I used to ask myself, practically every day during my illness; is this it? What if I never get better? Does it get any better?
Sounds pessimistic, but my history of recurring hospital admissions and medications that were ineffective, coupled with suicide attempts and unrelenting depression, didn’t illustrate a positive picture. At separate hospital admissions, I [...]
Archive for the ‘suicide attempt’ Category
12 Nov
Is This As Good As Life Gets?
22 May
Psychological Impact Of Child Abuse
ScienceDaily (May 21, 2009) — According to a new Mayo Clinic study, a history of child abuse significantly impacts the wide range of challenges facing depressed inpatients. Included are an increase in suicide attempts, prevalence of substance use disorder, and a higher incidence rate of personality disorder.
Additionally, these victims also had an earlier onset of [...]
11 May
Drinking While Down May Signal Teen Suicide Risk
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Friday, May 08, 2009 – Adolescents who drink alcohol while sad or depressed have an increased risk of attempting suicide, whether or not they have previously had suicidal thoughts, a study indicates.
This underscores the need to screen adolescents for problematic alcohol use, as drinking while down may be an important [...]
8 Apr
Mental Health Problems In Childhood May Predict Later Suicide Attempts In Males
ScienceDaily (Apr. 7, 2009) — Most males who commit suicide or need hospital care for suicide attempts during their teen or early adult years appear to have high levels of psychiatric problems at age 8, according to a new report. However, later suicide attempts in females are not predicted by mental health issues at this [...]
10 Mar
Young Adults Experiencing Affects of PTSD
Young Adults With Post-traumatic Stress Disorder May Be More Likely To Attempt Suicide
ScienceDaily (Mar. 9, 2009) — Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — but not exposure to traumatic events without the development of PTSD — may be associated with subsequent attempted suicide in young adults, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of [...]
11 Feb
SSRIs May Reduce Suicide In Adults
ScienceDaily (Feb. 10, 2009) — Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may reduce the risk of suicide in depressed adults, according to a study by researchers from the World Health Organization and the University of Verona, Italy published in CMAJ.
The study, a meta-analysis of 8 large-scale observational studies, was undertaken to explore whether SSRIs reduce or [...]
7 Feb
Nightmares Increase Risk Of Further Suicide Attempts
ScienceDaily (Feb. 6, 2009) — A thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, concludes that people who have nightmares following a suicide attempt are five times more likely to attempt suicide again, compared with those who do not have nightmares.
The study included 165 patients aged 18-69 years, who were being treated at somatic [...]
21 Dec
Suicide screening in schools yields results
By Megan Rauscher
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – December 18, 2008 – School-based suicide screening can identify students at risk for suicide and other mental health problems not recognized by school professionals, new research suggests.
“School-based screening can be an integral component of a school’s mental health initiative and complement the work already being performed by school [...]
21 Dec
Male Suicide
Men Sexually Abused In Childhood Ten Times More Likely To Contemplate Suicide
ScienceDaily (Dec. 19, 2008) — Sexual abuse in childhood increases the risk of suicide in men by up to ten times, say researchers from the University of Bath. A recent study of Australian men has found that those who were sexually abused as children [...]
15 Nov
Chronic Pain Might Contribute To Suicidal Thoughts
ScienceDaily (Nov. 13, 2008) — New research suggests that patients with chronic pain are more prone than others are to consider suicide. The increased risk remained even when study authors took the possible influence of mental illness into account.
“This is further evidence that we need to be aware of the heightened risk for suicide in [...]
25 Sep
Preventing Suicide In Low- To Middle-income Countries
ScienceDaily – Sep. 23, 2008 — An international study of almost 2,000 people in Brazil, India, Sri Lanka, Iran and China has shown that a low cost strategy to keep in contact with people who have previously attempted suicide, can reduce the risk of subsequent suicides.
Given that suicide is among the top three causes of [...]
2 Sep
Patient follow-up helps reduce suicide rate: report
GENEVA (Reuters) – Sept. 01, 2008 – Health workers should follow up patients who try to commit suicide as an effective way to save lives, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a study published on Monday.
In its latest bulletin, the U.N. agency said 85 percent of suicide attempts took place in developing countries. Worldwide, [...]
9 Aug
Post-partum Suicide Attempt Risks Studied
(ScienceDaily) – Aug. 8, 2008 — Although maternal suicide after giving birth is a relatively rare occurrence, suicide attempts often have long-lasting effects on the family and the infant. Researchers have compared two populations of mothers and found that a history of psychiatric disorders or substance abuse was a strong predictor of post-partum suicide attempts.
Using [...]
2 Jul
THREE WOMEN…and mental illness
I conducted ‘chats’ with these courageous women while an in-patient on the psychiatric floor of a medical hospital, recovering from depression in 2002. I was able to converse with each woman separately where they shared their stories.
Note: I was discharged earlier than any of these women; therefore at that point, a conclusion to each woman’s [...]
3 Dec
Suicide Risk Increased in Sexually Abused Teens
By Amy Norton
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 – NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Teenagers who have ever been sexually abused appear to have a higher suicide risk than their peers, but their families may be able to make a difference, a large study suggests.
Researchers found that among nearly 84,000 Minnesota adolescents, those with a [...]
21 Oct
PTSD: Dirty Little Secrets
I wrote in earlier posts of my childhood sexual abuse; very much a ‘dirty little secret’.
Recollecting my past, namely at around eight years old, my friends and I would be playing in our yard and the predator next door would be sitting on his balcony. I felt frightened for them and me, and wanted so [...]
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