STOP Suicide: Spotting the Signs and Helping a Suicidal Person

Suicide Prevention: Spotting the Signs and Helping a Suicidal Person:

"A suicidal person may not ask for help, but that doesn't mean that help isn't wanted. Most people who commit suicide don't want to die—they just want to stop hurting. Suicide prevention starts with recognizing the warning signs and taking them seriously.
If you think a friend or family member is considering suicide, you might be afraid to bring up the subject. But talking openly about suicidal thoughts and feelings can save a life. Speak up if you're concerned and seek professional help immediately! Through understanding, reassurance, and support, you can help your loved one overcome thoughts of suicide."

Common Misconceptions about Suicide

FALSE: People who talk about suicide won't really do it.
Almost everyone who commits or attempts suicide has given some clue or warning. Do not ignore suicide threats. Statements like "you'll be sorry when I'm dead," "I can't see any way out," — no matter how casually or jokingly said may indicate serious suicidal feelings.

FALSE: Anyone who tries to kill him/herself must be crazy.
Most suicidal people are not psychotic or insane. They must be upset, grief-stricken, depressed or despairing, but extreme distress and emotional pain are not necessarily signs of mental illness.

FALSE: If a person is determined to kill him/herself, nothing is going to stop them.
Even the most severely depressed person has mixed feelings about death, wavering until the very last moment between wanting to live and wanting to die. Most suicidal people do not want death; they want the pain to stop. The impulse to end it all, however overpowering, does not last forever.

FALSE: People who commit suicide are people who were unwilling to seek help .
Studies of suicide victims have shown that more than half had sought medical help in the six months prior to their deaths.

FALSE: Talking about suicide may give someone the idea.
You don't give a suicidal person morbid ideas by talking about suicide. The opposite is true — bringing up the subject of suicide and discussing it openly is one of the most helpful things you can do.

If you're thinking about committing suicide, please read If You're Feeling Suicidal or call 1-800-273-TALK now! To find a suicide helpline outside the U.S., visit Befrienders Worldwide.

Suicide Warning Signs
Talking about suicide Any talk about suicide, dying, or self-harm, such as "I wish I hadn't been born," "If I see you again...," and "I'd be better off dead."
Seeking out lethal means Seeking access to guns, pills, knives, or other objects that could be used in a suicide attempt.
Preoccupation with death Unusual focus on death, dying, or violence. Writing poems or stories about death.
No hope for the future Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and being trapped ("There's no way out"). Belief that things will never get better or change.
Self-loathing, self-hatred Feelings of worthlessness, guilt, shame, and self-hatred. Feeling like a burden ("Everyone would be better off without me").
Getting affairs in order Making out a will. Giving away prized possessions. Making arrangements for family members.
Saying goodbye Unusual or unexpected visits or calls to family and friends. Saying goodbye to people as if they won't be seen again.
Withdrawing from others Withdrawing from friends and family. Increasing social isolation. Desire to be left alone.
Self-destructive behavior Increased alcohol or drug use, reckless driving, unsafe sex. Taking unnecessary risks as if they have a "death wish".
Sudden sense of calm A sudden sense of calm and happiness after being extremely depressed can mean that the person has made a decision to commit suicide.

Healthy Food: for the Brain & Body

The Swazi Observer: "In most developed countries, alcoholism is often responsible for nutritional deficiencies that affect mental functioning. Diseases can also cause nutritional deficiencies by affecting absorption of nutrients into the body or increasing nutritional requirements. Poverty, ignorance and junk foods contribute to nutritional deficiencies. Your brain likes to eat. And it likes powerful fuel: quality fats, antioxidants, and small, steady amounts of the best carbohydrates.

Here is a list of foods that supercharge your brain: Remember to consult your food for blood type list.
1. Avocado: Start each day with a mix of high-quality protein and beneficial fats to build the foundation for an energised day. Avocado with scrambled eggs provides both, and the monounsaturated fat helps blood circulate better, which is essential for optimal brain function.
2. Blueberries: These delicious berries are one of the best foods for you, period, but they’re very good for your brain as well. Since they’re high in fibre and low on the glycemic index, they are safe for diabetics and they do not spike blood sugar. They are possibly the best brain food on earth: they have been linked to reduce risk for Alzheimer’s, shown to improve learning ability and motor skills in rats, and they are one of the most powerful anti-stress foods you can eat. Avoid: dried, sweetened blueberries."

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USDA works to address 'food deserts' - UPI.com

USDA works to address 'food deserts' - UPI.com: "Part of first lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! initiative, the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, will expand the availability of nutritious food to food deserts -- low-income communities without ready access to healthy and affordable food -- by developing and equipping grocery stores, small retailers, corner stores and farmers markets with fresh and healthy food.

'These grants will put resources into rural and urban economies to create and support direct marketing opportunities for farmers' Kathleen Merrigan, deputy agriculture secretary, says in a statement. 'Consumer and farmer enthusiasm for direct marketing has never been greater. This year we will place emphasis on food deserts because America's low income and underserved communities need greater access to healthy, fresh food.'

For fiscal year 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service will competitively award grants to projects that develop producer-to-consumer market outlets, including but not limited to farmers markets, community supported agriculture, and road-side stands.

The number of operational U.S. farmers markets listed in the USDA National Farmers Market Directory has risen from 1,755 to 6,132 since 1994."

Wellness Update: Asia: Indonesia Climate Change Education Forum

When it comes to climate change, we have no planet B | The Jakarta Post: "The British Council was one of more than 20 participants in the first-ever Indonesia Climate Change Education Forum and Expo at the Jakarta Convention Hall last May 26-29. The National Council on Climate change (DNPI) hosted the forum which had the theme “A call to cope with the climate crisis”.

Indeed, local and central government offices, private firms, environment NGOs, media outlets, international organizations and foreign embassies participated in answering that call. Many school-age children came to listen and learn. For the non-expert, the forum was a copious clearinghouse of current information on climate change.

DNPI, for instance, distributed a single, A4-sized flow chart explaining the impact of climate change in Indonesia on seven levels.

Human activity in the use of fossil fuels and changing land-use practices produce greenhouse gas
emissions, particularly carbon dioxide. That in turn causes the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect causes global warming which brings about climate change indicated by a change in rainfall patterns, an increase in temperature, and rise in the level of seawater. These three climate change indicators have impacts."

Wellness Update: North America: Hackers gather around the globe to fight climate change

Hackers gather around the globe to fight climate change - CNN.com: "this weekend, self-proclaimed hackers around the world will gather at 'hackathon' events to tackle disaster-risk management and climate change. The occasion is the semiannual Random Hacks of Kindness global conference, which seeks to leverage Internet data to address world problems.
Gatherings will be held in cities around the globe, from Atlanta to California's Silicon Valley and from Basel, Switzerland, to Bogota, Colombia. The conference is the result of a 2009 collaboration by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo!, NASA and the World Bank, which founded Random Hacks of Kindness. (Both the organization and the events it organizes are known as RHoK.)
The group solicits 'problem definitions' from organizations in the field of disaster preparedness, relief and climate change and puts them before 'tech-savvy do-gooders,' according to Elizabeth Sabet from SecondMuse, RHoK's global operational lead.
It's this synthesis between subject-matter experts and computer hackers that makes RHoK effective, its leaders said.
'Technical solutions created only by technical people are often too cumbersome for the field,' said Philadelphia organizer Mike Brennan. 'Solutions created by field experts alone often lack the technical and scientific basis for an effective solution. RHoK is looking to address these weaknesses directly.'"

Wellness Update Africa: How Governments Can Engage the Private Health Sector to Improve Health in Africa (IFC & World Bank Report)

Ghana News :: <i>Feature</i>: How we can engage the Private Health Sector ::: Breaking News | News in Ghana | health: "Responding to the urgent need for effective partnership with the private sector, IFC and the World Bank are launching a report titled Healthy Partnerships How Governments Can Engage the Private Health Sector to Improve Health in Africa.

For the first time, the report offers a standardized assessment of how public-private engagement is working. The report offers a framework for policy makers and an analysis of the key elements of success. Good practice examples show that the government must recognize the private sector as a partner in service provision and ask for its full participation in achieving national health goals. Private providers themselves are asked to do their part and organize in a way that enables the government to interact with them effectively.

The key conclusion is that the health system must be seen as one; that parallel systems lead to wasted resources and unnecessary loss of lives."

Wellness Update: Australia to face new foreign aid request

Australia to face new foreign aid request: "Australia's commitment to curb global infant death rates will be tested this month when Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd faces requests for a fresh wave of funding.

Mr Rudd will attend the Saving Children's Lives pledging conference in London where global health alliance GAVI, will seek billions of dollars to help deliver vaccines to combat child mortality.

In the year 2000 the United Nations undertook to slash by two-thirds - between 1990 and 2015 - the death rate of children aged under five years.

The goal is set to fail and in a last-ditch effort to improve the outlook, GAVI is calling for help to deliver vaccines to nearly a quarter of a billion children across the world in the next three years.

Australia has already committed $A90 million directly to GAVI for 2006 to 2013, and made a further $A250 million commitment over 20 years through the alliance's investment branch, the International Finance Facility for Immunisation.

The facility now aims to make up a $US3.7 billion shortfall in funding for programs through until 2015.

In practical terms the money would pay for new vaccines with the potential to save some four million lives by 2015, GAVI says."