September is celebrated as #SuicideAwareness month and #SuicidePrevention Month world over. September 10th has been designated as World Suicide Prevention Day and yet the lack of awareness about language and sensitivity related to suicides is appalling in India. The commonest word we still use "commit" which indicated suicide is a crime just like theft or murder. The appropriate and sensitive tern to use is "died by suicide" or death by suicide. Several agencies have time and again issued guidelines. Some crucial points to remember are 1. Don’t promote suicide stories by placing them in the front pages of the newspaper or as a lead item for broadcast media. 2. Don’t give details about the method or location of any suicide death or attempt. 3. Suicide notes, text messages, social media posts, and emails of the deceased person and/ or their family members should not be published. 4. Don’t speculate. Verify your facts from multiple sources when the reasons for a suicide death or attempt are not immediately clear. 5. Don’t reveal personal details about family members, the deceased person, or any person who has attempted suicide without their informed consent. 6. Don’t write of suicide deaths/attempts as horrific, unfortunate events. Open up your story by focusing on the celebrity’s life and their contribution to society. 7. Suicide is a largely preventable public health problem. There are several counselling services and helplines working across the country for this cause. Include these resources in your story/report.
In India if you or someone else is at risk of suicide or having mental distress please call 1800 599 0019
This post is part of #CauseAChatter at Blogchatter.
CONTENT WARNING: The following write up mentions suicide and self-harm.
Along with a plethora of peripheral issues that the coronavirus pandemic has spilled on the world, one is the mental health crisis. In conventional societies like India that do not have either enough mental health care systems and largely see "suicide" from a moral or religious lens, suicide prevention remains a huge grey area.
In this scenario the role of peer intervention and friends and family offering initial psychological first aid is crucial. So here are a few pointers as to how to intervene when a near one indicates "self-harm" or "suicidal" ideation.
1. Be an Active Listener
Don't offer quick fixes. Often a person in such extreme stress wants just to be heard and their pain acknowledged. A listener can mitigate a lot of such extreme situations by being attentive.
2. Trust their feelings and take them seriously
When someone confides such feelings in you, do not dismiss these as empty threats and label them as "emotional drama". Take these disclosures seriously and seek help and support to help them.
3. Don't panic, stay calm.
Someone already in distress can be further triggered if someone they confided in acts anxious or shaken. If you cannot handle these feelings seek further emergency or professional help and stay by them till that arrives.
4. Ask the person, what they need
Sometimes they would just want some company or want you to get them professional help, or want to speak to their family/friends for them. This also shows your keen interest in their wellbeing and might also offer a pause to their suicidal thoughts.
5. Find Support for yourself
Being a caregiver here is stressful so find a friend or therapist to talk about what comes up for you, so you don’t get burnt-out and your care comes from a place of self-care as well as care for the other person.
This post is a part of Blogchatter #CauseAChatter Campaign.
word/world herd/heard what could have been! You can read a factual post about SUICIDE PREVENTION here. Banner courtesy: IASP #WorldSuicidePreventionDay I am taking my blog to the next level with Blogchatter’s #MyFriendAlexa.
TRIGGER ALERT: The following
post talks about suicide, if you have had a history of self-harm or suicidal
tendencies or someone close to you has, please use discretion while reading
this or avoid it , as this could act as an unintended trigger.
Every 40 seconds, someone, somewhere in
the world, dies by suicide. Close to 800 000 people die due to suicide every
year. Suicide is a global phenomenon and occurs throughout the lifespan.There are indications that for each adult
who died by suicide there may have been more than 20 others attempting suicide.
Suicide is when people
direct violence at themselves with the intent to end their lives, and they die
because of their actions. It’s best to avoid the use of terms like
“committing suicide” or a “successful suicide” when referring to a death by
suicide as these terms often carry negative connotations.
A suicide attempt is when people harm
themselves with the intent to end their lives, but they do not die because of
their actions.
For people with severe depression, it is not uncommon
to think about suicide. Suicide often stems from a deep feeling of
hopelessness. The inability to to see solutions to problems or to cope with
challenging life circumstances may lead people to see suicide as the only
option to what is really a temporary situation. What must be re-asserted :
·Suicides are preventable.
·It is okay to talk about suicide.
·Asking about suicide does not provoke
the act of suicide. It often reduces anxiety and helps
people feel understood.
Warning signs
that someone may be seriously thinking about suicide:
·Threatening to kill one self.
·Saying things like "No-one will miss
me when I am gone."
·Looking for ways to kill oneself, such as
seeking access to pesticides, firearms or medication, or browsing the internet
for means of taking one’s own life.
·Saying goodbye to close family members and
friends, giving away of valued possessions, or writing a will.
Who is at risk of suicide?
·People who have previously attempted
self-harm, suicide.
·Someone with depression or an addiction
problem.
·Someone suffering from severe emotional
distress.
·Someone suffering from chronic pain or
illness.
·Someone who have experienced war,
violence, trauma, abuse or discrimination.
·Someone who are socially isolated or
discriminated against.
What you can do
·Find an appropriate time and a quiet place
to talk about suicide with the person you are worried about. Let them
know that you are there to listen.
·Encourage the person to seek help
from a professional, such as a doctor, mental health professional, counsellor
or social worker. Offer to accompany them to an appointment.
·If you think the person is in immediate
danger, do not leave him or her alone. Seek professional help from the emergency
services, a crisis line, or a health-care professional, or turn to family
members.
·If the person you are worried about lives
with you, ensure that he or she does not have access to means of self-harm (for
example pesticides, firearms or medication) in the home.
·Stay in touch to check how the person is
doing.
Knowing how to get help for a friend posting suicidal
messages on social media can save a life. Many social media sites have a
process to report suicidal content and get help for the person posting the
message. In addition, many of the social media sites use their analytic
capabilities to identify and help report suicidal posts. Each offers different
options on how to respond if you see concerning posts about suicide.
DISCLAIMER: All the information
being provided her has been sourced from the internet and books and some also
via personal experiences. It has no medical authentication per se so
suggestions if followed must be done in consultation with a trained mental
health professional.
TRIGGER ALERT: The following
post talks about ways of self-harm, if you have had a history of self-harm or
suicidal tendencies or someone close to you has, please use discretion while
reading this or avoid it , as this could act as an unintended trigger.
Nonsuicidal self-injury, often simply called self-injury, is the act of deliberately harming your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself. It's typically not meant as a suicide attempt. Rather, this type of self-injury is a harmful way to cope with emotional pain, intense anger and frustration.
It may bring a momentary sense of calm and a release of tension, it's usually followed by guilt and shame and the return of painful emotions. Although life-threatening injuries are usually not intended, with self-injury comes the possibility of more-serious and even fatal self-aggressive actions.
Signs and symptoms of self-injury may include:
Scars, often in patterns
Fresh cuts, scratches, bruises, bite marks or other wounds
Excessive rubbing of an area to create a burn
Keeping sharp objects on hand
Wearing long sleeves or long pants, even in hot weather
Frequent reports of accidental injury
Difficulties in interpersonal relationships
Behavioral and emotional instability, impulsivity and unpredictability
Statements of helplessness, hopelessness or worthlessness
Self-injury usually occurs in private and is done in a controlled or ritualistic manner that often leaves a pattern on the skin. Examples of self-harm include:
· Cutting (cuts or severe scratches with a sharp object)
· Scratching
· Burning (with lit matches, cigarettes or heated, sharp objects such as knives)
· Carving words or symbols on the skin
· Self-hitting, punching or head banging
· Piercing the skin with sharp objects
· Inserting objects under the skin
Most people who self-injure are teenagers and young adults, although those in other age groups also self-injure. Self-injury often starts in the preteen or early teen years, when emotions are more volatile and teens face increasing peer pressure, loneliness, and conflicts with parents or other authority figures.
Self-injury also may be a reflection of a person's self-hatred. Some self-injurers are punishing themselves for having strong feelings that they were usually not allowed to express as children. They also may be punishing themselves for somehow being bad and undeserving. These feelings are an outgrowth of abuse and a belief that the abuse was deserved.
Although self-inflicted injury may result in life-threatening damage, it is not considered to be suicidal behavior.
If an individual shows signs of self-injury, a mental health professional with self-injury expertise should be consulted. That person will be able to make an evaluation and recommend a course of treatment. Self-injury can be a symptom of psychiatric illness.
Effective treatment of self-injury is most often a combination of medication, cognitive/behavioral therapy, and interpersonal therapy.
DISCLAIMER: All the information being provided her has been sourced
from the internet and books and some also via personal experiences. It has no
medical authentication per se so suggestions if followed must be done in
consultation with a trained mental health professional.
He has recently gone through a major life
event that was stressful and it has changed his behavior completely,
Depression?
According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), depression is the most common illness worldwide and the leading cause of
disability. They estimate that 350 million people are affected by depression,
globally.
According to the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), 7.6 per cent of people over the age of 12 have depression in
any 2-week period. This is substantial and shows the scale of the issue.
Depression is a mood disorder
characterized by persistently low mood and a feeling of sadness and loss of
interest. It is a persistent problem, not a passing one, lasting on average 6
to 8 months.
Not only is depression prevalent, but it also creates
the heaviest burden of disability among mental and behavior disorders.
Risk factors
include:
·Personal or family history of depression
·Major life changes, trauma, or stress
·Certain physical illnesses and medications
Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and
can include:
·depressed mood
·reduced interest or pleasure in activities
previously enjoyed, loss of sexual desire
·unintentional weight loss (without
dieting) or low appetite
·insomnia (difficulty sleeping) or hypersomnia
(excessive sleeping)
·psychomotor agitation, for example,
restlessness, pacing up and down
·delayed psychomotor skills, for example,
slowed movement and speech
·fatigue or loss of energy
·feelings of worthlessness or guilt
·impaired ability to think, concentrate, or
make decisions
·recurrent thoughts of death or suicide, or
attempt at suicide
Symptoms must last at least two weeks for a diagnosis
of depression. Not everyone who is depressed experiences every symptom. Some
people experience only a few symptoms while others may experience many.Other medical conditions like thyroid problems, a
chronic illness or vitamin deficiency can also mimic symptoms of depression so
it is important to rule out general medical causes.
The Hamilton depression rating scale is one of
the most widely used assessment instruments in the world for clinicians rating
depression. The Hamilton scale, has 21 questions, with resulting scores
describing the severity of the condition.
Depression is among the most treatable of mental
disorders. Between 80 per cent and 90 per cent of people with depression
eventually respond well to treatment. Almost all patients gain some relief from
their symptoms.
Some self-help tips for depression survival
are:
·Be active and try to exercise.
·Set realistic goals for yourself.
·Try to spend time with other people and
confide in a trusted friend or relative.
·Try not to isolate yourself, and let
others help you.
·Expect your mood to improve gradually, not
immediately.
·Postpone important decisions, such as
getting married or divorced, or changing jobs until you feel better.
·Continue to educate yourself about
depression.
Depression affects nearly one in six people at some
point in their lives, so folk remedies and half-truths about this common
illness abound.Our culture admires will power and mental
toughness and is quick to label anyone who falls back as a whiner. But people
who have clinical depression are not lazy or simply feeling sorry for
themselves. Nor can they "will" depression to go away.
DISCLAIMER: All the information being provided her has been sourced
from the internet and books and some also via personal experiences. It has no
medical authentication per se so suggestions if followed must be done in
consultation with a trained mental health professional.
Whenever she thought
about air travel it gave her nightmares, jitters, any news of plane crashes or
accidents and she would lose sleep, she would get extremely anxious even when a
loved one took a flight. Would Cognitive Behavioral Therapy help her?
Cognitive behavioral therapy was invented by a
psychiatrist, Aaron Beck, in the 1960s. Beck realized that the link between
thoughts and feelings was very important. He invented the term automatic
thoughts to describe emotion-filled thoughts that might pop up in the mind.
Beck found that people weren’t always fully aware of such thoughts, but could
learn to identify and report them.
Cognitive
behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psycho-social intervention that aims to
improve mental health. CBT focuses on challenging and changing unhelpful
cognitive distortions and behaviors, improving emotional regulation, and the
development of personal coping strategies that target solving current problems.
It is a common
type of talk therapy (psychotherapy). One has to work with a mental health
counselor in a structured way, attending a limited number of sessions. CBT helps
one become aware of inaccurate or negative thinking so you can view challenging
situations more clearly and respond to them in a more effective way.
CBT often
includes:
·Learning
about your mental health condition
·Learning
and practicing techniques such as relaxation, coping, resilience, stress
management and assertiveness
CBT can be
an effective tool ― either alone or in combination with other therapies ― in
treating mental health disorders, such as depression, post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD) or an eating disorder.
CBT is
appropriate for people of all ages, including children, adolescents, and
adults. Research also indicates that CBT can be delivered effectively online,
in addition to face-to-face therapy sessions.
It is
based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and
actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap
you in a vicious cycle.
CBT is a
useful tool to address emotional challenges. It can help to:
·Manage
symptoms of mental illness
·Prevent
a relapse of mental illness symptoms
·Treat
a mental illness when medications aren't a good option
·Learn
techniques for coping with stressful life situations
·Identify
ways to manage emotions
·Resolve
relationship conflicts and learn better ways to communicate
·Cope
with grief or loss
·Overcome
emotional trauma related to abuse or violence
"She is constantly worried about herself, her child, the world, the weather something or the other. She is restless always and never at ease, off late she fidgets a lot with her hair or clothes or keys. Anxiety?"
According to the World Health Organization
(WHO), 1 in 13 globally suffers from anxiety. The WHO reports that anxiety
disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide.
Anxiety can be normal and often healthy emotion and in
certain stressful situations like a major life event, public speaking or taking
an exam. But as a mental ailment it consists of extreme feelings that might
interfere with daily living and this consistent experiencing of disproportionate
levels of anxiety is termed as a medical disorder.Anxiety disorders
form a category of mental health diagnoses that lead to excessive nervousness,
fear, apprehension, and worry.
Anxiety disorders are the most common and
pervasive mental disorders.
The term "anxiety disorder" pertains to
specific psychiatric disorders that involve one or several of these types:-
·Extreme fear or worry
·Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
·Panic disorder and panic attacks
·Social anxiety disorder
·Phobias
Some common symptoms include:
·Intense, excessive and persistent worry
·Fear about everyday situations
·Fast heart rate
·Rapid breathing
·Sweating
·Fatigue
At initial stages when anxiety begins to grow one can
do some self-treatment like physical activity or exercise, a balanced healthy
diet, regular sleep and relaxation exercises that may reduce anxious behavior.
Joining a support group may also help.
But one must seek expert medical help if this
behavior is affecting one’s ability to build and/or maintain relationships, is
leading to alcohol or other substance abuse, one is constantly feeling sad and
slowed down.
Emergency help must be sought in cases of suicidal
thoughts and your daily activities are being impaired by it.
A new kind of anxiety disorder has lately been
identified as Social media anxiety disorder. According to the experts, almost
20% of people with social media accounts cannot stay away without checking them
for more than three hours. Just being away from their Facebook or Twitter
account for a few minutes can cause severe anxiety.
Other common symptoms are:
·Overwhelming need to share things with
others via social media
·Interrupting real life conversations to
check social media accounts
·Lying to others about how much time they
spend on social media
·Withdrawal from friends and family
·Trying to stop or reduce your use of
social media more than once before without being successful
·Loss of interest in other activities
·Neglecting work and life to be on Facebook
or Twitter
·Experiencing withdrawal symptoms access to
social media is withdrawn
·Spending over six hours per day on social
networking
Anxiety is one of the most common forms of mental health
challenges. It can affect your overall health and quality of living. Research
suggests that those suffering from an anxiety disorder run a higher risk of
experiencing physical health problems like hypertension too.
DISCLAIMER: All the information
being provided her has been sourced from the internet and books and some also
via personal experiences. It has no medical authentication per se so suggestions
if followed must be done in consultation with a trained mental health
professional.
