Suicide

Saving Lives from Suicide During a Pandemic

There are ways to intervene and help one another through the darkest of times. The current crisis we’re enduring with Covid-19 is taking a toll on more than our physical well-being. A recent Kaiser poll showed that nearly half of Americans feel the coronavirus crisis is harming their mental health. Suicide and crisis call and text hotlines… Read more »

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Experts at Home: Kevin Hines on the Mental Health Crisis and Getting Help

In this Experts at Home conversation, Dr. Lisa Firestone talks with suicide attempt survivor and mental health advocate Kevin Hines. They discuss the current mental health crisis, and how people can get help or help others during this challenging time. Watch Now: Subscribe to PsychAlive (it’s free!) to see more Experts at Home.      

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Addressing Suicide Risk in Trying Times

In April, a Global Emotions Report by Gallup showed that people worldwide are sadder, more afraid, and angrier than ever before. This news may not hit you as a surprise. The sense of heaviness in a recent talk about the state of the world is palpable. It seems every day we are struck by dire existential warnings,… Read more »

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The Inner Voice in Self-Destructive Behavior and Suicide

Suicide is a tragic ending to life that, in many cases, can be averted. It constitutes a public health problem of considerable magnitude in the United States, occurring at nearly twice the rate as that of homicide.  From 1999 to 2016, suicide rates have steadily risen in nearly every state in the union. Understanding this seemingly perverse anti-life behavior… Read more »

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The Reason Why Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Gets it Right on Suicide Prevention (and ’13 Reasons Why’ is Harmfully Misguided)

Rebecca Bunch, the endearingly narcissistic protagonist of the CW comedy Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, is a singing/dancing, self-sabotaging feminist hero. But did you know that in addition to provoking laughter, entertainment and intellectual stimulation, the writers of this show are also providing valuable and potentially life-saving mental health content to their viewers? If you haven’t seen the… Read more »

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Suicide Prevention – 10 Questions and Answers

Suicide is a scary topic. But it’s important to know how to talk to someone in crisis. Underestimating this need is a terrible mistake. Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24-year-olds, says the prevention group Do Something.  We can learn to address the needs of people who are suffering so… Read more »

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Be The One To Help Save A Life From Suicide

There’s nothing more frightening than the concern that someone you know may be at risk for suicide. And yet, suicide risk is a much more common crisis than many of us imagine. Worldwide, a person dies by suicide every 40 seconds. In the United States, the latest data shows the suicide rate to be at a 30-year-high, having… Read more »

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Suicide in the Media

Recently, suicide has been in the spotlight as the focus of both a fictionalized mini-series about a high-school student and a non-fiction podcast about a middle-aged man from Alabama. Each of these very different, but deeply personalized, accounts of suicide touch on a more widespread tragedy. Suicide has just surpassed homicide as the second leading… Read more »

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After My Suicide Attempt, I Made This Plan to Stay Alive and Well

Trigger warning A single, circular, black and white-colored analog clock adorned the off-white wall. Groggy, my eyes strained then refocused. It was 4 a.m. I had been in limbo overnight waiting for an in-demand, overbooked, cheap wood-framed, rather uncomfortable single bed. It was an early, solemn San Francisco morning: May 1st, 2004. I was 23… Read more »

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Video Interview with Expert Suicidologist Dr. David A. Jobes

David A. Jobes, Ph.D., ABPP, is an internationally recognized suicidologist. Dr. Lisa Firestone interviewed Dr. Jobes for PsychAlive. The two discussed risk factors leading to suicide, treating suicidal individuals, the CAMS Approach to treating suicide and the importance of making life worth living. You can watch excerpts from the interview below.

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