World suicide prevention day. What we can all do.
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. I know more about suicide than most.
When I was a kid we often used to watch MASH and I remember the theme tune Suicide is painless.
Well nothing could be further from the truth. It’s painful- not only for the victim but for those left behind.
Rather than write about it please click below to see a facebook live I did on the subject. I need you to see the emotion. I lost someone very close to me due to suicide. I curse myself that I didn’t do more for him. As a medical student I spent a year in psychiatry. I saw more suicide attempts than most people see in their careers! The above article shown on https://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/how-can-we-prevent-suicide/ is excellent but I go into more detail.
If you are affected by the issues in the video please seek the help of your family doctor. I promise you that you will get expert help in the strictest of confidence.
The world suffered the loss of the great comedian Robin Williams partly because he didn’t get help sooner. We don’t want another one.
What we can all do
Please take action on what I said in the video. Please go to the resources and print off the article and read it.
As I said in the video one thing I would like everybody to do is to get a dog. There are no end of studies showing that single men and women are far more likely to try and end their lives than people in long term stable relationships.
To the best of my knowledge there is no study showing the risk of suicide among people who have a dog. I cannot begin to tell you how much love a dog can bring. I should know.
I owned a dog for 5 days.
I can hear you saying “that’s not very long to own a dog.” You would be right.
For 12 years he owned me! He was very much in charge!
Every evening around 7:30pm (you could set your clock by this) he’d remind me to give him his dinner. If I was a good pet and gave my owner a good dinner he’d reward me- by taking me on my walk!
I cannot begin to tell you how much love a dog brings to your life. In my day job as a fitness trainer I deal with a lot of people with depression. Exercise can have profoundly positive effects on depression. When they are on the road to recovery I encourage them to get a dog. In every case the client perks up very quickly when they realise they are that dog’s world!
So take action- get a dog.
Resources
A Cry for Help-Warning signs of suicide you shouldn’t ignore- http://jamesbondhealthandfitness.fitpromag.com/11/1/2017/Article/Health4
