Suicide, A Preventable Tragedy: A Four Part Series

We all know this is a dangerous world; dangers from outside our country, dangers from within our country, and dangers from within our community. But the most tragic and often the biggest danger to our loved ones, comes from themselves. Many people are oblivious to this fact, until they have a suicidal loved one. I have heard too many people scream the same phrases of denial, ask the same heartbreaking questions, and wrestle with the same unyielding guilt. My wish is that you, or your family, are never one of them.
Our great country is in trouble. In the United States, statistics reveal we lose a person to a suicide every 14 minutes with an estimated 1500 attempts at suicide every day. Daily we are losing our most valuable resources, from the promise of our young to our prime workforce to the wisdom of our elders. Yet there is no great public outcry. If this were cases of the flu - forces would be mobilized; volunteers would be coming from everywhere. This is simply unacceptable. It is up to us to act, to do something about it.
Hello. I am so glad that you are here. My name is Beverly and I am a Registered Nurse. I have over 30 years of experience in helping people in crisis. By far my most intense experiences came from over 15 years working in a state-run mental institution. In over 30 years of experience in helping people in crisis, the most heart-wrenching of my duties was trying to help family and friends "make sense" out of their loved ones' suicidal acts. How much easier it would be to help them understand the mind contemplating suicide, to recognize the risk, and how to intervene - before the event, instead of while they were struggling with grief, shock, pain, and guilt. This then is the reason behind this book, broken down into smaller segments to facilitate learning and stimulate your thoughts.
In Part 1 you will get a broad look at suicide and its prevalence. To fix a problem one first needs to acknowledge that there is a problem.
In Part 2 you will be asked to think, and look into yourself. Attitudes will be challenged. Common myths will be examined, addressed and debunked by Facts. Risk factors will be identified and clustered.
In Part 3 we will put those Risk factors to use and look at assessing an individual's risk level. We will explore combinations of factors, the correlations between mental illness and suicide, and the link between depression and suicide. We will review some common depressive signs and symptoms, and see how these may present differently. Finally we will look at the warning signs of suicide and Suicide Crisis.
In Part 4 you will be exposed to tips and techniques to get answers to those critical questions, we will peek into the human mind, and pull it all together into some practical helping interventions to save a life.
This book is written for everyone, professional or laborer, rich or poor. It is for you with the co-worker that's been acting odd lately, you with the teenager that is worrying you, you with the ageing parent that just returned from the doctor's office, you with the husband who just spontaneously made out his will, for you the guy that keeps telling his girl to "snap out of it", you with the bad break-up, and for you the family dealing with financial or health problems. Did I miss anyone?
One person Can make a difference. Will you?
Beverly Smith BS, RN

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