September is suicide p
revention awareness month. Suicide is one of the leading causes of death. In 2021, suicide was the cause of 48,183 deaths. That is 11 deaths every minute. In 2021, the estimated serious thought about suicide was 12.3 million. Additionally, 3.5 million planned a suicide attempt and 1.7 million attempted suicides.
Suicide and attempts affect the well-being of the people around them. When someone dies by suicide, the family experiences a lot of different feelings, such as grief, shock, anger, guilt and symptoms of depression or anxiety. I can relate to this because I experienced it first-hand. My brother died by suicide on Feb. 14. My whole family can relate as well.
During September, social media is flooded with positive thoughts and things on suicide awareness. That is all great! But what about the days outside of September? Why is suicide awareness only recognized one month a year? I think with it being a leading cause of death in our world today we should be cautious of the things we say and the things we post.
Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder can contribute to student suicides. These conditions can be exacerbated by stress, loneliness, being surrounded by negativity and lack of support.
For a college student, the average cause of death is suicide. When you are away from the things and people you are familiar with and know, it makes it harder to adapt. College comes with stress and social anxiety. At Holmes we have an online mental health app called Mindyra’s MindHealth Navigator. It is a support app that helps you along your mental health journey. If you need the Suicide and Crisis hotline, it’s 988.
