September is National Suicide Prevention Month. Whether you’re aware or not, there is likely someone in your life struggling with mental health issues or suicidal thoughts or actions. According to the CDC, 13.2 million adults considered committing suicide in 2022. Reposting a “World Suicide Awareness Day” message to your Instagram story, may shed light to your direct following, it still doesn’t show your true support for suicide prevention if your actions don’t go much further.
Why do people feel the need to show their support online for social movements, national prevention months, etc. when they aren’t actively doing anything else during the year? Is it to be liked by others? Thanked for their support? This is called tokenism, essentially making a symbolic effort of supporting a group of people to look better to others and make yourself feel better, but truly lacking any real impact. Here are some real ways you can support suicide prevention and make a lasting impact in your community:Â
De-Stigmatize and Educate Â
For many, the word suicide evokes feelings of discomfort, even if they’ve never experienced the effects firsthand. Others have been told it isn’t a conversation to engage in or it’s a “bad word.” However, breaking the stigma surrounding suicide allows us to learn that more people are impacted than we truly know. When we open ourselves up to learning about the impacts of suicide, we also get to educate ourselves and others on how they can begin to break the stigma and bring awareness to suicide prevention efforts. Â
In my own personal experience, I encourage friends and family to feel comfortable sharing their feelings with me. Creating a safe place for those around you to speak freely helps to break the barrier and furthers the opportunity to share helpful resources.Â
The following are some resources that can be passed along for educational purposes, or even to bring yourself up to speed on the current statistics surrounding suicide prevention efforts:Â
National Institute of Mental Health
National Alliance on Mental Illness
AdvocateÂ
Advocation for suicide prevention starts in your own community and can extend all the way to the national level. Supporting local, state and national legislation for suicide prevention benefits members of your community and the larger nationwide community. It also provides you the opportunity to hear stories of those who have been impact by suicide, either directly or indirectly, and the chance to help foster a safe place for those struggling. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is a good place to start if you’re looking for a way to get more involved with suicide prevention legislation.
If you’re someone who has directly been impacted by suicide, advocating is also an opportunity to share your personal story if you’re comfortable. Oftentimes, people feel alone in their struggles, thinking if they share they’ll be an outcast; however, it is important to recognize suicide has impacted many.Â
Awareness CampaignsÂ
Now you might be wondering, how did I call out the surge of posts on World Suicide Awareness Day, but I’m telling you to participate in awareness campaigns? When choosing to participate in awareness campaigns, choose campaigns that have a component that gives back, whether it be reposting an image that promises to give $5 to a charity for each repost or joining a community walk or fundraiser to support an organization that promotes suicide prevention. These campaigns not only bring awareness to suicide prevention both locally and nationally, but find a way to support charities, organizations and more that spread suicide prevention efforts further.
Walks for a cause are another popular option that I have taken part in. These walks usually include sponsors and raise funds for a particular cause while involving the local community. This is also an opportunity to learn and hear from families and individuals in your community who have been impacted by suicide.Â
These options are not limited to suicide prevention efforts, nor are suicide prevention efforts limited to the month of September. Make you real-life actions match your digital stance; movements for change are not a trend.