#NationalActionAllianceforSuicidePrevention

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#JamesDonaldson On #MentalHealth – Behind #Hollywood’s Rise In #Suicides – And What To Do About It

“#Suicides among famous people are up because #suicides among everyone in #America is up. It’s a national disaster,” says #KurtCobain biographer Charles R. Cross Sharon Knolle Celebrities, from left, #Stephen"tWitch"Boss, #NaomiJudd and #AngusCloud are among the celebrities who struggled with #mentalhealth The tragic deaths of “Euphoria” actor #AngusCloud and Irish singer #SinéadOConnor are only the latest stark reminders of Hollywood’s prevalent #mentalhealth and #suicidecrisis. Although, as of this writing, neither has been officially determined to have died by #suicide, both had been open about their struggles with #mentalhealth. After every high-profile #suicide, such as “Breaking Bad” actor Mike Batayeh, country singer #NaomiJudd and “So You Can Think You Can Dance” judge #Stephen“tWitch”Boss, the question is debated whether the industry, as a whole, has done enough to support people who may be in crisis. “Euphoria” actor #AngusCloud was open about his #mentalstruggle, family said A number of #mentalhealthexperts told TheWrap that although #suicides among the general population rose during the #pandemic, people who work in entertainment can be particularly vulnerable. “Entertainment is already an occupational group that’s at increased risk,” said Colleen Carr, director of the #NationalActionAllianceforSuicidePrevention, citing a study conducted by the #CDC in 2016 that demonstrated people who work in entertainment, #sports and media had #suiciderates significantly higher than those of the general population. “#Suicides among famous people are up because #suicides among everyone in #America is up. It’s a national disaster. And we only pay attention to it, it seems, when a famous person dies,” said Charles R. Cross, author of the #KurtCobain biography “Heavier Than Heaven.” Nirvana front man #KurtCobain plays his last U.S. concert at the Seattle Arena on January 7, 1994 in Seattle, Washington Cross cited the lack of access to #mentalhealth care even for those who are insured as well as the often unmanageable costs of treatment and taking time off from work. “If this were a disease you caught, there would be benefits every weekend, with everyone in #Hollywood doing things to raise awareness,” he told TheWrap. The conversation about #suicideprevention in #Hollywood is ongoing, but it’s not always easy to tell who is having a #mentalhealthcrisis, let alone get them help in time. Judd, who died by #suicide in April, talked publicly about her struggles with #depression. Judd’s daughters, Ashley and Wynonna, said in a statement at the time, “We lost our beautiful mother to the disease of #mentalillness.” #NaomiJudd Fans were shocked by the seemingly out-of-nowhere December death of tWitch, who was always upbeat and smiling on the Fox competition series. Speaking six months after his death, his widow, dancer Allison Holker told “The Today Show,” “No one that saw this coming. No one…” She’s now committed to bringing awareness to #mentalhealth and helping people who are struggling to get the support they need. Support on set “There are not a lot of industries that have done a terrific job getting ahead of this current #mentalhealthcrisis,” said Ashley N. Kolaya, lead impact and engagement officer at USC Annenberg’s Mental Health Storytelling Initiative. “The entertainment industry is especially demanding in terms of time you spend working away from family. You can be in situations where you’re confronted with #trauma and if you’re playing a character who experiences a tremendous #stress or traumatic experience, or if you’re editing a scene where that’s the case, these can fall under that risk factor category,” Kolaya continued. She added that unions usually have some form of #mentalhealthcoverage, “but if I’m doing a scene that’s got me really triggered or upset, there’s not a clear, universal path for what to do in that situation.” Kolaya cited the work done by one of the initiative’s coalition members, Amazon Studios, where “Underground Railroad” showrunner Barry Jenkins “made it a point” to have #mentalhealthprofessionals on site since the series dealt in such heavy topics as slavery and abuse. “That’s the kind of example we would love to have everybody following. One of the things that coalition will be thinking about is how can we get the industry to adopt some best practices,” said Kolaya.  “Yellowjackets” star Jasmin Savoy Brown, who had to take time to “decompress” after filming the very dark second season of the Showtime hit that involves murder and cannibalism, said the mostly #female cast relied on their intimacy coordinator for emotional support. “Last season was there for a couple of sex scenes. And then people started requesting her for other stuff — anytime there’s anything that might cause an emotional or psychological response. She emailed us and asked if we wanted her around, and towards the last couple episodes, she was there every day,” Brown told TheWrap in March. The intimacy coordinators TheWrap spoke to for our June story about how their on-set roles have expanded, stressed the importance of also having a mental health expert, and not just an IC, available for actors and crew. Kathy Kadler, who was an IC on Netflix’s “The Night Agent,” told TheWrap in May, “In my personal opinion, one of the reasons why we have such high levels of #suicide and #druguse in the industry is because we ask these performers to delve deep, to go vulnerable, to feel these big feelings. And then we finish that scene, we put them through wardrobe, hair and makeup and we pack them up in a car and we send them home.” Kadler explained that ICs, along with professional #counselors, can help actors “debrief or de-role, which is a way of shedding the character.” She added, “So they’re not taking those leftover emotions z emotional bleed off is huge — back home, and then self medicating, however they choose.” #James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleFind out more about the work I do on my 501c3 non-profit foundationwebsite www.yourgiftoflife.org Order your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com The media’s role “I think entertainment plays a big part in portraying potential solutions, and contribute to the problem,” said Kolaya. “In a worst-case scenario universe, stories that are being told and consumed are actually causing more harm. And we know #suicidecontagion is a real thing. We want to make sure that content creators have a resource that they can turn to with experts in telling those kinds of stories that are informed and with the right knowledge and skill sets. Netflix’s 2017 series “13 Reasons Why,” where the #suicide of one character sets the entire series in motion, was linked to a steep rise in online suicide searches and #suicidalbehavior, said Carr of research conducted by the #NationalInstituteofHealth. “That really underscored the importance of responsible portrayal of #suicide and that helped to inform prevention efforts and outreach efforts,” she explained. “It’s really important when we think about #mentalhealth and #suicideprevention, to recognize the key role that entertainment and news media played in changing the conversation about #suicide from one of #hopelessness and despair to one of hope and help-seeking and recovery,” said Carr. “We know that the overwhelming majority of people who struggle with thoughts of #suicide do not die by #suicide, but instead access the resources, gain the skills needed to live full lives,” she continued. “The power of the work that the entertainment sector does every day can reach millions with stories that can help them on the road to recovery.” The #NationalSuicidePreventionLifeline #988 is a free, 24/7 confidential service that can provide people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, or those around them, with support, information and local resources. Read the full article

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#988 #America #AngusCloud #Anxiety #CDC #CelebratingYourGiftofLife #Counselor #Depression #DrugUse #Hollywood #Hopelessness #JamesDonaldson #JamesDonaldsonMentalHealth #JamesDonaldsonNotes #JamesDonaldsononMentalHealth #KurtCobain #Mental #MentalHealth #MentalChallenges #MentalHealthAwarenessandSuicidePrevention #MentalHealthCrisis #MentalHealthExperts #MentalHealthProfessional #MentalHealthProfessionals #MentalHealthStigma #MentalIllness #MentalIssues #NaomiJudd #NationalActionAllianceforSuicidePrevention

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#JamesDonaldson On #MentalHealth - Despite #Pandemic-Era Drop, #Suicide Threat Remains

The U.S. #suicide rate declined in 2020, but unequal shifts and the long-term impacts of the #COVID-19 #pandemic highlight how prevention is still key. By Steven Ross Johnson The nation’s overall #suicide rate fell by 3% from 2019 to 2020, even as research has highlighted the #pandemic’s #mentalhealth toll on #Americans.  The decline in the nation’s #suicide rate during the first year of the #COVID-19 #pandemic may suggest advancements in preventative programs and treatment supports have resulted in better outcomes. But stakeholders contend a closer examination of the figures shows a more complicated picture – one that raises questions about the long-term effects of the #pandemic, as well as why the decline did not occur evenly. The nation’s overall #suicide rate fell by 3% from 2019 to 2020, even as a number of studies have highlighted the #pandemic’s #mentalhealth toll on #Americans. One analysis found nearly 41% of more than 5,400 #adults surveyed in June 2020 reported having at least one adverse mental or #behavioral health condition, with nearly 11% stating they had seriously considered #suicide within the past 30 days – roughly twice the estimated share of #adults in 2018 who’d considered #suicide within the past year. Nearly 31% of those surveyed reported having symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, 26% reported having symptoms of trauma- and stressor-related disorder tied to the #pandemic, and 13% reported starting or increasing substance use as a means of coping with #stress or emotions related to the #pandemic. The results of a follow-up survey conducted in September 2020 found 33% of respondents reported having #anxiety or #depression symptoms, while nearly 12% reported having serious thoughts of #suicide in the previous month. “We did see a lot of the things that we would consider as risk factors for #suicide – job loss, financial instability, interpersonal violence – things like that,” says Colleen Carr, director of the #NationalActionAllianceforSuicidePrevention. Yet the #suicide figures for 2020 from the #CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention seem to refute concerns expressed by many early in the #pandemic who felt the crisis and its related stressors – including economic fallout and #socialisolation tied to safety measures employed to stem the #coronavirus’ spread – might drive an increase. Carr says more awareness among people of their #mentalhealth needs, along with greater access to #behavioralhealthcareservices through telehealth platforms, likely played a large role in the decline. She says people also may have experienced “a coming together moment” in the face of the #pandemic, providing them with a sense of shared purpose to do their part to help themselves, loved ones and others during the emergency. Previous research suggests #suicide metrics can remain stable or even decrease in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. A study published in 2006 in the Bulletin of the #WorldHealthOrganization compared the prevalence of suicidality among New Orleans residents before and less than a year after Hurricane Katrina and found rates of suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts were similar during both periods, even as the estimated prevalence of #mentalillness was higher after the hurricane. Researchers also called the “lower conditional likelihood of suicidality among people believed to have #mentalillness” after the hurricane their “most striking finding,” and suggested that areas of personal growth triggered by the hurricane may have had a protective, if potentially temporary, effect. Later on, however, a study published in 2008 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry found increases in the prevalence of both suicidal thoughts and plans – though not attempts – more than one year after the hurricane compared with when they were interviewed less than a year after it occurred. While Carr acknowledges the nature of the #COVID-19 #pandemic is different than other disasters, she says evidence within prior studies does suggest the effects of the #pandemic on the nation’s #suicide rate may be seen in the coming years after the current emergency has passed. Notably, a #CDC analysis published last year found that after an initial drop, the average number of weekly emergency department visits for suspected #suicideattempts among #adolescent #girls was 26% higher in the summer of 2020 and nearly 51% higher in early 2021 compared with reference periods in 2019. “There was and still is a real concern about what impact the #pandemic will have on #suicide,” Carr says, particularly as people may still be contending with the lingering effects of economic uncertainty and social unrest. Rajeev Ramchand, a senior #behavioral scientist at the Rand Corp. and co-director of the RAND Epstein Family #Veterans Policy Research Institute, says another reason why the decline in the #suicide rate may not be as clear-cut as the data would suggest is if some deaths linked to another cause were actually self-inflicted. In particular, Ramchand says he questions whether a larger portion of the more than 91,000 drug overdose deaths that occurred in 2020 – representing a more than 30% rate increase from 2019 – might have been a result of #suicide. According to a #CDC report on 2020 overdose deaths released in December, 91% were classified as unintentional, 4.7% as suicides, less than 1% as homicides and 4.1% as “of undetermined intent”. “Given the dramatic increase in overdose deaths coupled with the fact that medical examiners and coroner offices were so overwhelmed because of #COVID, could there just have been some misclassification of #suicide deaths as unintentional?” Ramchand says. “The rate increase was so dramatic that I think we have to be asking that question.” #JamesDonaldson notes: Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes. Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use. Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle Order your copy of James Donaldson's latest book, Celebrating Your Gift of Life: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy   An Uneven Decline A closer look at the data also reveals a decline in #suicide in 2020 that was heavily concentrated among whites. The rate of such deaths fell by 4.5% among white individuals in 2020 from 2019, with the group accounting for more than 75% of the nearly 46,000 #suicide deaths in 2020. That marked the only statistically significant change in rate among broader #racial and #ethnic groups included in the #CDC’s analysis, though drilling down further reveals additional disparities: While the year-over-year rate dropped by nearly 10% among white #females and by 3% among white #males, it rose by close to 6% among #Hispanic #males and by 29% among #multiracial #females. The rate also rose by 4.6% among people 25 to 34 years old, while just seven states saw significant year-over-year declines. Separately, a December 2020 study published in #JAMA Psychiatry that examined #racial differences in #suicide mortality in Maryland found from March 5 to May 7 of 2020 – when the state came under lockdown orders – #suicide mortality among #Black individuals appeared to double versus a comparative pre-#pandemic timeframe, while mortality among white residents appeared to fall substantially. A study of #suicide data in Connecticut yielded a similar finding. Aside from the disproportionate impact of #COVID-19 itself on #peopleofcolor when it comes to outcomes such as hospitalizations and deaths, evidence points to the #pandemic having a heavy impact on many members of these communities in other areas as well, including job loss and housing instability. Jill Harkavy-Friedman, vice president of research for the #AmericanFoundationforSuicidePrevention, says the #pandemic has been a stressor for people who were already vulnerable to #suicide. She says #suicide is normally associated with a range of risk factors – like a #mentalhealthdisorder, a chronic disease or a disability – coupled with having fewer protective factors, such as access to #healthcare services. “We know that has been disproportionately low for minority populations,” Harkavy-Friedman says of access to #mentalhealthcare. “So, if you have increased risk and then you have lack of access to care, that’s a way in which it could affect #suicide rates.” Dr. Christine Crawford, associate medical director for the #NationalAllianceonMentalIllness, says higher rates of #mentalhealthcare utilization among white #patients may lead many clinicians to conclude patients of color are at lower risk for #suicide, in turn causing them to ask those #patients less frequently about whether they have thoughts about taking their own life. “I wonder if there was just a different attitude with regards to safety assessment when it came to #Black people, that it was a missed opportunity for a number of especially young #Black people to really be able to speak openly about thoughts that they might have had about harming themselves and not wanting to be alive,” Crawford says. Harkavy-Friedman says such disparities highlight a vital need to develop more culturally relevant approaches to #suicideprevention that are more effective in reaching underrepresented populations. “I think there are a lot of opportunities for intervention, but we’re just not there yet, we’re not doing it,” Harkavy-Friedman says. “We have to do better, we have to try more.” Harkavy-Friedman says the AFSP has been working with different ethnic organizations to develop strategies and craft ways to have conversations within communities where the topic of #suicide and #suicideprevention are not usually discussed. “When you have those conversations, it helps raise awareness and provides education that helps bring down the community rate for #suicide,” Harkavy-Friedman says. “It’s really about engagement, it’s about inclusion, it’s about listening and empowering people to develop efforts in their own communities.” Laura Leone, a consultant on practice improvement and consulting for the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, says the most successful #suicideprevention programs are ones that diversify their approaches and make community outreach a part of their efforts. “This is not a one-size-fits-all approach,” Leone says. “We need varying approaches and to not just assume a few different things is going to work for everyone.” Crawford says a potential positive that has come out of the #pandemic has been the increased willingness among people of all #racial and #ethnic groups to talk about their #mentalhealth and well-being. She hopes such openness can lead to new opportunities for expanding #mentalhealthcare supports and services within underserved communities. “I think more people are able to better appreciate just how significantly impairing #depression and #anxiety and other #mentalhealth symptoms really are,” Crawford says. “My hope for the future is that not only can we normalize conversations around #mentalhealth and emotional wellness, but we can also normalize conversations around #mentalhealth treatment.” —-------------------------------- Need Help? If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the #NationalSuicidePreventionLifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Read the full article

[tallmantall]

#JamesDonaldson On #MentalHealth - Despite #Pandemic-Era Drop, #Suicide Threat Remains

The U.S. #suicide rate declined in 2020, but unequal shifts and the long-term impacts of the #COVID-19 #pandemic highlight how prevention is still key. By Steven Ross Johnson The nation’s overall #suicide rate fell by 3% from 2019 to 2020, even as research has highlighted the #pandemic’s #mentalhealth toll on #Americans.  The decline in the nation’s #suicide rate during the first year of the #COVID-19 #pandemic may suggest advancements in preventative programs and treatment supports have resulted in better outcomes. But stakeholders contend a closer examination of the figures shows a more complicated picture – one that raises questions about the long-term effects of the #pandemic, as well as why the decline did not occur evenly. The nation’s overall #suicide rate fell by 3% from 2019 to 2020, even as a number of studies have highlighted the #pandemic’s #mentalhealth toll on #Americans. One analysis found nearly 41% of more than 5,400 #adults surveyed in June 2020 reported having at least one adverse mental or #behavioral health condition, with nearly 11% stating they had seriously considered #suicide within the past 30 days – roughly twice the estimated share of #adults in 2018 who’d considered #suicide within the past year. Nearly 31% of those surveyed reported having symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, 26% reported having symptoms of trauma- and stressor-related disorder tied to the #pandemic, and 13% reported starting or increasing substance use as a means of coping with #stress or emotions related to the #pandemic. The results of a follow-up survey conducted in September 2020 found 33% of respondents reported having #anxiety or #depression symptoms, while nearly 12% reported having serious thoughts of #suicide in the previous month. “We did see a lot of the things that we would consider as risk factors for #suicide – job loss, financial instability, interpersonal violence – things like that,” says Colleen Carr, director of the #NationalActionAllianceforSuicidePrevention. Yet the #suicide figures for 2020 from the #CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention seem to refute concerns expressed by many early in the #pandemic who felt the crisis and its related stressors – including economic fallout and #socialisolation tied to safety measures employed to stem the #coronavirus’ spread – might drive an increase. Carr says more awareness among people of their #mentalhealth needs, along with greater access to #behavioralhealthcareservices through telehealth platforms, likely played a large role in the decline. She says people also may have experienced “a coming together moment” in the face of the #pandemic, providing them with a sense of shared purpose to do their part to help themselves, loved ones and others during the emergency. Previous research suggests #suicide metrics can remain stable or even decrease in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. A study published in 2006 in the Bulletin of the #WorldHealthOrganization compared the prevalence of suicidality among New Orleans residents before and less than a year after Hurricane Katrina and found rates of suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts were similar during both periods, even as the estimated prevalence of #mentalillness was higher after the hurricane. Researchers also called the “lower conditional likelihood of suicidality among people believed to have #mentalillness” after the hurricane their “most striking finding,” and suggested that areas of personal growth triggered by the hurricane may have had a protective, if potentially temporary, effect. Later on, however, a study published in 2008 in the journal Molecular Psychiatry found increases in the prevalence of both suicidal thoughts and plans – though not attempts – more than one year after the hurricane compared with when they were interviewed less than a year after it occurred. While Carr acknowledges the nature of the #COVID-19 #pandemic is different than other disasters, she says evidence within prior studies does suggest the effects of the #pandemic on the nation’s #suicide rate may be seen in the coming years after the current emergency has passed. Notably, a #CDC analysis published last year found that after an initial drop, the average number of weekly emergency department visits for suspected #suicideattempts among #adolescent #girls was 26% higher in the summer of 2020 and nearly 51% higher in early 2021 compared with reference periods in 2019. “There was and still is a real concern about what impact the #pandemic will have on #suicide,” Carr says, particularly as people may still be contending with the lingering effects of economic uncertainty and social unrest. Rajeev Ramchand, a senior #behavioral scientist at the Rand Corp. and co-director of the RAND Epstein Family #Veterans Policy Research Institute, says another reason why the decline in the #suicide rate may not be as clear-cut as the data would suggest is if some deaths linked to another cause were actually self-inflicted. In particular, Ramchand says he questions whether a larger portion of the more than 91,000 drug overdose deaths that occurred in 2020 – representing a more than 30% rate increase from 2019 – might have been a result of #suicide. According to a #CDC report on 2020 overdose deaths released in December, 91% were classified as unintentional, 4.7% as suicides, less than 1% as homicides and 4.1% as “of undetermined intent”. “Given the dramatic increase in overdose deaths coupled with the fact that medical examiners and coroner offices were so overwhelmed because of #COVID, could there just have been some misclassification of #suicide deaths as unintentional?” Ramchand says. “The rate increase was so dramatic that I think we have to be asking that question.” #JamesDonaldson notes: Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes. Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use. Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle Order your copy of James Donaldson's latest book, Celebrating Your Gift of Life: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy   An Uneven Decline A closer look at the data also reveals a decline in #suicide in 2020 that was heavily concentrated among whites. The rate of such deaths fell by 4.5% among white individuals in 2020 from 2019, with the group accounting for more than 75% of the nearly 46,000 #suicide deaths in 2020. That marked the only statistically significant change in rate among broader #racial and #ethnic groups included in the #CDC’s analysis, though drilling down further reveals additional disparities: While the year-over-year rate dropped by nearly 10% among white #females and by 3% among white #males, it rose by close to 6% among #Hispanic #males and by 29% among #multiracial #females. The rate also rose by 4.6% among people 25 to 34 years old, while just seven states saw significant year-over-year declines. Separately, a December 2020 study published in #JAMA Psychiatry that examined #racial differences in #suicide mortality in Maryland found from March 5 to May 7 of 2020 – when the state came under lockdown orders – #suicide mortality among #Black individuals appeared to double versus a comparative pre-#pandemic timeframe, while mortality among white residents appeared to fall substantially. A study of #suicide data in Connecticut yielded a similar finding. Aside from the disproportionate impact of #COVID-19 itself on #peopleofcolor when it comes to outcomes such as hospitalizations and deaths, evidence points to the #pandemic having a heavy impact on many members of these communities in other areas as well, including job loss and housing instability. Jill Harkavy-Friedman, vice president of research for the #AmericanFoundationforSuicidePrevention, says the #pandemic has been a stressor for people who were already vulnerable to #suicide. She says #suicide is normally associated with a range of risk factors – like a #mentalhealthdisorder, a chronic disease or a disability – coupled with having fewer protective factors, such as access to #healthcare services. “We know that has been disproportionately low for minority populations,” Harkavy-Friedman says of access to #mentalhealthcare. “So, if you have increased risk and then you have lack of access to care, that’s a way in which it could affect #suicide rates.” Dr. Christine Crawford, associate medical director for the #NationalAllianceonMentalIllness, says higher rates of #mentalhealthcare utilization among white #patients may lead many clinicians to conclude patients of color are at lower risk for #suicide, in turn causing them to ask those #patients less frequently about whether they have thoughts about taking their own life. “I wonder if there was just a different attitude with regards to safety assessment when it came to #Black people, that it was a missed opportunity for a number of especially young #Black people to really be able to speak openly about thoughts that they might have had about harming themselves and not wanting to be alive,” Crawford says. Harkavy-Friedman says such disparities highlight a vital need to develop more culturally relevant approaches to #suicideprevention that are more effective in reaching underrepresented populations. “I think there are a lot of opportunities for intervention, but we’re just not there yet, we’re not doing it,” Harkavy-Friedman says. “We have to do better, we have to try more.” Harkavy-Friedman says the AFSP has been working with different ethnic organizations to develop strategies and craft ways to have conversations within communities where the topic of #suicide and #suicideprevention are not usually discussed. “When you have those conversations, it helps raise awareness and provides education that helps bring down the community rate for #suicide,” Harkavy-Friedman says. “It’s really about engagement, it’s about inclusion, it’s about listening and empowering people to develop efforts in their own communities.” Laura Leone, a consultant on practice improvement and consulting for the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, says the most successful #suicideprevention programs are ones that diversify their approaches and make community outreach a part of their efforts. “This is not a one-size-fits-all approach,” Leone says. “We need varying approaches and to not just assume a few different things is going to work for everyone.” Crawford says a potential positive that has come out of the #pandemic has been the increased willingness among people of all #racial and #ethnic groups to talk about their #mentalhealth and well-being. She hopes such openness can lead to new opportunities for expanding #mentalhealthcare supports and services within underserved communities. “I think more people are able to better appreciate just how significantly impairing #depression and #anxiety and other #mentalhealth symptoms really are,” Crawford says. “My hope for the future is that not only can we normalize conversations around #mentalhealth and emotional wellness, but we can also normalize conversations around #mentalhealth treatment.” —-------------------------------- Need Help? If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the #NationalSuicidePreventionLifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to the Crisis Text Line at 741741. Read the full article