March 31, 2009
Stressed Out in Hard Times? Government Launches Website Offering Suggestions for Help including Suicide Prevention
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Washington, DC (HNN) - Do you need another sign that this recession has encompassed the economic and emotional health of Americans?
The United States Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration has placed an on-line guide for “getting through tough economic times.” Covering physical and mental health risks, the site lists warning signs that financial issues may be adversely impacting someone’s emotional or mental well being. These include: Persistent sadness/crying, excessive anxiety, lack of sleep/fatigue, excessive anger, increased drinking, illicit drug use (including misuse of medications), difficulty staying focused, apathy, and lack of functioning normally (at work, school or home).
And it leads journalists (and others) to the web site for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
“The role of untreated depression is often lost in news accounts,” reports the AFSP in explaining journalistic guidelines. While the site said nearly all ‘murder-suicides’ gain media attention, it also noted one instance where diminished media reporting of subway suicides in Vienna actually led to a “sharp decrease” in people taking their lives at the subway. “There was no increase in other methods, indicating no shift of method.”
However, the possibilities of increased suicidal crisis such as the loss of a loved one or a career failure, so job losses, inability to find work, and increasing pressures from creditors and loved ones could trigger a crisis in an individual not necessarily possessing one or more of the normal risk factors such as psychiatric illness (including alcohol or drug abuse), impulsivity, or a past history of attempts.
“Unemployment and other kinds of financial distress do not ‘cause’ suicide directly,” but they can combine with other factors within individuals. “These financial factors can cause strong feelings such as humiliation and despair,” which could lead to an attempt on one’s life.
What are warning signs? Talking about or threatening to kill or hurt yourself, acting recklessly, saying there’s no reason to live, and others. Click: http://www.samhsa.gov/economy
There are coping mechanisms which help alert that you are not alone in these troubled times listed on the site, such as engaging in physical exercise (that relieve stress), strengthening family /friend connections, and developing new employment skills.
Sometimes, it’s not enough to talk to a friend, or, maybe you are too embarrassed. Other possibilities to share anxieties are health care providers, spiritual leaders, school counselor or a community health clinic.
As the new administration tries to recast the vigilance of the war on terror, we must turn some of that watching for sensational acts to simple responses, such as listening to friends, family and neighbors. One key from a peer counseling class is termed reflective listening to other, where you basically keep your own mouth mostly shut, listen, and (like a journalist) ask follow up questions about shared feelings.
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Stressed Out in Hard Times? Government Launches Website Offering Suggestions for Help including Suicide Prevention
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Washington, DC (HNN) - Do you need another sign that this recession has encompassed the economic and emotional health of Americans?
The United States Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration has placed an on-line guide for “getting through tough economic times.” Covering physical and mental health risks, the site lists warning signs that financial issues may be adversely impacting someone’s emotional or mental well being. These include: Persistent sadness/crying, excessive anxiety, lack of sleep/fatigue, excessive anger, increased drinking, illicit drug use (including misuse of medications), difficulty staying focused, apathy, and lack of functioning normally (at work, school or home).
And it leads journalists (and others) to the web site for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
“The role of untreated depression is often lost in news accounts,” reports the AFSP in explaining journalistic guidelines. While the site said nearly all ‘murder-suicides’ gain media attention, it also noted one instance where diminished media reporting of subway suicides in Vienna actually led to a “sharp decrease” in people taking their lives at the subway. “There was no increase in other methods, indicating no shift of method.”
However, the possibilities of increased suicidal crisis such as the loss of a loved one or a career failure, so job losses, inability to find work, and increasing pressures from creditors and loved ones could trigger a crisis in an individual not necessarily possessing one or more of the normal risk factors such as psychiatric illness (including alcohol or drug abuse), impulsivity, or a past history of attempts.
“Unemployment and other kinds of financial distress do not ‘cause’ suicide directly,” but they can combine with other factors within individuals. “These financial factors can cause strong feelings such as humiliation and despair,” which could lead to an attempt on one’s life.
What are warning signs? Talking about or threatening to kill or hurt yourself, acting recklessly, saying there’s no reason to live, and others. Click: http://www.samhsa.gov/economy
There are coping mechanisms which help alert that you are not alone in these troubled times listed on the site, such as engaging in physical exercise (that relieve stress), strengthening family /friend connections, and developing new employment skills.
Sometimes, it’s not enough to talk to a friend, or, maybe you are too embarrassed. Other possibilities to share anxieties are health care providers, spiritual leaders, school counselor or a community health clinic.
As the new administration tries to recast the vigilance of the war on terror, we must turn some of that watching for sensational acts to simple responses, such as listening to friends, family and neighbors. One key from a peer counseling class is termed reflective listening to other, where you basically keep your own mouth mostly shut, listen, and (like a journalist) ask follow up questions about shared feelings.
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Make HNN Your Homepage (IE Users Only)
