Raising Awareness On Suicide

It's suicide prevention week. The American foundation for suicide prevention says someone attempts to kill themselves every minute. Someone dies by suicide every thirteen-point seven minutes every day. In the United States, suicide claims more lives each year than war, murder and natural disasters combined. But American foundation for suicide prevention chief medical officer Christine Moutier says we can prevent suicides from happening by raising awareness about mental health issues. “Suicide is the end fatal result. When multiple factors come together, and certainly mental health has a lot to do with suicide riskâ, but there are other factors as well at play. And so the important thing to know is that mental health is an aspect of health just like every part of our physical health. And so we need to fight the stigma that has been shrouding this issue and leading to problems and people not being- feel free to seek help when it's appropriate. So as community members, we can help to make that happen when we recognize those signs either in ourselves or in others,” explains Christine Moutier, M.D., American foundation for suicide prevention. More information about mental health resources across the U.S., visit afsp.org.