in suicide survivors experiencing a variety of conflicting, painful emotions.
Life circumstances that may immediately precede a suicide include recent discharge from a psychiatric hospital, a sudden change in how the person appears to feel, or a real or imagined loss.
Firearms are the most common means by which people take their lives. Other common methods include overdose of medication, asphyxiation, and hanging.
There are gender, age, ethnic, and geographical risk factors for suicide, as well as those based on family history, life stresses, and medical and mental-health status.
In children and teens, bullying and being bullied seem to be associated with committing suicide, and being bullied is apparently a risk for committing murder-suicide.
Warning signs that an individual is imminently planning to kill him- or herself may include the making of a will, getting his/her affairs in order, suddenly visiting or writing letters to loved ones, buying instruments of suicide, experiencing a sudden change in mood, or writing a suicide note.
Many people who complete suicide do not tell any health professional of their intent in the months before they do so. If they communicate a plan to anyone, it is more likely to be a friend or family member.
The assessment of suicide risk often involves an evaluation of the presence, severity, and duration of suicidal thoughts as part of a mental-health evaluation.
Treatment of suicidal thinking or a suicide attempt involves adapting immediate treatment to the sufferer's individual needs. Those with a strong social support system, who have a history of being hopeful, and have a desire to resolve conflicts may need only a brief crisis-oriented intervention. Those with more severe symptoms or less social support may need hospitalization and long-term outpatient mental-health services.
Treatment of any underlying emotional problem using a combination of psychotherapy, safety planning, medication, lifestyle improvement, and increasing social support remains the mainstay of suicide prevention.
People who are contemplating suicide are encouraged to talk to a doctor or other health professional, spiritual advisor, or immediately go to the closest emergency room or mental-health crisis center for help. Those who have experienced suicidal thinking (ideation) are commonly directed to keep a list of people to call in the event that those thoughts return. In addition to mental-health treatment, other strategies include having someone else hold all medications to prevent overdose, removing any weapons from the home, scheduling frequent stress-relieving activities, getting together with others, writing down feelings, and avoiding the use of alcohol or other drugs.
Techniques for coping with the suicide of a loved one include nutritious eating, getting extra rest, writing about their emotions, talking to others about the experience, thinking of ways to handle painful memories, understanding their state of mind will vary, resisting pressure to grieve by anyone else's time table, and survivors doing what is right for them.
To help children and adolescents cope with the suicide of a loved one, it is important to ensure they receive consistent caretaking, frequent interaction with supportive peers and adults, and an understanding of their feelings as they relate to their age.

Teen Suicide Warning Signs

While boys are more likely than girls to commit suicide, teens of both genders and all ages are at risk for suicide. It is especially tragic that the three leading causes of death in teens and young adults -- accident, homicide, and suicide -- all are preventable. Parents of teens should be aware of some of the warning signs of depression and suicide.

Learn the warning signs of teen suicide »

What is suicide?

Suicide is the act of purposely ending one's own life. How societies view suicide varies widely according to culture and religion. For example, many Western cultures, as well as mainstream Judaism, Islam, and Christianity tend to view killing oneself as quite negative. One myth about suicide that may be the result of this view is considering suicide (suicidal ideation) to always be the result of a mental illness. Some societies also treat a suicide attempt as if it were a crime. However, suicides are sometimes seen as understandable or even honorable in certain circumstances, as in protest to persecution (for example, a hunger strike), as part of battle or resistance (for example, suicide pilots of World War II, suicide bombers), or as a way of preserving the honor of a dishonored person (for example, killing oneself to preserve the honor or safety of family members).
More than 800,000 people worldwide committed suicide in 2012, with many more suicide attempts annually. That translates into someone dying by suicide every 40 seconds somewhere in the world. More than 39,000 people reportedly kill themselves each year in the United States, making it the 10th leading cause of death. The true number of suicides is likely higher because some deaths that were thought to be an accident, like a single-car accident, overdose, or shooting, are not recognized as being a suicide. The higher frequency of completed suicides in males versus females is consistent across the life span, but the ratio of men to women who complete suicide decreases from 3:1 in wealthier countries to closer to 1.5:1 in less wealthy countries. In the United States, boys 10-14 years of age commit suicide twice as often as their female peers. Teenage boys 15-19 years of age complete suicide five times as often as girls their age, and men 20-24 years of age commit suicide 10 times as often as women their age. Gay, lesbian, transgender, and other sexual minority youth are more at risk for thinking about and attempting suicide than heterosexual teens.
There are trends regarding the means of committing suicide as well. For example, the frequency of hanging, carbon monoxide poisoning, or other forms of self-suffocation increased from 1992 to 2006, while committing suicide by a gun has decreased during that period of time and has remained unchanged from 2012-2013.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people 15-29 years of age. Teen suicide statistics for youths 15-19 years of age indicate that from 1950-1990, the frequency of suicides increased by 300% and from 1990-2003, that rate decreased by 35%. However, from 1999 through 2006, the rate of suicide increased by about 1% per year and by about 2% per year from 2006 through 2014, both in the 10-24 years and the 25-64 years old age groups.
While the rate of murder-suicide remains low, the devastation it creates makes it a concerning public-health issue.
The rates of suicide can vary with the time of year, as wells as with the time of day. For example, the number of suicides by train tends to peak soon after sunset and about 10 hours earlier each day. Although professionals like police officers and dentists are thought to be more vulnerable to suicide than others, important flaws have been found in the research upon which those claims are based.
As opposed to suicidal behavior, self-mutilation is defined as deliberately hurting oneself without meaning to cause one's own death. Examples of self-mutilating behaviors include cutting any part of the body, usually of the wrists. Self-tattooing is also considered self-mutilation. Other self-injurious behaviors include self-burning, head banging, pinching, and scratching.
Physician-assisted suicide is defined as ending the life of a person who is terminally ill in a way that is either painless or minimally painful for the purpose of ending suffering of the individual. It is also called euthanasia and mercy killing. In 1997, the United States Supreme Court ruled against endorsing physician-assisted suicide as a constitutional right but allowed for individual states to enact laws that permit it to be done. As of 2016, California, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont were the only states with laws in effect that authorized physician-assisted suicide, but a number of other states are in the process of considering it. Physician-assisted suicide seems to be less offensive to people compared to assisted suicide that is done by a nonphysician, although the acceptability of both means to end life tends to increase as people age and with the severity of medical illness and the number of times the person who desires their own death repeatedly asks for such assistance.

What are the effects of suicide?

The effects of suicidal behavior or completed suicide on friends and family members are often devastating. Individuals who lose a loved one to suicide (suicide survivors) are more at risk for becoming preoccupied with the reason for the suicide while wanting to deny or hide the cause of death, wondering if they could have prevented it, feeling blamed for the problems that preceded the suicide, feeling rejected by their loved one, and stigmatized by others. Survivors may experience a great range of conflicting emotions about the deceased, feeling everything from intense emotional pain and sadness about the loss, helpless to prevent it, longing for the person they lost, questioning of their own religious beliefs, and anger at the deceased for taking their own life to relief if the suicide took place after years of physical or mental illness in their loved one. This is quite understandable given that the person they are grieving is at the same time the victim and the perpetrator of the fatal act.
Individuals left behind by the suicide of a loved one tend to experience complicated grief in reaction to that loss. Symptoms of grief that may be experienced by suicide survivors include intense emotions, like depression and guilt, as well as longings for the deceased, severely intrusive thoughts about the lost loved one, extreme feelings of isolation and emptiness, avoiding doing things that bring back memories of the departed, new or worsened appetite or sleep problems, and having no interest in activities that the sufferer used to enjoy.

What are some possible causes of suicide?

Although the reasons why people commit suicide are multifaceted and complex, life circumstances that may immediately precede someone committing suicide include recent discharge from a psychiatric hospital or a sudden change in how the person appears to feel (for example, much worse or much better). Examples of possible triggers (precipitants) for suicide are real or imagined losses, like the breakup of a romantic relationship, moving, death (especially if by suicide) of a loved one, or loss of freedom or other privileges.
Firearms are by far the most common methods by which people take their life, accounting for half of suicide deaths per year. Older people are more at risk for killing themselves using a gun compared to younger people. Another suicide method used by some individuals is by threatening police officers, sometimes even with an unloaded gun or a fake weapon. That phenomenon is commonly referred to as "suicide by cop." Although firearms are the most common way people complete suicide, trying to overdose on pills is the most common way that people attempt to kill themselves.

From

Tips to Better Manage Your Migraine

Start Now

What are the risk factors and protective factors for suicide?

Ethnically, the highest suicide rates in the United States occur in non-Hispanic whites and in Native Americans. The lowest rates are in non-Hispanic blacks, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. Former Eastern Bloc countries currently have the highest suicide rates worldwide, while South America has the lowest. Geographical patterns of suicides are such that individuals who live in a rural area versus urban area and the western United States versus the eastern United States are at higher risk for killing themselves. The majority of suicide completions take place during the spring.
In most countries, women continue to attempt suicide more often, but men tend to complete suicide more often. Although the frequency of suicides for young adults has been increasing in recent years, elderly Caucasian males continue to have the highest rate of suicide completion. Other risk factors for taking one's life include poor access to mental-health care, single marital status, unemployment, low income, mental illness, a history of being physically or sexually abused, a personal history of suicidal thoughts, threats or behaviors, or a family history of attempting suicide. A lack of access to mental-health care has also been identified as increasing the likelihood of suicide. The means of attempting suicide can have particular risk factors as well. For example, individuals who attempt suicide by jumping from a height like a bridge may be more likely to be single, unemployed, and psychotic, while those who use firearms may more often have a history of legal issues, alcoholism, and certain personality disorders.
Data regarding mental illnesses as risk factors indicate that depression, manic depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse, eating disorders, and severe anxiety increase the probability of suicide attempts and completions. Nine out of 10 people who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental-health problem and up to three out of four individuals who take their own life had a physical illness when they committed suicide. Behaviors that tend to be linked with suicide attempts and completions include impulsivity, violence against others, and self-mutilation, like slitting one's wrists or other body parts, or burning oneself.
Risk factors for adults who commit murder-suicide include male gender, older caregiver, access to firearms, separation or divorce, depression, and drug abuse or addiction. In children and adolescents, bullying and being bullied seem to be associated with an increased risk of suicidal behaviors. Specifically regarding male teens who ultimately commit murder-suicide by school shootings, being bullied may play a significant role in putting them at risk for this outcome. Another risk factor that renders children and teens more at risk for suicide compared to adults is having someone they know commit suicide, which is called contagion or cluster formation.
Generally, the absence of mental illness and substance abuse, as well as the presence of a strong social support system, decrease the likelihood that a person will kill him- or herself. Having children who are younger than 18 years of age also tends to be a protective factor against mothers committing suicide.

What are the signs and symptoms for suicidal behavior?

Warning signs that an individual is imminently planning to kill themselves may include the person making a will, otherwise getting his or her affairs in order, suddenly visiting friends or family members (one last time), buying instruments of suicide like a gun, hose, rope, pills, or other forms of medications, a sudden and significant decline or improvement in mood, or writing a suicide note. Contrary to popular belief, many people who complete suicide do not tell their therapist or any other mental-health professional they plan to kill themselves in the months before they do so. If they communicate their plan to anyone, it is more likely to be someone with whom they are personally close, like a friend or family member.
Individuals who take their lives tend to suffer from severe anxiety or depression, symptoms of which may include moderate alcohol abuse, insomnia, severe agitation, loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy (anhedonia), hopelessness, and persistent thoughts about the possibility of something bad happening. Since suicidal behaviors are often quite impulsive, removing guns, medications, knives, and other instruments people often use to kill themselves from the immediate environment can allow the individual time to think more clearly and perhaps choose a more rational way of coping with their pain. It can also allow the person's caregivers or loved ones time to intervene.

Daily Health News

Trending on MedicineNet

How are suicidal thoughts and behaviors assessed?

The risk assessment for suicidal thoughts and behaviors performed by mental-health professionals often involves an evaluation of the presence, frequency, severity, and duration of suicidal feelings in the individuals they treat as part of a comprehensive evaluation of the person's mental health. Therefore, in addition to asking questions about family mental-health history and about the symptoms of a variety of emotional problems (for example, anxiety, depression, mood swings, bizarre thoughts, substance abuse, eating disorders, and any history of being traumatized), practitioners frequently ask the people they evaluate about any past or present suicidal thoughts (ideations), dreams, intent, and plans. If the individual has ever attempted suicide, information about the circumstances surrounding the attempt, as well as the level of dangerousness of the method and the outcome of the attempt, may be explored. Any other history of violent behavior might be evaluated. The person's current circumstances, like recent stressors (for example, end of a relationship, family problems), sources of support, and accessibility of weapons are often probed. What treatment the person may be receiving and how he or she has responded to treatment recently and in the past, are other issues mental-health professionals tend to explore during an evaluation.
Sometimes professionals assess suicide risk by using an assessment scale. One such scale is called the SAD PERSONS Scale, which identifies risk factors for suicide as follows:

Sex (male)
Age younger than 19 or older than 45 years of age
Depression (severe enough to be considered clinically significant)
Previous suicide attempt or received mental-health services of any kind
Excessive alcohol or other drug use
Rational thinking lost
Separated, divorced, or widowed (or other ending of significant relationship)
Organized suicide plan or serious attempt
No or little social support
Sickness or chronic medical illness

What is the treatment for suicidal thoughts and behaviors? What types of specialists treat people who are suicidal?

Those who treat people who attempt suicide tend to adapt immediate treatment to the person's individual needs. Those who have a responsive and intact family, good friendships, generally good social supports, and who have a history of being hopeful and have a desire to resolve conflicts may need only a brief crisis-oriented intervention. However, those who have made previous suicide attempts, have shown a high degree of intent to kill themselves, seem to be suffering from either severe depression or other mental illness, are abusing alcohol or other drugs, have trouble controlling their impulses, or have families who are unable or unwilling to commit to counseling are at higher risk and may need psychiatric hospitalization to prevent a repeat attempt in the days following the most recent attempt by providing close monitoring (for example, suicide watch) and long-term outpatient mental-health services to achieve recovery from their suicidal thoughts or actions.
Talk therapy (psychotherapy) that focuses on helping the person understand how their thoughts and behaviors affect each other (cognitive behavioral therapy) has been found to be an effective treatment for many people who struggle with thoughts of harming themselves. School intervention programs in which teens are given support and educated about the risk factors, symptoms, and ways to manage suicidal thoughts in themselves and how to engage adults when they or a peer expresses suicidal thinking have been found to decrease the number of times adolescents report attempting suicide.
Although concerns have been raised about the possibility that antidepressant medications increase the frequency of suicide attempts, mental-health professionals try to put those concerns in the context of the need to treat the severe emotional problems that are usually associated with attempting suicide and the fact that the number of suicides that are completed by mentally ill individuals seems to decrease with treatment. The effectiveness of medication treatment for depression in teens is supported by research, particularly when medication is combined with psychotherapy. In fact, concern has been expressed that the reduction of antidepressant prescribing since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration required that warning labels be placed on these medications may be related to the 18.2% increase in U.S. youth suicides from 2003-2004 after a decade of steady decrease. While the use of specific antidepressants has been associated with lower suicide rates in adolescents over the long term, uncommon short-term side effects of serotonergic antidepressants (for example, fluoxetine [Prozac], sertraline [Zoloft], paroxetine [Paxil], escitalopram [Lexapro], or vortioxetine [Trintellix]) may include an increase in suicide. Therefore, most practitioners consider antidepressant medication an important part of treating depression while closely monitoring their patients' progress to prevent suicide.
Mood-stabilizing medications like lithium (Lithobid) -- as well as medications that address bizarre thinking and/or severe anxiety, like clozapine (Clozaril), risperidone (Risperdal), and aripiprazole (Abilify) -- have also been found to decrease the likelihood of individuals killing themselves.

How can people cope with suicidal thoughts?

In the effort to cope with suicidal thoughts, silence is the enemy. Suggestions for helping people survive suicidal thinking include engaging the help of a doctor or other health professional, a spiritual advisor, or by immediately calling a suicide hotline or going to the closest emergency room or mental-health crisis center. In order to prevent acting on thoughts of suicide, it is often suggested that individuals who have experienced suicidal thinking keep a written or mental list of people to call in the event that suicidal thoughts come back. Other strategies include having someone hold all medications to prevent overdose, removing knives, guns, and other weapons from the home, scheduling stress-relieving activities every day, getting together with others to prevent isolation, writing down feelings, including positive ones, and avoiding the use of alcohol or other drugs.

How can people cope with the suicide of a loved one?

Grief that is associated with the death of a loved one from suicide presents intense and unique challenges. In addition to the already significant pain endured by anyone who loses a loved one, suicide survivors may feel guilty about having not been able to prevent their loved one from killing themselves and the myriad conflicting emotions already discussed. Friends and family may be more likely to experience regret about whatever problems they had in their relationship with the deceased, and they may even feel guilty about living while their loved one is not. Therefore, individuals who lose a loved one from suicide are more at risk for becoming preoccupied with the reason for the suicide while perhaps wanting to deny or hide the cause of death, wondering if they could have prevented it, feeling blamed for the problems that preceded the suicide, feeling rejected by their loved one and stigmatized by others.
Some self-help techniques for coping with the stress associated with the suicide of a loved one include avoiding isolation by staying involved with others, sharing the experience by joining a support group or keeping a journal, thinking of ways to handle it when other life experiences trigger painful memories about the loss, understanding that getting better involves feeling better some days and worse on other days, resisting pressure to get over the loss, and the suicide survivor's doing what is right for them in their efforts to recover. Many people, particularly parents of children who commit suicide, take some comfort in being able to use this terrible experience as a way to establish a memorial to their loved one. That can take the form of everything from writing a poem, planting a tree, or painting a mural in honor of the departed to establishing a scholarship fund in their loved one's name to teaching others about how to survive a child's suicide. Generally, coping tips for grieving a death through suicide are nearly as different and numerous as there are bereaved individuals. The bereaved person's caring for him- or herself through continuing nutritious and regular eating habits and getting extra, although not excessive, rest can help strengthen their ability to endure this very difficult event.
Quite valuable tips for journaling as an effective way of managing bereavement rather than just stirring up painful feelings are provided by the Center for Journal Therapy. While encouraging those who choose to write a journal to apply no strict rules to the process as part of suicide recovery, some of the ideas encouraged include limiting the time journaling to 15 minutes per day or less to decrease the likelihood of worsening grief, writing how one imagines his or her life will be a year from the date of the suicide, and clearly identifying feelings to allow for easier tracking of the individual's grief process.
To help children and adolescents cope emotionally with the suicide of a friend or family member, it is important to ensure they receive consistent caretaking and frequent interaction with supportive adults. All children and teens can benefit from being reassured they did not cause their loved one to kill themselves, going a long way toward lessening the developmentally appropriate tendency children and adolescents have for blaming themselves and any angry feelings they may have harbored against their lost loved one for the suicide. For school-aged and older children, appropriate participation in school, social, and extracurricular activities is necessary to a successful resolution of grief. For adolescents, maintaining positive relationships with peers becomes important in helping teens figure out how to deal with a loved one's suicide. Depending on the adolescent, they even may find interactions with peers and family more helpful than formal sources of support like their school counselor.

Subscribe to MedicineNet's Depression Newsletter

By clicking "Submit," I agree to the MedicineNet Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. I also agree to receive emails from MedicineNet and I understand that I may opt out of MedicineNet subscriptions at any time.

Is it possible to prevent a suicide attempt?

For the population at large, suicide-prevention strategies include increasing access to health care, promoting mental health, avoidance of drug use, and restricting access to means to complete suicide. Responsible media reporting to raise mental-health and suicide awareness, as well as how to report suicides and other violence that occurs are other suicide-prevention strategies that are often used in general populations.
Suicide-prevention measures for individuals who have a mental-health history following a psychiatric hospitalization usually involve mental-health professionals trying to implement a comprehensive outpatient treatment plan prior to the individual being discharged. This is all the more important since many people fail to comply with outpatient therapy after leaving the hospital. It is often recommended that all firearms and other weapons be removed from the home, because the individual may still find access to guns and other dangerous objects stored in their home, even if locked. It is further often recommended that sharp objects and potentially lethal medications be locked up as a result of the attempt.
Vigorous treatment of the underlying psychiatric disorder is important in decreasing short-term and long-term risk. Contracting with the person against suicide has not been shown to be especially effective in preventing suicidal behavior, but the technique may still be helpful in assessing risk, since hesitation or refusal to agree to refrain from harming oneself or to fail to agree to tell a specified person may indicate an intent to harm oneself. Contracting might also help the individual identify sources of support he or she can call upon in the event that suicidal thoughts recur.

What is the prognosis for someone who has made a suicide attempt or threat?

While most people who attempt suicide do not ultimately die by suicide, those who have tried to kill themselves are at much higher risk of completing suicide compared to those who have never attempted to do so. People who attempt suicide have been found to be at risk for developing symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with the suicide attempt being the traumatic event. This has been found to be more likely the more serious the suicide attempt and the more steps the person took in an effort to avoid detection before their demise. Given the potentially fatal prognosis of attempting suicide, the need for treatment is all the more important.

Where can people get help for suicidal thoughts?

American Association of Suicidology
http://www.suicidology.org
202-237-2280
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
http://www.afsp.org
Jason Foundation
http://www.jasonfoundation.com
National Suicide Prevention Hotline
800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
http://www.suicide.org
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
800-273-TALK (8255)

Monday, August 27, 2018

Dr. Phil Presents Tuesdays With Troy: The Side Of Suicide Nobody Ever Ta...

Are taxes the new tool to fight the opioid epidemic?

Bradford, UK: A divided city united only by — drugs | Katie Hopkins

BREAKING �� President Trump URGENT Press Conference on NAFTA with Mexico ...

ARREST MADE!! John McCain's WORST NIGHTMARE COMES TRUE Right After His S...

Friday, August 24, 2018

Hurricane Lane/Full Update.

My Visitor Steinman

My visitor Stephen Steinman shared some of his insights since we have gone past the dates that our Lord Jesus was speculated to return. He like so many of us are asking the question why we are still here. His three day visit to us was enjoyable. It was like having a bible study every day; discussions on steroids. He is wonderful delivering the message in a humorous way, yet a very serious message indeed. Sadly, the conclusions is not what we wanted to hear, but this is the latest to those who are bible/prophecy students.

Matthew 24:29-30 King James Version (KJV)

²⁹Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
³⁰And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

So here we read that Immediately after the tribulation of those days... what days the TWO days ( 2,000 years since one day is as a thousand years with the Lord) We will be Living in His Presence...
2After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence Hosea 6:2

Jesus died on a Wednesday Sabbath, and was in the grave for 3 days and 3 nights in order to rise on the Sabbath (Saturday). If we look at historical charts, the year that Jesus died on a Sabbath, when the sky turned completely dark for 3 hours was in 30 AD.. Thus Jesus was 30 years of age when He died (not 33 like the Catholic's teach/Mason Skull and Bones number). If we add 30 years to the 2000 years; the 2 days, then we come to 2030. I will be an old lady by then, but indications are that we have to wait longer for Jesus' return. The first of several raptures will take place in 2027, but I will reserve that teaching to another time. Hang to your hope of salvation my friends, do not let anyone take your crowns.

The Chair "The Sin Chair"

Thursday, August 23, 2018

Alberta fentanyl deaths continue to rise in 2018

alth

July 5, 2018 3:53 pm

Updated: July 5, 2018 9:25 pm

Alberta fentanyl deaths continue to rise in 2018 — but at a slower rate

By Staff The Canadian Press

News: Alberta fentanyl deaths still rising in 2018, but at a slower ratex

WATCH ABOVE: Hundreds more Albertans will die of a fentanyl overdose this year. But Alberta is spending $63 million to fight the opioid crisis and as Tom Vernon reports, the strategy may be seeing some results.

A A

New figures suggest that fentanyl deaths are continuing to rise in Alberta this year but at a slower rate.
Health officials say there were 228 overdose deaths from Jan. 1 through to early May, which, if the rate remains steady, would mean about 660 by the end of the year.
There were 583 deaths in 2017 and 368 the year before that.
READ MORE: Nearly 4,000 Canadians died of opioid overdoses in 2017, a new record

Dr. Karen Grimsrud, co-chair of Alberta’s opioid response committee, says initiatives such as faster and improved treatment response along with targeted law enforcement are having an effect.
But she says it’s too early to say whether the province is successfully beating back the opioid crisis.
Grimsrud says numbers at the midpoint of 2018 will give a more accurate picture on the broader trend.
“It’s interesting that the numbers are continuing to look like they’re plateauing,” Grimsrud told a news conference Thursday.
“At this point we can remain encouraged, but I don’t want to say outright that we’ve turned the corner.”
Of the 228 deaths, 66 were from the more deadly opioid carfentanil.
READ MORE: How Mexican cartels are part of an ‘emerging threat’ of fentanyl flowing into Canada

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Daphne The Fish

Today, Daphne, Deborah's beloved fish passed away.

What does this mean for me? I don't know.

I was given the responsibility of taking care of Daphne after Deborah passed away. And it was a job that I took seriously because...Daphne was one of the last tangible connections I would have to my sister. Clothes you outgrow and smells fade, but Daphne was always there. Daphne was part of a memory, one of many that I was afraid I'd eventually start to forget. This has been my greatest fear.

Daphne has spent the last 4 years by my side. I never complained about having to care for her after Deborah's passing because it was something I just had to do. I did it for Deborah, and I tried my best to do everything to prolong her life, in fear that she would die from a state of grief. ---I never did any research on if fish actually can get depressed, but if you know Daphne, you'd know how much of a people fish she was.

She was in great health up until March 2018, when I noticed that there was something seriously wrong. She had what is known as cloud eye, so I immediately started a course of treatment, in fear she would lose an eye. I also was fearful that she would die on what would have been on Deborah's 23rd birthday. ---I moved her into a hospital tank, a 2 gallon plastic bin and for the next 4 months, I would be doing daily water changes. I was committed to giving her a fighting chance and I thought we made it out of the woods in June. Her eye was better and she started to eat again. It was in the end of June that I started to notice that she was in trouble again. She wasn't swimming properly anymore and was having difficulty eating again.

I knew she was old, 5 years is along time for a Beta Fish, but I thought I cured her.

I did some research and self-diagnosed her with Swim Bladder Disease. If you have ever had fish before, you know how quickly the disease progresses and how terrible it is on the fish. They recommend you euthanize the fish.

I thought about it a lot.

I cried about it alot.

----But I knew I couldn't because then in a way, I'd be saying the choice that Deborah made was acceptable.

For the next 3 months until her death today, I tried to make her as comfortable as possible. I bought her some new decor to put in her hospital tank. I continued with the frequent water peramater check and kept up with the water changes. I made sure to call home regularly to make sure someone was keeping their eyes on her while I was out. I talked with fish experts to see if there was anything I could do to cure her of this disease. They could offer no solutions. I had done everything.

I knew it was only time now till I would have to say goodbye.

I am a very fearful person but I am almost always right when I feel that something bad is about to happen. And just as I feared, in the month, Deborah's death, Daphne would leave.

I know she put up a good fight, and I believe that she held out as long as possible for me, it still doesn't make this any easier.

Smells fade, and clothes grow small. The items that I held onto that were my sisters does not mean the same to me as it did 4 years ago. ----Daphne was the last pure thing I had that connected me to her.

Daphne was my companion.

Daphne can now rest in peace. I don't know if I believe that there is a place for pets in heaven but I hope that Deborah was there to greet her.