World Suicide Prevention Day

Every 40 seconds someone person loses their life to suicide worldwide. That totals to more than 700,000 people per year. Globally, suicide is the “fourth leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds” stated by the World Health Organization.

September 10th is recognized as National Suicide Prevention Awareness Day. This was declared in 2008 by the World Health Organization. This year’s theme, “Creating hope through action”, was generated to shed light on the crucial mental health issue. Suicide is the twelfth leading cause of death in the United States. In 2020 there was approximately 120 million suicide attempts and roughly 46 thousand were successful. With that being said, suicide is a recurring issue that we need to gain control of.

If you know of someone who is suffering with mental illness or depression it is important that you listen to them. Reassuring and giving them positive feedback can relieve a lot of stress as well. Therapy is not popular amongst our generation; instead, we tend to hold things in and keep a lot of apprehension to ourselves. Together we can overcome this! There are so many organizations, hotlines, and resources at our fingertips to aid us. This is the purpose behind Suicide Prevention Day, to connect and raise awareness for individuals who feel alone. Always remember that suicide doesn’t end the possibility of life getting any worse it just eliminates the chance of it getting any better.

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at: 988