By Donna Littlewood On 10th September, I had the pleasure of being part of a co-designed photography exhibition to mark World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD). The idea for the event came from our ‘Patient and Public Involvement’ (PPI) group, also known as Mental Health 4 Mutual Support. Together with my fellow researchers (Leah Quinlivan and… Continue reading Sowing #SeedsOfHope on World Suicide Prevention Day
By Piumee Bandara Earlier this year, I found myself deep in Sri Lanka’s lush, leafy suburbs, knocking on doors for an interview. I was there with a team of local researchers to gather information from people primarily about adverse experiences in childhood and current experiences of domestic violence. My aim, to gain a better understanding… Continue reading Researching domestic violence and suicidal behaviour in Sri Lanka
By Hayley Gorton Back in 2015, I attended the International Association for Suicide Prevention congress the first time. I found myself in a room with about 600 delegates including psychiatrists, psychologists, statisticians, epidemiologists and many others; but realised that I was probably the only pharmacist there. This made me reflect on my own practice as… Continue reading Community pharmacy: An untapped resource in suicide prevention?
By Laura del Carpio and Abigail Paterson The Citizenship, Recovery, and Inclusive Society Partnership (CRISP) programme [1], led by the University of Strathclyde, has brought together leading academic institutions and third sector organisations from across the EU and the USA to share knowledge on approaches to social inclusion and mental health. As a result of… Continue reading Approaches to suicide in Finland: Reflections from an international secondment
By Mirabel Pelton My research asks why autistic people* [A] are more likely to engage in suicidal thoughts and behaviours than people who aren’t autistic. I want to produce evidence that will really reduce suicide rates. As I near the end of my second year as a PhD student, I’ve noticed that, when I introduce… Continue reading 3 things we should know about suicide in autistic adults
By Valerie Douglas Often, when one thinks of the words “discrimination” or “stigmatization” our mind will wander to identity groups who when we hear in the news about the systematic and overt discrimination they face makes us want to tweet, “What century do we live in, again???”. Western society has, overall, come to agree that… Continue reading The importance of remembering weight in suicide prevention
By Hazel Marzetti Today is the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT). IDAHOBIT happens every year on the 17th of May and provides an opportunity for people (LGBTI people and our allies) who feel able, to stand visibly against discrimination and harassment faced by LGBTI people. Does that really happen anymore? One… Continue reading International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT)
By Lana Bojanić. Mental health of university students has been a hot topic in the last couple of years, both in research and in public domain, and for a good reason. The fact that the usual university age coincides with the age of onset of almost two-thirds of mental health problems, makes it vital to… Continue reading When and where to look for help? Student mental health challenges in Croatia
By Tiago Zortea. [Warning message: this article contains discussion of sensitive topics that some may find upsetting. If you need someone to talk to, Samaritans are available round-the-clock (and free to contact) on 116 123 (UK & ROI)]. The quote "let's talk about suicide" has spread online, contributing to the engagement of the general public… Continue reading How to help someone suffering from suicidal ideation?
By Katerina Kavalidou. The way that suicidal behaviours and suicide are presented in the media, attracts a lot of research interest, either due to the negative effect related to the increase of suicidal behaviours or the positive effect of promoting help-seeking. One of the main reasons that media professionals need to adhere to guidelines is… Continue reading How English-speaking media guidelines on self-harm and suicide reporting could help to prevent suicide abroad
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 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. 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 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 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
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