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Social workers regularly come into contact with those who are at risk of or exposed to suicide, through direct practice, as well as in family, group, and community roles. However, social work authors have been notably missing in the scholarly literature on suicide .

The post Social work and suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention appeared first on OUPblog.

Each year over one million people worldwide die by suicide. In the United States, approximately 42,000 people die by suicide each year, with a suicide occurring every 12.3 minutes. It is the 10th leading cause of death overall, and the 2nd leading cause of death for youth under the age of 24. For World Suicide Prevention Day, we’d like to tell you why this matters to us and why it should matter to you.

The post The impact of suicide: World Suicide Prevention Day and why suicide awareness matters appeared first on OUPblog.

Every year in the United States, over 40,000 individuals take their own lives, making suicide the tenth most common cause of death in the country. September, National Suicide Prevention Month, seeks to raise awareness of this problem and—most importantly—help those who might be affected.

The post Addressing the elephant in the room: Suicide awareness and prevention [infographic] appeared first on OUPblog.

In June 2015, the results of a new study by the Department of Veterans Affairs were released. The study examined more than 170,000 suicides of adult men and women in 23 states between 2000 and 2010, and concluded that female military veterans kill themselves at a rate that is nearly six times higher than their civilian counterparts.

The post Step 5 to end military suicides: Enforce zero tolerance appeared first on OUPblog.

In 1789, President George Washington said, “The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.” Judging by this standard, we are failing.

The post Step 4 to end military suicides: Expedite treatment appeared first on OUPblog.

The stigma of mental illness poses a major barrier when it comes to individuals seeking help. As a society, we are much more comfortable admitting physical problems than psychological ones. Nowhere is this more true than in the military, where troops are trained to be tough and not acknowledge any weaknesses.

The post Step 3 to end military suicides: Reduce stigma appeared first on OUPblog.

According to a new study of nearly 4 million men and women who served in the military between 2001 and 2007, deploying to a war zone doesn’t increase a service member’s risk of suicide. The study was conducted by the military’s National Center for Telehealth and Technology, and its findings would seem to serve the military’s purpose. After all, if no causal connection is found between deployment and suicide, recruitment efforts aren’t affected.

The post Step 2 to end military suicides: Beyond combat exposure appeared first on OUPblog.

Fifteen years ago, the suicide rate among patients in a large behavioral care system in Detroit was seven times the national average. Then leaders there decided to tackle the problem. The first question asked was what should be the goal—to cut the rate in half, reduce it to the national level, or more? One employee said even a single suicide was unacceptable if it was your loved one, and that helped set the target: zero.

The post Step 1 to end military suicide appeared first on OUPblog.

Please talk to someone. Call a crisis line. Call someone who loves you. Get support. And consider this:

Please Do Not To Kill Yourself:

• Because you deserve to live, and to find happiness and joy and love and laughter. It may not seem like you can find those things right now, but they will come. You have had them once, and they will come again;

Please reach out to someone if you’re feeling suicidal. Don’t stay silent. Choose life and hope.

Crisis Lines:

US and Canada: National Suicide Prevention LifeLine
24 Hour Crisis Hotline 1 (800) 273-TALK
1 (800) 273-8255

International: Befrienders

Please also read this:

Reasons Not To Kill Yourself

and this:

If You Are Thinking About Suicide, Please Read This First

In last week's Essentials, we reported on the new suicide prevention website ReachOut.com, which launched in addition to the We Can Help Us campaign, a partnership with the Ad Council and SAMSHA (creative by DDB). Check out more recent coverage... Read the rest of this post