A Look Back at World Suicide Prevention Day
- World Suicide Prevention Day occurs on September 10th every year
- It is a day filled with events to help promote suicide awareness
- The International Association for Suicide Prevention and the World Health Organization are the key contributors to this day
History of World Suicide Prevention Day
It has been estimated that nearly one million people die from suicide each year throughout the world. This means that the number of suicides outweighs the number of people who die from war or by homicide each year. The International Association for Suicide Prevention and the World Health Organization joined heads and on September 10 2003 they declared the first World Suicide Prevention Day. This event is worldwide and is set up to allow grieving family members to celebrate the life of their lost ones to suicide and to promote suicide awareness throughout the world. Suicide awareness includes the warning signs of suicide, how to help people who have suicidal thoughts, and how to help yourself if you have suicidal thoughts.
September 10th 2013 Suicide Prevention Day
September 10th is Suicide Prevention Day
This year’s theme for suicide prevention was ‘Stigma’. The stigma from other people regarding suicide causes many people to fear talking about their suicidal thoughts. Stigma makes people feel shameful for feeling suicidal and this can lead to suicides that could have been prevented if only the person did not feel embarrassed about seeking help for their feelings.
This year the International Association for Suicide Prevention had two main events that people around the world could join. The first event was called Cycle around the Globe. This event encouraged people to show their support against stigma towards suicide by riding their bikes as far as they wanted to. Each person who signed up received a cyclist number and reported back the amount of miles they had rode their bicycle.
According to the International Association for Suicide Prevention’s website, www.iasp.info, the ultimate goal was for all of the cyclist’s combined miles to equal or exceed the circumference of the entire world, which is 40,075 kilometers or 24,900 miles.
Another event that occurred was for people to light a candle in the window of their home at 8:00 PM. This event was meant to show suicide awareness throughout the globe and for people to pay their respects for the cause.
Numerous other organizations and health care facilities partake in the cause of Suicide Prevention Day and have seminars, walks, and fundraisers to show their support and to increase suicide awareness.
Every year there is a different theme for Suicide Prevention Day and the reason that that this year’s theme was ‘Stigma’ is because the lack of knowledge about suicide prevention and the stigma people carry about suicide prevent people from seeking out help when they are having suicidal thoughts. In order for people to receive the help they need for their emotional turmoil and to feel comfortable talking about their problems, the stigma against suicide needs to stop.
