Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States and a major public health concern. When a person dies by suicide, the effects are felt by family, friends, and communities. This brochure, developed by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), can help you, a friend, or a family member learn more about the warning signs of suicide, ways to help prevent suicide, and effective treatment options. Read more ›
Early in his first quarter at the University of California-Davis, Ryan Manriquez realized he needed help. A combination of pressures — avoiding covid-19, enduring a breakup, dealing with a disability, trying to keep up with a tough slate of classes — hit him hard. Read more ›
People deal with difficult feelings in all sorts of ways. They may talk with friends, go work out, or listen to music. But some people may feel an urge to hurt themselves when distressed. Read more ›
When the researchers Carl Hanson and Quinn Snell set out to identify the top 10 factors that predicted suicidal thoughts and behavior in 179,000 Utah high school students, they had no preconceived notions. Instead, they fed years worth of survey responses from those teens, who’d answered questions about things like school involvement, family life, and mental health, into 100 different machine learning models, eager to let the data lead them to a conclusion. Read more ›
Just as there’s research on how to prevent mental health crises and interventions for people who are actively suicidal, research is also developing around the effective steps that can be taken after a suicide to help communities grieve, restore a sense of stability and limit the risk of more deaths. Read more ›
Many Americans with mental illness report waiting weeks for care, even for serious depression or suicidality. California has a new law for insurers, limiting those wait times to two weeks or less. Read more ›
A coalition of the nation’s leading experts in pediatric health has issued an urgent warning declaring the mental health crisis among children so dire that it has become a national emergency. Read more ›
When I wrote about my son’s depression and suicidal ideation, I was afraid to read the comments. I expected the Internet to tell me what I still feared deep down: it was all my fault. Read more ›
Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for adolescents. The social and academic stresses of these years, combined with the availability of alcohol and drugs and the effect of social media, leave many parents concerned about the mental well-being of their children. Read more ›
