World Suicide Prevention Day

Over half of all of us living in the US have personally known someone who committed suicide; a family member, a friend, a neighbor? How many of us have had to ask ourselves, “What could I have done to prevent this tragedy?” Perhaps, suicide prevention needs to start with human connection. Brené Brown defines “connection” as the “energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued.”
In the United States, the CDC reports that suicide is one of the leading causes of death in young people. For many victims, suicide can be directly linked to other forms of injury and violence such as child abuse, bullying, or sexual violence. At the same time, almost 50% of suicide rates occur with people over 65. Older adults turn to suicide out of feelings of grief, isolation, or suffering from chronic diseases.
Today is the day that each one of us can take a moment and reach out to the people in our lives who may seem a little out of sorts, live alone, have health issues, or have suffered some kind of trauma in their life that makes them a little more vulnerable than most. Reach out and let them know you are there for them and that you care. Extending a bit of our energy to those around us may help in more ways than we know.