P.V. schools focus on suicide prevention
After two girls at Horizon High School committed suicide this spring, school officials from the area have embarked on a series of workshops and events to promote suicide prevention. The first of these events was a two-day workshop last week where some 30 parents, teachers and staff from the Paradise Valley Unified School District gathered to learn about suicide.
click here >>

Bad year brought Horizon together
Read about the benefit the ASIST training provided by ValueOptions and TeenLifeline and sponsored by ADHS.
click here >>

Student suicides spur teen to promote prevention
Sarah Bernes is banking on a $2 bracelet to help save lives. Following the suicides of two classmates within the past month, the Horizon High School senior is beginning an ambitious fund-raiser and awareness campaign starting today. The teen hopes to raise $5,000 for the Phoenix-based Teen Lifeline, a non-profit organization that provides a peer-to-peer hotline and also suicide education.
click here >>

Arizona, Gila County rank high for suicides
Rim Guidance Center featured in this article
click here >>

Suicide Drops With Antidepressant Use
Concerns that antidepressant medications are associated with an increased risk of suicide are not borne out by new research involving more than 65,000 treated patients.
click here >>

Research on link between social factors, suicide

click here >>

Increased Suicide Rate With Possible Link To Nearby Industry Chemicals In Second N.C. Community
Sustained elevation of the suicide rate in a North Carolina county may be linked to releases of hydrogen sulfide and other airborne chemicals from a nearby paper mill and possibly other industrial sites, a new study led by a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill psychiatrist indicates.
click here >>

Suicide Prevention Strategies
A systematic review was conducted to examine evidence for the effectiveness of specific suicide-preventive interventions and to make recommendations for future prevention programs and research.
click here >>

Senate panel boosts Indian suicide prevention programs
A Senate committee has approved legislation to boost resources for suicide prevention on Indian reservations, though lawmakers say it's just a start.
click here >>

Alcohol speeds up suicide
NINETY-THREE per cent of drunken suicide attempts are decided after less than 10 minutes' thought. Most suicides are unplanned, with a survey by University of Western Sydney researcher Marianne Wyder finding that 75percent of people who attempt suicide take less than an hour to make the decision. Twenty-fiveper cent think for less than five minutes before attempting suicide and a further 24percent take less than 10 minutes. Just 7 percent think for more than 24 hours.
click here >>

Suicide among youth - Which mental disorders are responsible?
Mental health professionals need to be watchful of mental health problems beyond depression in order to prevent youth suicide, according to new research from the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO researchers examine which mental disorders or combinations of disorders may be most responsible for youth suicide in a new study being released in the October issue of the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, published by the American Psychological Association (APA).
click here >>

Sleep Loss linked to Teens' Suicide Behaviors
New findings show that adolescents who do not get enough sleep may be more likely to have suicidal thoughts and to attempt suicide than their more well-rested peers.
click here >>

Depression, Epilepsy, Suicide May Be Linked
Symptoms of major depression, especially suicidal attempts, are associated with an increased risk of unprovoked seizure. A provocative new study shows, that the same brain disorder that causes epilepsy may also be associated with whether a person also has an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
click here >>

A new warning on Suicide Prevention
By Presidential Proclamation, this is Mental Health Awareness Week and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is drawing attention to young people who have recently left the "nest" and could be prone to thoughts of suicide. Dr. Morton Silverman of the Foundation for Suicide Prevention says that students, in their first college years, are most at risk for depression and suicide.
click here >>

Gatekeeper to mental health: Newton center director is at the forefront of nation's efforts to prevent suicide
Lloyd Potter has long known suicide claims more American lives each year than homicide. That's why he was puzzled when he realized the government focused more on stopping people from killing each other than from killing themselves.
click here >>

Depression in work-most won't tell boss
Two-thirds of Irish people would not inform their employer if they were diagnosed with depression or any other mental health illness, according to a new poll from irishhealth.com.
click here >>

Arizona is One of the First States to Receive Federal Suicide Prevention Grant
September 21, 2005 - New York, NY - The Arizona Department of Health Services has received $400,000 in federal funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) for suicide prevention and early intervention programs. These are the first ever federal grants for suicide prevention programs. A key component of the state's initiative is the Columbia University TeenScreen Program, a voluntary youth mental health and suicide-risk screening program. Results of these efforts will provide valuable insight to the state's suicide prevention plan and provide model guidance to the other 35 states that include screening as part of their state prevention plans.
click here >>

SAMHSA Awards 37 Grants Totaling $9.7 Million for Suicide Prevention
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced 37 grants with a first year total of $9.7 million to support national suicide prevention efforts. These grants will support a suicide prevention resource center, suicide prevention efforts on college campus, and state and tribal youth suicide prevention and early intervention programs across the country. Arizona received two grants.
click here >>

Elder suicide has state worried
Oregon has an elder suicide rate significantly higher than the national average, according to a soon-to-be-released report by the Oregon Department of Human Services. The report is the result of an 18-month study by the department's Elder Suicide Prevention Program, set up to tackle one of the most widely ignored facts in health care: Suicide rates are highest among the nation's elderly.
click here >>

Talk Therapy Succeeds in Reducing Suicide Risk
Talk Therapy Succeeds in Reducing Suicide Risk By BENEDICT CAREY Published: August 9, 2005 After a year of debate over whether antidepressant drugs increase the risk of suicide, a new study finds that a standard brand of talk therapy may offer the best chance to save those at the highest risk of taking their own lives. Forum: Mental Health and Treatment The therapy cut almost by half the risk of suicide attempts in extremely suicidal patients, many of whom were already taking drugs for depression, the researchers found. The study, published in the Aug. 3 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, is the largest and most rigorous test of a psychotherapy technique in people whose attempts to end their lives have been serious enough to land them in hospitals, experts said. Studies of depression treatments typically exclude such patients, in part because they are 30 to 40 times as likely to kill themselves as people who have not made serious suicide attempts. "That you could cut by half the number of attempts in this population in just 8 to 10 sessions of therapy is something to write home about," said Steven D. Hollon, a professor of psychology at Vanderbilt University, who was not a part of the study. Dr. Hollon added: "These are the kinds of people who wouldn't qualify for 90 percent of the treatment trials out there. But if you don't ever include them, you don't know what works for them. No guts, no glory." In the study, Dr. Gregory K. Brown, a psychologist, and Dr. Aaron T. Beck, a psychiatrist, both of the University of Pennsylvania, led a research team that recruited 120 people who were seen in the emergency room of the university hospital after trying to kill themselves. The patients had multiple problems, including drug addiction, depression and homelessness, and half were followed closely by case managers and referred for counseling services, if necessary. Once every week or so, the other half arrived for cognitive therapy, a counseling technique in which people learn to head off or diffuse self-defeating thoughts before acting on them. The researchers intended the therapy to address the patients' lives, their specific hopes and fears and the factors that had prompted them try to end their lives, Dr. Brown said. A man who "felt like giving up" after a relationship problem learned that this thought itself had the effect of giving him permission to use drugs, which invariably make the situation worse, Dr. Brown said. As they neared the end of the therapy, the participants relived their most painful moments, let themselves feel the tug of suicide and then devised strategies to divert themselves from thinking more about it. "We would then see if these techniques reduced the sense of hopelessness, and if so, they could be discharged from therapy," Dr. Beck said. "It was a kind of dress rehearsal." The patients who stumbled at rehearsal continued seeing the therapist for a longer time, he said. The investigators followed the two groups, detailing repeat suicide attempts in interviews. After a year and a half, 13 of the men and women who received cognitive therapy tried again to kill themselves, compared with 23 in the other group. No one in either group completed a suicide. Over all, those who received cognitive therapy scored significantly lower on measures of depressive mood and hopelessness. Researchers working with people whose problem has been diagnosed as borderline personality disorder, which carries a high risk of suicide, have also reported reduced numbers of attempts with the therapy. But therapy aimed at borderline patients is long term, typically lasting a year or more. In the new study, the course of therapy was short for a reason, Dr. Beck said. Highly suicidal people, particularly those with drug problems who are socially marginalized, do not typically have the patience or energy for longer courses of therapy. The researchers are setting up a study of the therapy in community mental health centers, training counselors to use the technique with people hospitalized after suicide attempts. "We'll see what happens in the real world," Dr. Beck said. "That will be the true test."
click here >>

Federal Mental Health Action Agenda Announced
Federal Mental Health Action Agenda Announced Building on the 2002 work of The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, the federal government announced the beginning of a multi-year effort to alter the form and function of the mental health system. Six cabinet level departments have created a Federal Executive Steering Committee to guide the work of the transformation. A highlight of the Agenda is the charge to "act immediately to reduce the number of suicides in the nation through implementation of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention."
click here >>

Federal Mental Health Action Agenda Announced
Federal Mental Health Action Agenda Announced Building on the 2002 work of The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, the federal government announced the beginning of a multi-year effort to alter the form and function of the mental health system. Six cabinet level departments have created a Federal Executive Steering Committee to guide the work of the transformation. A highlight of the Agenda is the charge to "act immediately to reduce the number of suicides in the nation through implementation of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention."
click here >>

Recent Red Lake suicides continue alarming trend nationwide
Editor's note: This is the second story in a report on the life and death of Jeffrey Weise, the Native teenager who killed himself and nine others at Red Lake (Minn.) High School in March, and at the high suicide rate among Native teens.
click here >>

Indian tribes 'losing kids every day' to suicide
Experts say teen suicide is an epidemic on Indian reservations across the country. Some of the highest teen suicide rates are on Indian reservations in the Upper Midwest. The U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee holds a hearing Wednesday on teen suicide. The story of one Red Lake teen reflects reality for many in Indian Country.
click here >>

Mental health tests for kids spark debate
Suzanne Cahalan knew there was a problem when her 4-year-old daughter started stealing from friends and relatives. But it took eight years before the Wheaton mother of four finally found out that the girl suffered from bipolar disorder. Such delays in diagnosis make a powerful case that youngsters should be monitored closely for mental health problems, according to children's advocates who are drafting a plan to increase awareness in Illinois schools about depression, anxiety and other disorders, as well as the need to screen children when warning signs occur.
click here >>

Teens' body image tied to risk of suicide
Teenagers who see themselves as either too heavy or too thin may be at heightened risk of attempting suicide, regardless of what their weight actually is, a new study suggests.
click here >>

Summer sun linked to suicide
Northern summer sunlight helps trigger a seasonal rise in suicides across Britain, scientists say. Research conducted for the Priory Group suggests more people take their own lives in May than any other month and indicates the trend can be linked to the changing climate. Professor Chris Thompson, the group's director of healthcare service, said studies had shown a direct link between the amount of sunshine and the national suicide rate.
click here >>

Wellness Center gets new look
This article highlights suicide prevention efforts in San Carlos. In response to five suicides by hanging in the fall and winter, the WC launched a comprehensive suicide prevention campaign for the community.
click here >>

FDA seeking data from epilepsy drug makers on suicide risk in patients
The Food and Drug Administration has begun a preliminary inquiry into whether epilepsy drugs might increase the risk of suicidal behavior in some patients, particularly those who use them for psychiatric illnesses instead of seizure prevention.
click here >>

Clinton backs suicide prevention programme
Former US President Bill Clinton will fly to Ireland next month to back RehabCare's plans to develop a national suicide prevention programme.
click here >>

Gov. Bush to present plan to reduce state's suicide rate
The legislation will be discussed in Tallahassee today as part of Suicide Prevention Day at the Capitol. Gov. Jeb Bush is expected to present plans calling for the suicide rate in the state to be reduced by one third by 2010, said Terry Smith, former chair of the Florida Suicide Prevention Coalition and a member of the governor's suicide prevention task force.
click here >>

Depression, seeking help never a stigma
A series of suicide prevention strategies can help improve mental healthcare in the community, Centre for Suicide Research & Prevention Project Director Frances Law says. No one should feel ashamed to seek help if they are feeling depressed, she added.
click here >>

Suicide: Choose life
Young People Now - London,UK ... Choose Life, a three-year suicide prevention strategy led by the Scottish Executive, includes a national programme of Applied Suicide Intervention Skills ...
click here >>

Rockers' Repertoire Stresses Prevention of Teen Suicide
From the halls of Congress to mosh pits across the country, the message heralded by policymakers and punk rockers with the "Take Action Tour" is the same: youth suicide is preventable, and help is never far away. A number of punk and hard-core rock bands on the Sub City record label are performing in 35 cities to help educate youth about depression and suicide. More information about the Take Action Tour is posted online at .
click here >>

Smokers May Think More About Suicide
Smokers think more about suicidesuicide than nonsmokers, a 10-year study shows. Those who surround themselves with clouds of cigarette smoke are 82% more likely than nonsmokers to think of ending their own lives.
click here >>

Australian government to outlaw suicide websites
Australia's government plans to outlaw inciting, promoting or teaching people how to commit suicide on the Internet, but Justice Minister Chris Ellison said on Tuesday the laws were not a bid to spark a euthanasia debate.
click here >>

Suicides Outnumber Homicides
Suicides outnumber homicides in the United States, and some 90 percent of people who kill themselves suffer from a diagnosable and preventable problem such as depression, a top mental health official said Monday.
click here >>

Prostate Cancer: A Significant Risk Factor for Late-Life Suicide
The incidence of suicide among older men with prostate cancer is higher than previously recognized. Depression, recent diagnosis, pain, and being foreign-born are important clinical correlates. Screens for depression and suicide in older men with prostate cancer should be done after diagnosis and redone during the first 6 months regularly, particularly in the primary-care setting. Public education is needed to decrease the stigma associated with having a cancer diagnosis.
click here >>

Suicide Risk from Antidepressants Remains Unclear
Three new studies come to conflicting conclusions about risks for suicidal behavior associated with antidepressants such as Paxil, Prozac and Zoloft.
click here >>

Guns readily available to youths
Each year, an average of 23 young people in Maine kill themselves. Half of them do it with guns. In a state where hunting and gun ownership are longstanding traditions, firearms are readily available to Maine teenagers.
click here >>

Social Isolation, Guns and a 'Culture of Suicide'
Research finds deaths by self-inflicted gunfire occur at a higher rate in rural America than in cities or suburbs.
click here >>

Suicide Rate Down Since Prozac
Suicide rates have dropped steadily since Prozac and similar antidepressants hit the market. The findings challenge recent claims that Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and the other drugs in the class known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) increase suicide risk.
click here >>

On Campuses, Studying How to Prevent Student Suicides
(FREE Subscription required) A cluster of sudden deaths over a few months last winter and spring, including two suicides, prompted a George Washington University commission to ask some tough questions in an internal report that has already changed life on campus.
click here >>

A Seasonal Depression? Humbug, Say Scientists
There may be a lot of disasters this holiday season, but suicide, it turns out, is not likely to be one of them. This is counterintuitive, since we associate Christmastime with loneliness, and we assume people's moods match the bleak weather.
click here >>

Mice study may help human depression
Mice whose brains lack a specific protein react differently to stress than other mice, possibly offering a clue into the source of human depression, researchers at Washington University said in a study released Monday.
click here >>

Holiday season sees fewer suicides
Many people believe suicide increases during the holidays, but mental health experts say it actually declines. The laughter, gathering of family and friends, and peace of the holidays help prevent people taking their own lives, said Tom Williams, a clinical administrator for Banner Behavioral Health Hospital in Scottsdale.
click here >>

Religious Affiliation May Lower Suicide Risk
Depressed men and women who consider themselves affiliated with a religion are less likely to attempt suicide than their non-religious counterparts, according to new study findings.
click here >>

Women Doctors at Heightened Risk for Suicide
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Physicians -- especially female physicians -- face a higher suicide risk than the general population, according to a new report.
click here >>

Report: More Marines Committing Suicide
More Marines are committing suicide than at any time since the Corps started monitoring such deaths, prompting the government to step up intervention efforts, it was reported Tuesday.
click here >>

Suicide prevention surveys online, wing urged to participate before Dec. 17
The 11th Wing Integrated Delivery System is taking the lead in helping the Air Force conduct a full review of the Air Force Suicide Prevention Program and its 11 key initiatives. The IDS is a group of representatives from base-level organizations such as the chapel, life skills, family support, child and youth services, health and wellness center and family advocacy who work together to develop and implement suicide prevention programs.
click here >>

Increased suicide rate is possibly linked to chemicals released from nearby asphalt plants
Exposure to low levels of hydrogen sulfide and possibly other airborne chemicals from nearby asphalt plants may have contributed to an increased suicide rate in a North Carolina community, a study suggests for the first time.
click here >>

At-risk youth suicide rate halved
A new programme that has halved the number of suicides among the country's most at-risk young people is being hailed as an international leader in suicide prevention.
click here >>

Colleges seek better suicide prevention
College officials and mental health experts have come to realize that many of the students prone to self-injury and suicide never go near counseling centers or reveal anything about their experience before college.
click here >>

Study Links Unemployment to Suicide, Early Death
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men and women who've ever dealt with unemployment may have a heightened risk of dying early, particularly from suicide and injuries, a Swedish study suggests.
click here >>

Depression seen as major factor in suicide rate among the elderly
The nation's suicide rate rises steadily past age 60 and precipitously after 70, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
click here >>

Media must treat stories on suicide with care
Widespread coverage of suicide in the media has long been thought to be capable of having a negative impact on society. There have been many questions and much criticism over whether publicizing suicide stories is related to issues of ethics and self-discipline.
click here >>

District targets suicide prevention
Three students in Casper have committed suicide since October 2003, and now school officials and counselors are looking at new ways to stem the tide through teaching suicide prevention.
click here >>

$6.6 Million Grant to Support Suicide Prevention Hotline
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator Charles Curie today announced a $6.6 million grant to the Mental Health Association of New York City to manage a toll-free national suicide prevention hotline network of local crisis centers that can link callers to local emergency, mental health and social service resources.
click here >>

Suicide prevention agency moves to Bloomington
SAVE, the Twin Cities-based suicide prevention agency, recently moved to new quarters in Bloomington. In addition, the agency named a new executive director.
click here >>

Leaders call for evaluation of suicide prevention efforts
WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- Air Force senior leaders are calling for commanders to conduct full reviews of suicide prevention efforts and to ensure that all Airmen are aware of resources such as life skills and other support agencies to address the service's highest suicide rate in nine years.
click here >>

Study Links Sleep Loss to Teens' Suicide Behaviors
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Teenagers who usually fall into bed at 2 am each night and get up a few hours later to make their 8 am classes are putting themselves at risk for more than chronic tiredness.
click here >>

Bush signs youth suicide prevention measure
WHITE HOUSE President Bush has signed a measure providing 82 (M) million dollars for preventing youth suicide.
click here >>

A New Culprit In Depression? Study Finds Surprising Differences In Gene Activity In The Brains Of Depressed People
ANN ARBOR, MI - The brains of people with severe depression have lower levels of several related molecules that are key to the development, organization, growth and repair of the brain than the brains of people without the disease, or those with the bipolar form of depression, a new study finds.
click here >>

Depression is different in kids
Their unique symptoms, responses to antidepressants may explain link between drugs, suicidal tendencies. After more than a year of debate, the link between antidepressant use and a higher risk of suicidal tendencies in some children is convincing, government regulators say. That has scientists probing an urgent new question: Why kids and not adults?
click here >>

Awareness Helps Primary Doctors Prevent Patients' Suicide
Although few of their patients commit suicide in a year, primary care physicians should use office visits to note possible risk factors for suicidal behavior, bolstered by candid discussions if needed, according to a review of recent research.
click here >>

Nicotine levels high among smokers committing suicide: study
Nicotine levels in the blood of smokers who committed suicide is 3.5 times that of smokers who died in accidents or from disease, researchers have found.
click here >>

SEX AND DRUG USE INCREASE TEEN SUICIDE RISK
Teens who engage in high-risk behaviors involving sex and drugs have significantly higher odds of depression, suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts than teens who say no to sex and drugs, according to a study.
click here >>

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REACHES SETTLEMENT REGARDING CONDITIONS AT THREE ARIZONA JUVENILE JUSTICE FACILITIES
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with the State of Arizona regarding civil rights violations at three state-run juvenile justice facilities: Adobe Mountain School and Black Canyon School in Phoenix, and Catalina Mountain School in Tucson. The state has agreed to implement reforms to ensure that juveniles in the facilities are protected from harm and provided adequate services, including suicide prevention measures and medical care.
click here >>

FDA On Antidepressant-Suicide Link
Federal health officials are preparing stronger warnings for some antidepressants used in children after new analyses back a possible link to suicide.
click here >>

A father's pain: Smith youth-suicide bill approved
Legislation championed by Senator Gordon Smith, R-Ore., and aimed at preventing youth suicide won final congressional approval Thursday, a year and a day after the senator's 21-year-old son, Garrett, took his own life.
click here >>

Sixth suicide recorded at RAFB
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE - The officer who coordinates the base's various assistance agencies has no ready answer for the suicides - now up to six - recorded at Robins Air Force Base since June 2.
click here >>

New privacy rules intended to reduce suicide risks
The Air Force has revised Air Force Instruction 41-210, "Patient Administration Functions," to better protect privacy rights and ensure an appropriate flow of information between commanders and support agencies.
click here >>

Suicide rate on rise in U.S. Air Force
The U.S. Air Force is reporting an increase in the suicide rate among its personnel this year but has been unable to identify a reason for the rise, a spokesman said.
click here >>

SOS is an effective suicide prevention program
SOS is a program to help prevent kids from committing suicide. It stands for Signs Of Suicide. Experts say the program effectively changes attitudes about suicide by emphasizing the connection between suicide and mental illness -- particularly depression.
click here >>

Research Moves Ahead on Teen Suicide
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago say teens who commit suicide may have decreased activity of an enzyme known to affect mood.
click here >>

Suicide Story Grips U.S. Senate
Suicide prevention legislation passed the US Senate after personal testimony given by senators from Oklahoma, Oregon and Nevada. ...
click here >>

Committee delays contract for suicide prevention billboards
The Legislature's Contract Review Committee objected Thursday to a plan to spend about $100,000 to place billboards across the state to urge people contemplating suicide, or with other mental health problems, to call a telephone "hot line" number.
click here >>

Deerfield Valley teens team up to draft suicide prevention plan
The Suicide Prevention and Education Committee of Deerfield Valley hopes around 20 local high school students will attend a meeting next week to make suggestions on what kind of suicide prevention program the school should have.
click here >>

Medical illness and the risk of suicide in the elderly
The Clinical Epidemiology and Healthcare Research Program at the University of Toronto and The Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences examined the relationship between the treatment of several illnesses and the risk of suicide in elderly patients.
click here >>

Proposed Guidelines on Suicide Reports Spark Controversy
KOREA-Controversy is expected over a government plan to restrict media reporting of suicides.
click here >>

Mental Health Issues Plague Students
Cornell has seen a sharp increase in the number of students suffering from serious mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and suicidal behavior in recent years.
click here >>

DoD Health Officials Concerned Over Military Suicides
The number of suicides in Iraq has the full attention of Defense Department health officials, who are asking soldiers suffering from combat related stress to seek medical assistance.
click here >>

'TeenScreen' aims to prevent suicides
A 10-minute computer program here screens teens for mental-health problems by asking questions about self-esteem, drug and alcohol use, depression, suicidal thoughts.
click here >>

'Chicago S-T' Is Forthright on Employee's Suicide
The debate over when and how newspapers should cover local suicides -- particularly when the deceased is one of their own -- gained more attention late last week when the Chicago Sun-Times chose to bare all in the death of its famed columnist Steve Neal.
click here >>

Seven veterans of Iraq war 'have committed suicide'
Seven soldiers have died after apparently committing suicide since the end of the Iraq War and 119 have been evacuated from the Gulf because of severe psychiatric problems, the Ministry of Defence has disclosed.
click here >>