Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Even One Life is Too Many

Did you know that depression is more common than AIDS, cancer, and diabetes combined, and nearly 400,000 people attempt suicide in the U.S. every year? That is approximately 50,000 more than entire resident population of Honolulu, Hawaii (tourists don’t count in this one). Take a moment and think about that number, four hundred thousand.
-          History has shown that suicide attempts do not peak during the holiday season but do increase in the Spring.
-          Suicide rates are approximately 70% higher in areas greater than 6,000 feet in elevation.
-          American Indians and Native Alaskans have the highest risk of suicide at a rate of 14.3 people per every 100,000 people. Compare that to 13.5 per 100,000 for Caucasians and 5-6 per 100,000 for other races.
-          A family history of depression increases the changes a child will suffer the same by a factor of 11.
-          Only one in every 10-15 suicide attempts results in death.
Lessons learned have shown us that we need to care. It is no longer an “if” anymore but a “when”. We are a community of people who are real. And real people hurt. Some hurts are temporary while others take too long to heal. We are a community that is facing horrific acts of bullying and violence secondary to race, color, religion, gender, and National origin.
We as human beings need to look at those we care about and check in with them. Not everyone cries out for help. It is up to use to read between the lines of the conversations to find those cries for help. We need to care.
I believe we can do better. I believe we truly care.
I believe I can do better. I believe I truly care.
 

 

Even one life is too many to lose.

While we should do this daily, I encourage you on the 22nd of every month to call and check your battle buddy. It takes just a moment. Military or not, we deserve to see each other tomorrow.

 
#twloha
 Crisis Text Line 741-741
 - a safe place to talk via text with a counselor when you can't or are afraid to use your voice

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