LIVE AMA DISCUSSION WITH DR. JENNIFER CRUMLISH
In this thread, we will host a live forum AMA with Dr. Jennifer Crumlish!
This is a special event to honor Suicide Prevention Day. Learn more about @DrJenniferCrumlish and this event here.
We are glad you are here! Everyone is welcome to participate! Make sure to review the guidelines for posting a question below. Due to the sensitivity of this topic, any questions which fall outside these guidelines will be removed by a moderator.
---------> How to participate: At 4:00 PM ET you may start posting your questions! Dr. Crumlish will reply in the order they are posted.
Question Asking Guidelines -
Dr. Crumlish is able to answer your questions regarding:
1) Basic facts and information about suicide research
2) Reducing isolation around suicide
3) How to support someone who has lost a loved one to suicide & how you can help yourself if you've lost someone to suicide
4) Reducing Stigma around suicide
Questions pertaining to the below topics are not permitted.
1) How to manage suicidal users at 7 Cups.
2) If you are suicidal and need support
* If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please reach out to the appropriate channels for help. 7 Cups is not a crisis hotline. The best thing our community can do to support you is to refer you to get help through the appropriate channels for help: 1-800-273-8255 or www.suicide.org*
@DrJenniferCrumlish, I'm really grateful you are here with us. I much appreciated it.
My questions relates more to statistics: would you be so kind to tell us how common it is for people to attempt suicide around the world? And how many of them are unfortunately successful at it?
Hi
Unfortunately, suicide is a lot more common than we would like it to be. The statistics in the US from 2013 show that about 41,000 have died by suicide. I'm less familiar with the statistics from around the world, but it is fairly consistently a problem across cultures. The rate of attempts is even higher.
@DrJenniferCrumlish, thank you for the reply. I'm looking forward to more of great insights on this thread.
Best regards!
In Australia there are 2600 suicide recorded in 2014!:(
@Spes - Not sure if you've seen before, but WHO has quite a lot of insightful data and information on suicide around the world. Including this page.
@QuickJazz, I've seen only more local data, not WHO - thank you for the resource!
First I;d like to say I'm so pleased you're here answering our questions about this.
I have a question: what do you think of the term 'commit' in terms of dying by suicide? At Samaritans, we're strictly not allowed to use it because of negative connotations.
Personally and professionally, I do not care for the term commit, because it is also associated with the term "homicide." I think that the field of suicidology (yes that's what we call it even though spell check doesn't like it!) is trying hard to get everyone to move away from that term. At AAS (American Association of Suicidology) we try to have people use more reasonable terms, and we even have a lived attempt section for those who have had that experience and would like support. I think that people who find themselves in a suicidal crisis are not "committing" to anything , but feeling hopeless and taking an action.
Thank you @Laura and @DrJenniferCrumlish for making this possible.
How can we best support someone close to us who has suicidal thoughts?
I think the best way to support someone who is feeling suicidal is to acknowledge their pain and not shy away from it, and to see if you can help them think of ways to help themselves move away from feeling like suicide is their only choice. It also helps to encourage the person to try and focus less on the current moment and think about the next day or so and what would help them feel better. It's like that U2 song, "getting stuck in a moment that you can't get out of" if you can help someone refocus it can do a lot.
*we seem to be experiencing some technical difficulties*
ok, looks like we are back in business. thanks for your patience everyone.
How do I talk to my friends about a suicide attempt when they think it's a selfish action?
These are great questions!
Hello Dr Crumlish and welcome to 7cups, What is the best way of supporting someone who has been bereaved by suicide?
Lucy2
I think the best way to support someone who has been affected by suicide is to not make them feel like it's their fault, or they didn't do enough. It also helps to talk about it and not pretend it did not happen.
@DrJenniferCrumlish
With regard to stigma and suicide, and feelings of isolation, how do you encourage family members to reach out for help after the suicide of a loved one? Especially where there is potentially additional prejudice because of the sexuality of the person who died or because the individual was in custody?
technical problems - hang tight!! thanks everyone!
