What is Suicide?

When I first decided to start blogging about Suicide and all that encompasses this topic, I was basing it all on my own personal experiences. After thinking and looking into it more deeply I realized that it is not a new idea. I just was not exposed to it until it had affected me personally. With that being said, there were so many questions I wanted to know about the topic.  

Here are some of the questions I wanted to know: 

• What is the definition of Suicide?  
• When was the term suicide prevention made popular? 
• Roughly how many people have committed suicide? 

Here is what I found out: 

•  “Suicide, the act of intentionally taking one’s own life. Because this definition does not specify the outcome of such acts, it is customary to distinguish between fatal suicide and attempted, or nonfatal, suicide (Britannica).” 
• “In 1958, the first suicide prevention center in the United States opened in Los Angeles, California, with funding from the U.S. Public Health Service (NCBI).” 
• “Every suicide is a tragedy. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Burden of Disease study estimate that almost 800,000 people die from suicide every year. That’s one person every 40 seconds (Our World in Data).” 

Suicide is a major issue in our society. Understanding it will help us to better help those around us who are struggling with this issue. With the rise in suicide, the more and more information is coming out about mental health. It is our job to find and evaluate the effectiveness of this information. Once we determine the effectiveness of this information, we than then go out and share with others. The more informed we are the better we can track mental health signs in those around us. This will hopefully allow us to be more active in the lives of those we care about and make sure that no one has to go through these difficult situations alone.