ISSUE: WORLD SUICIDE PREVENTION DAY

Suicide is most often the result of pain, hopelessness, disconnection and despair. It is almost always preventable through caring, compassion, commitment and community – The CASP National Suicide Prevention Strategy.

Suicide is an issue that is still surrounded by fear, shame and silence—but by breaking through the barrier of stigma and openly addressing the factors that contribute to suicide, we can all help to prevent it. Click here for the website. 

World Suicide Prevention Day

SEPTEMBER 10, 2013

“HOPE AND RESILIENCY AT HOME AND WORK”

This year the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention is pleased to be partnering with the Mental Health Commission of Canada to promote World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD), held on September 10, 2013.  Building on the international theme of “Stigma: A major Barrier to Suicide Prevention”, Canada  will be focusing this year’s theme on Hope and Resiliency at Home and Work.

Families and workplaces have enormous potential to promote people’s growth, wellness and resilience. The Hope and Resiliency campaign is intended to nurture the capacity of families and workplaces to support mental, physical and spiritual wellness.  Families and work places play a critical role in helping their family members and employees develop the skills and abilities to cope with the unavoidable stresses, and challenges of life across the life span. The Hope and Resiliency campaign is intended to give families and employees the tools they need to thrive and be safer by strengthening connections, promoting conversations about mental wellness, and knowing how we can help protect and care for each other during times of crisis.

Two valuable resources have been produced to assist families and workplaces engage in these important life enhancing and life saving conversations. Hope and Resiliency at Home and Hope and Resiliency at Work contain useful information about ways we can all enhance the mental well being of ourselves and others and by doing so become suicide safer.  Conversation, connection, and mindful compassion are the three components that are emphasized throughout these materials. Click here for the website. 

Innovative Approaches to Suicide Prevention

Innovative Approaches to Suicide Prevention is an interactive presentation featuring the latest research coming from the American Association of Suicidology.

Participants will learn new approaches regarding:

• engaging male clients to reach out for support services;
• questioning accepted practice standards regarding suicide such as impulsivity and the connections between substance abuse and suicide;
• acquiring research-based tools for strengthening protective factors in community, and
• exploring the power of relational engagement.
• Click here for the website

New online programme helps beat bipolar disorder

A new online self-management programme to help those suffering from bipolar disorder has just been made freely available to the public. It was developed by Dr Daniel Smith, University of Glasgow, and colleagues at Cardiff University's National Centre for Mental Health.
Beatingbipolar.org aims to improve understanding about the condition and includes a wide range of advice to help those with the disorder manage it more effectively. It is the first of its kind to include interactive material and videos of both patients and professionals discussing the best approaches to long-term management.

Kenneth Lamont, Director of Bipolar Scotland, has tried the programme. He has had the condition for over thirty years. He said "I was initially impressed with the simplicity of the site, both in usage and in content. The information given was uncomplicated and jargon free and the site was also very interactive. Finally, the use of personal lived experience was a good idea, giving the impression, especially to those new to the diagnosis, that the condition CAN be managed, given the potential chaotic symptoms that Bipolar Disorder can reveal." Click here to continue reading. 

Neil Hilborn - "OCD"

A poet with obsessive compulsive disorder has taken the Internet by storm with a heartbreaking performance about falling in love.

And his bravery is inspiring others to share their own stories about overcoming limitations.

Neil Hilborn performed 'OCD' in June during the individual finals at the 2013 Rustbelt Regional Poetry Slam.

In the poem, through repetition and theatrics, Hilborn paints a painful but beautiful image of being in a relationship while dealing with OCD:

The first time I saw her everything in my head went quiet. All the tics, all the constantly refreshing images just disappeared. When you have obsessive compulsive disorder you don't really get quiet moments... When I saw her, the only thing I could think about was hairpin curve of her lips or the eyelash on her cheek, eyelash on her cheek, eyelash on her cheek.

On Monday, after Redditor antron81 posted the clip to Reddit, Hilborn's performance went viral.

He decided to do an impromptu Q and A on Reddit.

In the comments, Hilborn explains that the poem was written in 2011. The tics in the performance are intentional, he says, "but they are also .. actual tics. Sometimes in performance they become real." Click here to continue reading. 

Kevin Breel: Confessions of a Depressed Comic

Benefit plans can help with mental illness, but many still afraid to use them

Romina Maurino, Canadian Press | 13/07/24 10:36 AM ET

If you’re dealing with a mental illness, everyday tasks can begin to look like insurmountable obstacles.

And if you’re battling stress or anxiety, worries over how to cover your bills if the illness becomes too intense for you to do your job may be enough to push you down that deep dark hole.

Mental illness is a problem that affects one in five Canadians and that costs $6-billion in lost productivity a year, according to the Mental Health Commission of Canada. It’s also reflective of how the workplace has changed.

“Jobs are not as physical anymore. The type of work, the pace of work, the nature of work has changed,” said Marilee Mark, vice-president of market development for group benefits at Sun Life Financial.

“When that changes, you also expect to see some differences in the types of illnesses that we’re going to see in the workplace.”

While insurance companies used to see more claims for back injuries when jobs were more physical, they’re now seeing a higher percentage for mental health, because the jobs are more sedentary, she said.

About 30% of short- and long-term disability claims are now attributed to mental health problems and illnesses.

If a person is employed, there are provisions under any standard group benefit plan that would cover the need for short or long-term disability, regardless of the cause of the illness. Click here to continue reading.