National Conversation Needed About Suicide

Suicide prevention organizations have established September as the time for their public awareness–raising campaigns, so in its September issue, the American Journal of Psychiatry published an essay by Jennifer Bremer, M.D., titled “Purple and Turquoise Ribbons” in reference to the suicide prevention awareness ribbons.

In the essay, she covers the statistics: how about half of psychiatrists lose a patient to suicide, with about one-third subsequently experiencing mood and sleep disturbances, or even severe distress. But she also goes on to discuss how it affects other random individuals such as medical students, residents, nurses, police . . . or bystanders like her family. The horror she and her family witnessed one day when they were enjoying a weekend trip prompted her to seek answers, with the essay in AJP being a powerful and moving part of this search.

The full essay can be accessed AJP’s website here. For more information about suicide prevention, visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.