By Heather Sutherland. Perhaps the key, primary stress of the first year of doctoral study is about ‘literature reviewing’. “I’m working on my literature review” is the only identical phrase I’ve heard from peers across all subject areas, before they head off into their various quantitative or qualitative or mixed-method data-gathering phases. Whilst research topics… Continue reading Literature Review, meet personal knowledge…
By Sarah Stanford. Suicide and self-harm remain taboo topics in schools, despite the fact youth suicide has reached a ten year high. Recent statistics show around eight children and young people die by suicide each week in Australia. Around one in ten self-harm during their teenage years. This loss of life means that the topic… Continue reading Talking about suicide and self-harm in schools can save lives
By Sarah Stanford. Walk into any high school and you can be confident that there are young people who self-harm. Research suggests that around one in ten teens will self-harm at least once. That equates to 2-3 students per classroom. So we know that self-harm is fairly common. What is self-harm? The most common form… Continue reading Self harm by Australian high school students: latest research on who might do it and how to help
By Charlotte Starkey Suicide Bereavement UK’s 6th International Conference saw over 350 people, from 8 countries and a range of backgrounds, come together to share their work, thoughts and experiences on the topic of ‘Looking Forward, Instilling Hope’. The one day event was held in the somewhat unorthodox, yet fantastic venue of a cinema in… Continue reading Conference Review: Suicide Bereavement UK’s 6th International Conference
One month ago – World Suicide Prevention Day 2017, we launched the International Network of Early Career Researchers in Suicide and Self-harm website – NetECR! Since then, we have been delighted with the response and support of ECRs in our field, as well as that shown by senior academics, institutions and charities from different parts… Continue reading One month of NetECR!
By Tiago Zortea. In 2002, an important epidemiological study on the global perspective on suicide was published by Bertolote and Fleischmann [1]. Among the interesting data presented, a graph on the differences of suicide rates according to religion affiliation was included (see graph below). From a quick look at the graph, it would seem that… Continue reading Is religion protective against suicidal behaviour for LGBT individuals?
By Tiago Zortea. The World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) 2017 campaign theme is “Take a minute, change a life”. You might wonder if this is really possible, since suicidal thoughts and behaviours are such complex phenomena to be understood. Indeed, research has shown that suicidal thoughts and behaviours are associated with feelings of entrapment [1]… Continue reading Can a life be changed with a minute?: Suicide prevention, complexity and change
By Kirsten Russell. Undertaking a PhD provides an invaluable opportunity to train and develop as an independent researcher. However, PhDs can also be challenging and it is easy to abandon academic self-care in the face of heavy workloads and imminent deadlines. Sleep is often the first thing we sacrifice, with many seeing it as a… Continue reading Is prioritising sleep the first step in academic self-care? Tips for getting a good night’s sleep during postgraduate study
By Kirsten Russell. Suicide continues to be a major public health concern worldwide, and is one of the leading causes of death in young people aged 15-24 (World Health Organisation, 2014). University students represent a particularly high risk group for the development of suicidal thoughts and behaviours. A survey conducted by NUS in 2013 highlighted… Continue reading The importance of starting a conversation about suicide: Advice for supporting postgraduate peers
By Donna Littlewood. A record-breaking 1400 people attended the 50th annual conference of the American Association of Suicidology in Phoenix, Arizona. The conference successfully attracts a diverse range of delegates, including researchers, clinicians, crisis centre volunteers, people bereaved by suicide, and people with lived experience of suicide. In coming together with the common goal… Continue reading Conference Review: American Association of Suicidology 50th Annual Conference
By Olivia Kirtley. Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Last week the World Health Organization (WHO) released the first ever World Suicide Report, showing that around 800,000 people die by suicide each year. In fact, around the world, one person will die by suicide every 40 seconds, which means in the time it’s taken me… Continue reading Suicide Prevention: We Need Everyone
By Olivia Kirtley. As a child, I grew up watching the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures on TV and feeling a tremendous sense of excitement as these famous scientists submerged PhD students in ice water baths, cuddled lemurs and dissected brains, all in the name of public engagement with science. During my PhD, I’ve been on… Continue reading We need to talk about *******: Public engagement for “taboo” topics
By Olivia Kirtley. It is estimated that more than 800,000 individuals die globally each year as a result of suicide and for those aged 15-29 years old, suicide is the second leading worldwide cause of death after road traffic accidents 1. But we don’t whisper about car accidents, or exchange sideways glances when someone mentions… Continue reading The S Word: Talking About Suicide
By Olivia Kirtley. Today is World Suicide Prevention Day and around the world people are raising awareness of suicide prevention. The theme for this year is ‘reaching out, saving lives’. But what is the reach of suicide, and what does reaching out do? The Reach Every year, more than 800,000 people die by suicide around… Continue reading The Reach and Reaching Out of Suicide
By Laura Hemming. This blog is about my journey and identity as a researcher in an organisation that emphasises the importance of placing lived experience at the heart of mental health research. My journey as a researcher began a little over a year and a half ago when I was employed by the McPin Foundation… Continue reading Who are the ‘Experts by Experience’ in Mental Health Research? – A personal reflection
By Sarah Stanford. It's time. Two words that can spark excitement or relief. It's time to finish work. It's time for the party to start. It's time to get a coffee. It's time to take off your skinny jeans. But in this instance, these two words did not spark excitement. Instead, my heart felt a… Continue reading New to research using high school samples? Three things that helped me
By A. Jess Williams. Recently, a senior professor has taken to saying to me “calm down, things go wrong, nothing’s perfect”. Sounds grand, right? But to my way of thinking, this is telling me that I’ve done something wrong or that people think I’ve made a mistake - that’s frustrating for anyone, but my sneaky… Continue reading One of these is not like the others: Imposter syndrome within early career researchers
By Tiago Zortea. Ten years ago, in the second year of my undergraduate course in Psychology, I came across a short book chapter that caused me to rethink many of the ways in which I understood mental health: The actress, the priest, and the psychoanalyst: The knife sharpeners, written by the Brazilian Professor of Social… Continue reading On sharpening knives, stigma and mental health
By Tiago Zortea. As a PhD student carrying out research in suicidality, I am recurrently asked why people take their own lives. The thing is, there is not an obvious, quick, or complete answer. Suicide is a complex phenomenon, and it involves biological, psychological and social factors that interact with each other, and these interactions… Continue reading Suicide Prevention: From Illness and Risk Factors, to Thoughts and Actions
By Tiago Zortea. “Ah look at all the lonely people! All the lonely people Where do they all come from? All the lonely people Where do they all belong?” The thought provoking, sad, and very reflective Beatles’ song, “Eleanor Rigby” shocked me when I listened to it for the first time many years ago. For… Continue reading Eleanor Rigby, Loneliness, and Suicide
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