Fulfilling our Mission
One of the missions of Giggle On! is to raise awareness about suicide and offer support to survivors of suicide.
Giggle On! does not provide direct suicide hotline support; rather, we are a bridge to bring information to you.
I am pleased to annouce a new area of the Giggle On! site called Suicide Awareness. This section includes facts about suicide, warning signs, help for suicidal people, personal stories, support materials and educational information.
As the anniversary of Jim’s suicide approaches on October 7th, I decided it would be most fitting to roll out my 3 part blog series this week. More posts will be added over time but for now, we’ll start out with these: Part 1 – Facts and Warning Signs (below), Part 2 – How to Help Suicidal People & Part 3 – Suicide Survivors Guilt.
It is my sincere hope that you, or someone you love, will benefit from this section of the web site. God Bless!
Part 1 – Facts and Warning Signs
FACTS
Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the USA.
Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for people ages 10-24.
More than 32,000 people kill themselves each year.
Firearms (Jim’s choice) are the most commonly used method of suicide among males.
People living in a household where a firearm is kept are almost 5 times more likely to die by suicide than people who live in gun-free homes.
Women attempt suicide more often than men but men succeed at 4 times the rate.
It is estimated that each suicide intimately affects at least 6 other people (the Survivors of Suicide) and up to 100 people that is anywhere between 200,000 and 3 million American affected each year.
Warning Signs
For those of us that lost a friend or family member to suicide, we now know a lot of the warning signs. Hindsight is 20/20 and … doesn’t that suck. We also may have recognized the warning signs but didn’t want to believe our loved one would actually make a final fatal choice.
Anyone breathing is at risk for suicide but certain factors in suicide cases are prevalent.
Seek help for yourself, your friend or loved one if they exhibit any of the following signs outlined by Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
* Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Related posts:
Walk to beat depression and suicide
Wilmington’s Out of the Darkness Walk, photo essay
- the foundation for full blown fits of belly-aching laughter; laughter in an uncontrolled, silly or giddy way; to laugh repeatedly with short spasmodic sounds in a light manner.
1 response so far ↓
1
Carry
// Oct 2, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Christa…good for you in focusing discussion of the important topic of suicide.
We all need to be aware of those under stress and who are trying to reach out. Reach back if you can.
And when things get dark remember there are people out there who care.
I have a freiend who is a psychiatrist and deals especially with depressed people. He has seen far too many suicides. He calls it a long term solution to a short term problem.
Keep up the good work Christa, a great memorial to your departed friend.
C
Leave a Comment