September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, so designated to heighten recognition that resources are available for those with brain health needs as well as for those who wish to help them.
“Suicidal ideation is trauma, caused by crisis, stress, or PTSD,” said Britni Farber, president and CEO of NAMI Dubuque. “When a person dies by suicide it is their worst-case scenario. Their emotional pain is so overwhelming that they just want it to stop – and they don’t know another way to do it. They do not have the skills, tools, or resources to get that pain out of their brain.”
Death by suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States, with over 48,000 people taking their own lives each year, just over 500 in Iowa alone. Those losses also affect the families, friends, colleagues, and neighbors of those who died and cause a ripple effect of sorrow throughout their community.
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