The Editor Speaks: September 10th 2012 is World Suicide Prevention Day.
World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10th, is an opportunity for all sectors of the community – the public, charitable organizations, communities, researchers, clinicians, practitioners, politicians and policy makers, volunteers, those bereaved by suicide, other interested groups and individuals – to join with the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to focus public attention on the unacceptable burden and costs of suicidal behaviours with diverse activities to promote understanding about suicide and highlight effective prevention activities.
Those activities may call attention to the global burden of suicidal behaviour, and discuss local, regional and national strategies for suicide prevention, highlighting cultural initiatives and emphasising how specific prevention initiatives are shaped to address local cultural conditions.
Initiatives which actively educate and involve people are likely to be most effective in helping people learn new information about suicide and suicide prevention.
Suicidal behaviour can occur at any age. The frequency of suicidal behaviour escalates steeply from childhood through middle to late adolescence and into adulthood. Suicide ranks as the second cause of death worldwide among 15-19 year olds, with at least 100,000 adolescents dying by suicide every year. Suicide rates are high among middle-aged and older adults and highest among those aged 75 and older. Elderly people are likely to have higher suicidal intent and use more lethal methods than younger people, and they are less likely to survive the physical consequences of an attempt.
On average, there are about three male suicides for every female suicide. This is more or less consistent across different age groups and in almost every country in the world.
The reason I have mentioned it here is because I have never seen any activities organised in the Cayman Islands nor any awareness here that such a day exists and has for TEN years.
The 10th September should easily be remembered in the Cayman Islands as it was the day before Hurricane Ivan bore down on us and I was celebrating Joan Wilson’s 70th birthday
If you believe in Astrology Virgos born on September 10 have great personal flair and showy talent, along with magnetism and charisma. They are not particularly good at taking care of money, probably because it’s impossible for them to separate emotional reactions from concerns of budgets and investments.
That sums up Joan and thank goodness she went by her emotions and not by concerns of budgets and investments otherwise iNews Cayman wouldn’t be here.
And talking of that, Joan shares another birthday with the Television Station CITN-Cayman27 – another company she co-founded and went by her emotions and not advice from accountants. Do you know of any accountant that was a visionary? CITN is 20 years of age today as well.
On Joan’s birthday CITN put out a television for the very first time at exactly 4:29pm!
So 10th September is a very happy day for Joan and myself and a very lucky man I am indeed.
Who said when you reach three score years and ten it’s time to hang up your boots/shoes and fade away gracefully….?
So if you are considering the awful thought of suicide just think of the precious life you are wasting. Nothing is as bad as it appears and there is a special day set aside just for you. Visit the World Suicide Prevention Day website (http://www.iasp.info/wspd/) ……
and Light a Candle at or Near a Window at 8pm and join other across the world. Also think of Joan and wish her many Happy Birthdays too.
