It took the death of the late great actor Robin Williams to bring depression and suicide to the fore. While the loss inspired all kinds of tributes, it also dredged up so many misconceptions about suicide. Today—World Suicide Prevention Day—seems a good time to debunk some of those myths and throw some light on the hard facts.
Like, for starters, did you know someone somewhere commits suicide every 40 seconds? According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report, that's a tally of more than 800,000 deaths every year.
While you may assume that talking about taking your own life may make you more likely to go through with it, the opposite is actually true.
“Experts say that rather than encouraging suicidal behaviour, talking openly can give an individual other options or the time to rethink his/her decision, thereby preventing suicide,” says the WHO's report.
Having suicidal thoughts doesn't make you a coward or an attention-seeker 'crying for help.' And it doesn't always follow that the suicidal person is suffering from depression. Sometimes a life crisis can send someone to the breaking point.
In all cases, the ongoing stigma surrounding suicide prevents some people from opening up about what they're going through. Few countries have an official strategy in place for suicide prevention, and as progressive as we are, you may be surprised to know that Canada isn't one of them.
But probably the biggest and most damaging assumption is that suicide isn't preventable. It is. Don't wait, as I did, until you are in floods of tears in your GP's office. Or do. It doesn't matter as long as you don't let pride stop you from getting help.
Depression isn't fussy; it can affect anyone, of any age or background. In this country, suicide is the second leading cause of death in 10- to 24-year-olds. One in ten teens in Ontario admit to contemplating suicide, and three per cent made actual attempts, according to Children’s Mental Health Ontario (CMHO). And those numbers are even higher in Aboriginal communities.
Regardless of what's going on in your life, it's not worth losing your life.
Want more information and advice on suicide prevention? Join the CMHO's Twitter chat today at @kidsmentalhlth from 11AM-3PM under the hashtag #WSPD14.
Find a CMHO centre in your area.
We all know that we should ration the amount of time our kids spend basking in the ghoulish glow of a Mac or pc. But we should probably start listening. A study from the University of California has even more proof that we should be swapping children's screen time for face time.
Researchers split up two groups of 50 sixth graders from the same public school and planted them in a rustic setting. The control group spent an average of 4.5 hours a day texting, watching TV, and playing video games. After a week, those without access to electronic devices showed a marked improvement in their ability to read emotions and facial expressions in the absence of verbal cues, irrespective of gender.
Just five days without screen time. That's all it took to boost the social skills and emotional intelligence of these kids. I have to admit, this study has made me think twice about my son's screen use.
While I do regulate it, I'll be the first to admit that it's just convenient to bring an iPad along to the restaurant or in the car. And I'm not above using it to incentivize him at times. Hell, even his teacher uses timed intervals of screen time to make sure the kids stay on task and get their work done.
And I thought that system was working out for us—until now. Because my son really does struggle with reading emotions, I'm left wondering whether even the minimum screen time isn't marring his social progress.
How do you manage your children's screen time?
Does your family need to go on a digital diet? This family did—for an entire year.
If you've been following the whole Ray Rice scandal, you'll know that the footballer has been fired and banned by the NFL for abusing his wife. What's even more shocking is that Janay, who was knocked unconscious in an Atlantic City elevator, was the first to rush to his defence.
"No one knows the pain that the media & unwanted options from the public has caused my family," wrote Janay on Instagram. "To make us relive a moment in our lives that we regret every day is a horrible thing. To take something away from the man I love that he has worked his ass of for all his life just to gain ratings is horrific."
TMZ Sports initially released the video (which I won't share here), though the full footage from the casino elevator is in state custody while police continue to investigate the case.
It's truly awful that Janay Rice is the victim of domestic assault, and I pray that she finds her way out of a relationship that can only be destructive. Yet are we equally reprehensible for watching the drama unfold? Is the media, as she claims, the real offender for intruding on the private business between two people?
Celebrities deserve privacy. But when their battles take place on centre stage, as with the Jay-Z/Solange riff (what is about elevators, anyway?), then they might as well be on an episode of Candid Camera. It may not be fair or right that a couple's dirty laundry has to be aired in public. However, couldn't it also serve as a greater discussion point about domestic assault?
Countless women are abused at the hands of "the man they love" every day. Like Janay, too many wives and girlfriends race to defend the person who hurts them the most. Are these men fired from their jobs? Of course not.
Do people in the public eye have a social responsibility that extends beyond their sporting or artistic prowess? The fact that Rice is a wife beater may not make him a very nice guy in my eyes, but does it affect his ability to catch or throw a ball? Nope.
Unless he finds himself behind bars, I'm not sure that it's helpful to throw him out of a sporting league. If all his teammates were measured for their moral fibre, many would surely come up wanting.
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Editor's Note (added September 17): After reading several comments, it became clear to me that this post failed to clearly articulate my viewpoint and so I wish to make it expressly clear that I do not condone abuse of any form. What Ray Rice did was a crime, and it should be punishable by law. I'm happy to note that the NFL subjects its players to a code of conduct. But quite simply, it's not only sporting figures like Rice and Adrian Peterson who should be shoved under the moral microscope, as if the rest of us are somehow infallible. Countless men and women are abusive. Are they fired from their jobs? Rarely. Do they deserve to be held accountable for their actions? Of course.
The media has an unfortunate habit of making a spectacle and a 'scandal' out of a celebrity's darkest hour, and Rice's case was no exception. However, if all the coverage opens up a greater discourse about assault—and if it helps some women get out of a destructive relationship or protects vulnerable children—then perhaps that makes it worthwhile.
We were stunned and saddened to see this celebrity publicly attacked by her husband.
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