As we recognize National Suicide Prevention Day, I reflect on the old proverb, “What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.” This statement is a reflection of the most destructive force in our world today -- stigma.
Imagine you are in a car accident and you break your arm. Most of us would not hesitate to seek medical attention. Your arm would be casted, and within months the arm would be healed. Now imagine if stigma was attached to that broken arm. A person who experienced a broken arm was weak, nonfunctional and crazy. Would you share the situation with friends or co-workers? What if you did share it and they told you it was just in your head? You just needed to be stronger and overcome it. What if people started to gossip about your broken arm? Knowing this could happen, how willing would you be to seek help?
People who experience mental illness and contemplate suicide live with this stigma every day. The stigma prevents a person from sharing their suicidal ideations or their struggles with mental health. Alaska has the highest rate of suicide per capita in the country. Our rate is nearly twice the national average. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, approximately 90 percent of individuals who complete suicide were concurrently experiencing a mental illness, which is most often depression.
A significant contributor to mental illness is adverse childhood experiences. These adversities are known as adverse childhood experiences. ACEs are stressful or traumatic experiences, including abuse, neglect and a range of household dysfunction such as witnessing domestic violence, or growing up with substance abuse, mental illness, parental discord, or crime in the home.
To continue reading this commentary by Alaska Children's Trust executive director and ACEsConnection member Trevor Storrs, go to: http://www.adn.com/article/201...ose-life-not-suicide
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