If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call Or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis lifeline.
Suicide Prevention Month
Suicidal thoughts, like mental health problems, can affect anyone, regardless of age, gender or background. In fact, suicide is often the result of an untreated mental health problem. Suicidal thoughts, although common, should not be considered normal and often indicate more serious problems.
September is Suicide Prevention Month, a time to raise awareness and discuss this highly stigmatized topic. In addition to changing public perception, we are using this month to spread hope and life-saving information to those affected by suicide. Our goal is to ensure that individuals, friends and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention and seek help.
How to participate in Suicide Prevention Month
During Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, please refer to these images and graphics you can use it on your website and social media accounts. Use #SuicidePrevention
While it is important to address suicide prevention throughout the year, Suicide Prevention Awareness Month provides a special time to come together with collective passion and strength to address this difficult topic. The truth is that we can all benefit from honest conversations about mental health issues and suicide, because just one conversation can change a life.
Lawyer
Join our movement to advocate for a better mental health care system by signing up for advocacy alerts and To take part when opportunities present themselves in your community.
Order NAMI’s First Book: “You Are Not Alone”
“You Are Not Alone,” NAMI’s very first book, is here to offer help. Written by Dr. Ken Duckworth with the expertise of a renowned psychiatrist and the empathy of a family member affected by mental illness, this comprehensive guide includes the stories of more than 130 people who have been there, including including people with mental illness and carers, and who understand how difficult it can be to find the help you need, when you need it. Their stories are what sets this book apart from your typical guide to mental health.
The book explains how to get help, pathways to recovery, the intersection of culture and mental health, and many other important topics to guide any person’s mental health journey. NAMI’s hope is that this guide can help people find this essential help and support sooner and make recovery more accessible to those trying to find it.
Order your copy of the book today or for bulk purchases, visit Porchlight – You are not alone.
Share highlights
These are just a few of the reasons why it is important to help promote Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Please use these and other facts, including the “It’s okay to talk about suicide» infographics on our website, to encourage discussions with your community via social media or other forms of outreach.
Individual impact:
- 79% of all people who commit suicide are men.
- Although more women than men attempt suicide, men are 4 times more likely to commit suicide.
- Suicide is 2sd leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 14, the 3rd leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds and 12th leading cause of death in the United States
- 46% of people who commit suicide have had a diagnosed mental health problem, but research suggests that 90% of these may have experienced symptoms of a mental health problem.
Impact on the community:
- Annual prevalence of serious suicidal thoughts, high-risk populations:
- US adults: 4.8%
- Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: 7.4%
- Mixed/Multiracial: 8.2%
- American Indian/Alaska Native: 8.5%
- Young adults aged 18 to 25: 13%
- High school students: 22%
- LGBTQ youth: 41%
- The highest suicide rates in the United States are among American Indians and Alaska Natives, followed by non-Hispanic whites.
- Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth.
- Transgender adults are nearly 9 times more likely to attempt suicide at some point in their lives than the general population.
- Suicide is the leading cause of death for people held in local jails.
Data from CDC, NIMH and other selected sources.
Blogs and personal stories
Taking community suicide prevention to the next level
The Blizzard of Depression and the Importance of Compassion
Surviving suicide loss and resisting stigma
