If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255. You can also talk to someone online by following this link.
On this edition of Your Call, we discuss the rising rate of suicides in the US. The recent deaths of chef Anthony Bourdain and designer Kate Spade have shone a spotlight on suicide, but a new study from the Centers for Disease Control shows that rates have been rising for the last two decades – nearly 30 percent since 1999.
Suicide claimed nearly 45,000 lives in 2016. In more than half of the cases, the deceased had no diagnosed mental illness. We’ll speak with mental health advocates about what these numbers tell us, and what we still don’t know. What factors put someone at risk for suicide, and how can we reverse the trend?
Guests:
Cecilia Villalobos, development coordinator at SF Suicide Prevention
David Elliot Lewis, vice president of the Board of Directors of the Mental Health Association of San Francisco
Web Resources:
NPR: CDC: U.S. Suicide Rates Have Climbed Dramatically
Democracy Now!: 123 Deaths a Day: Inside the Public Health Crisis of Rising Suicide Rates in the United States
Forbes: The Rise And Rise Of Suicide: We Must Remove The Stigma Of Mental Illness
