Category: Suicide

LGBT Community and Suicide

by Jon Farrow

29 percent of lgbt youth suicide

Suicide among the LGBT community, especially among the youth, is a topic I believe deserves more attention than it has received. According to the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, there isn’t official national data in America for the rates of suicide among the LGBT community. One reason being there isn’t an accurate percentage of the population who identifies as LGBT. The other reason being that particular information isn’t included with the release of a death certificate.

Researchers from various institutions, such as the American Journal of Public Health, have found despite the lack of national average … Read more...

Why did he kill himself? Contributing factors to Charles’ suicide

While I have visited this topic before, I now have the perspective of a couple of years and a lot more education, training and experience. I also know a bit more of the story although there are still missing pieces and there will always be. It is important to note that suicide is the result of multiple factors including health, family history and environment.

1. Charles was going through withdrawal from heroin addiction

We didn’t know this or any of these things to be honest. And he didn’t tell us. But I know from a previous withdrawal, he suffered … Read more...

A cry for help for suicide prevention from Nepal

india

From Anne Moss: Narendra and I have been emailing back and forth for a few months. While suicide is stigmatized here in the US, it’s even worse in Nepal, home of Mt. Everest and a country that ranks number 8 in the world for completed suicides and one of the poorest and least developed of the third world countries.

There are no resources in Nepal for suicide and Narendra has been working tirelessly, without funding, to create an ambitious training program to educate citizens to recognize and offer peer to peer support that is in keeping with their culture of … Read more...

Kids with mental illness pushed out of college

colleges

Forced medical leave. That’s how many colleges are dealing with the public health issue known as suicide.

Currently, suicide is the number two leading cause of death at colleges across the US. I was not aware that forcing and then preventing a student to return to college was the “solution” many colleges have adopted. That’s not a suicide prevention strategy, it’s a suicide avoidance strategy.

Until I was on a river cruise having a conversation with a mother whose son experienced this treatment, I was unaware of it. The number one issue for some colleges is to preserve their precious reputation. … Read more...

What is the ‘wrong’ thing to say to someone thinking of suicide?

wrong thing to say

That’s our greatest fear right? That we will say the wrong thing. We always fear the unknown.

Just listening and keeping someone safe and supported. All you can really do is keep someone safe for now. But here are some phrases that don’t really “cause” someone to suicide but they are not the ideal thing to say to someone in suicidal crisis.

First, I want you to remember that suicide is a brain attack–an episode where someone is suffering emotional pain so devastating, their brain tells them the only solution is to kill themselves. It’s intense and relentless and … Read more...

Trigger Warning

scars are tattoos with better stories

by Morgan Altic
I wear scars on my skin
Self-inflicted wounds that remind me of the times I lost control
The times I gave into that solemn voice that told me to cut open my flesh
To mask the pain I was feeling inside
That same voice that convinced me I wasn’t good enough
Or deserving of life
Except now I am a survivor of the battles I have sometimes lost
I am proud of the metals I have earned fighting
Because the engraved lines across my wrists
Are a reflection of the bravery I showed in times of weakness… Read more...

Postpartum depression and suicide

charles as a baby

While I personally have not ever felt suicidal, I have felt pregnancy depression and postpartum depression. I would tell you if I had ever felt like killing myself. I am, after all, emotionally naked.

It was only after watching the news segment about Allison Goldstein’s suicide after moving to another coast– away from her family–that this memory came back. When I saw the segment on TV, they didn’t emphasize the move but I knew it had to be a big contributor to her suicide. Because I felt intense postpartum depression once we moved from family and my support network … Read more...

Beach glass heart— #griefheart number 256

This heart reminds me of all of our family beach vacations at the Outer Banks. Charles loved being with his cousins there. He didn’t love going in the ocean a whole lot and despite signing him up for swim lessons and more swim lessons, he refused to participate in them and as a result was a terrible swimmer. So I didn’t encourage a lot of ocean swimming.

We live in a river town so I worried he was in danger of drowning. And I always watched him closely at the beach for the same reason. I think back to all … Read more...

The parking spot

where we found out about our sons suicide

A few weeks ago, I was at Stony Point Fashion Park in Richmond and I realized I was going in front of Brio Tuscan Grill to go to Dillards.

As some of you know and others of you don’t know, we found out about Charles’ suicide in a parking lot right outside of Brio’s. Not that there is an ideal location to find out that news. There’s no good place.

At any rate, I am still la-dee-dahing my way down this road when I pass “the spot” and my heart starts to beat out of my chest. I’ve not gone … Read more...

Bullying example. Are you setting limits on your child’s phone?

I have always advocated waiting as long as possible to get your child a smartphone. Too many parents hand them over and the kids have them 24/7. You don’t always know you have a vulnerable teen until after a suicide attempt or a completed suicide. And then it’s too late.

Kids have been murdered and raped because of apps. Bullying and other dangerous internet games have been contributing factors for suicide.

Allowing your kids, especially any kid under 18, carte blanche phone privileges is flat out dangerous. You are essentially allowing your child in the car with the flasher in … Read more...

Resources for mental illness and suicide prevention in Virginia

crisis lines

Updated: 01/04/2019. Report broken links or new phone numbers here.

If you or someone you know is experiencing an emergency, call 911.

You can download this pdf with the numbers/info you see on this page.

Please double check as these numbers may have changed.  If you see an error or want to add your crisis emergency number or nonprofit in Virginia, please do. This is concentrated in central Virginia with some statewide resources.

CMHRC– Children’s Mental Health Resource Center – 804-828-9897

This is an 8am-4pm call service to match child’s age, insurance with who has openings … Read more...

Hearing the word selfish to describe suicide is a trigger

by Jon Farrow

window

Since the news of Chester Bennington’s death I have heard and read the term selfish being thrown around to describe his death. Losing the battle to mental illness is anything but selfish. Hearing the word selfish to describe someone’s death is a trigger for many– myself included.

For two weeks after losing my Father to suicide, I locked myself away from the world. I shut my blinds and allowed the darkness to consume me. I had struggled for so long that I just wanted the pain to end. In that time period I thought about losing my … Read more...

Reflecting on the first 2 years after losing Charles to suicide

the first 2 years after my sons suicide

The first year

Shock. Numbness. Tears. I couldn’t figure out how I was going to live through this. But I made a bet with myself to move forward with my life. If I give up, who carries Charles’ legacy? Who fights for change?

It was frustrating how no one mentioned my child’s name for fear of “reminding” me. Like that’s something I could forget. Did any of us ever think that when we were on the other side? The side that was before our child died?

Probably. Maybe. Hard to remember.

It sort of made me feel like no one … Read more...

Emotionally Naked car door inspires conversation

emotionally naked car magnet

I forget this magnet is on my car.

I’ll be inside the car and someone will ask or walk out from inside a store with a curious look on their face. “What’s that mean?” It always takes me a second to realize what they’re talking about since I can’t see the sign from inside the car.

Like when someone says, “I like your earrings,” but you feel your ear because you can’t remember which ones you put on that day.

After my “what are they talking about?” pause, I notice their gaze and I remember the sign.

Then I tell … Read more...

Saddened by Chester Bennington’s Suicide

chesterNational Suicide Hotlines
Suicide hotline in the US 1-800-273-8255
Crisis text line. Text the word HELP to 741-741
Veteran’s Services 1-800-273-8255, press 1
Veteran’s Text line send HELP to 838-255

Virginia Crisis Intervention
Richmond Behavioral Health Authority 804-819-4100

It’s heartbreaking another talented musician has died by suicide. Chester Bennington was lead singer in the band Linkin Park. He had admitted to suffering from depression and addiction. What’s more, he had suffered childhood trauma as a result of being sexually abused for years.

In 2008 – Bennington revealed to a magazine that a “friend a few years older than him” … Read more...