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Suicide prevention and the “It gets better” campaign

*** Important: If you are thinking about suicide or experiencing a crisis right now, don't wait: Call 9-1-1 or go to your nearest hospital emergency room. There are professionals available who can give you immediate help. *** I've been deeply moved by the recent movement "It gets better." In response to some recent high-profile teen suicides, Dan Savage, a well-known writer and openly gay man, sparked a tremendous viral video campaign in … [Read more...]

Commercials are bad for my mental health

Lately, I have found myself watching commercials more consciously. And it seems that pretty much everything about me is simply not good enough -- not my skin, my body shape, the way my house smells, or even my own role in my family. This constant barrage of criticism can't be good for my mental health, can it? Even though I can intellectually reject it, messages can still creep into my subconscious. And if it's not good for my mental … [Read more...]

Suicide in the news

I found it curious that last Saturday two of our national newspapers had below-the-fold cover stories on the topic of suicide. Suicide is something that rarely gets discussed among family members, let alone in our mainstream media. In this case though, both stories covered the suicidal deaths of soldiers. The Globe and Mail investigated the death of Major Michelle Mendes, who killed herself in Afganistan at the age of 30. The Ottawa Citizen … [Read more...]