Just in the past month there have four suicides in Dougherty County. A number the coroner says is far too high. One man was found hanging from a tree near the Flint River. The next three were shootings.
"Have there been several of those recently? Absolutely and when you see them back to back, one week or one month after the other, it begins to raise awareness in people's minds to take a look at what might be going on," said Nick Carden, a clinical psychologist for the Renaissance Center in Albany.
"It's important that people understand that suicide, depending on what statistics you read is either the number two or number three leading cause of death particularly among adolescents and young adults, said Carden"
In 2010, Dougherty County saw nine suicides, Lee County had two and Terrell County saw none. Carden says 75 to 80% of cases show warning signs. And he says ignoring subtle warnings could make the difference of life or death.
"Whenever someone talks about life not being worth living, or saying goodbye, or I love you, in a context where you think why is this person telling me they love me? Those are the kind of things I just have learned I don't ignore," said Carden.
Recently the federal government stepped up suicide prevention efforts through social media. Facebook now has a link where users can anonymously report friends who talk publicly about suicidal tendencies. Then the website contacts that user, offering counseling resources.
"Over 100 people die every single day from suicide. That's one every 15 minutes, so it's a public health issue. And we need to decrease the stigma, bring it out in the open and talk about it," U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin.
The plan also calls on businesses, community groups, friends and family members to do their part in suicide prevention. Carden says while it can be uncomfortable to talk about, one conversation could save a life.
For more information about suicide prevention click on one of the links below.
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
http://www.afsp.org/
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