{"id":2549,"date":"2019-09-03T13:07:53","date_gmt":"2019-09-03T17:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2549"},"modified":"2019-09-03T13:07:53","modified_gmt":"2019-09-03T17:07:53","slug":"from-the-editor-september-is-national-suicide-awareness-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.syracusewomanmag.com\/?p=2549","title":{"rendered":"FROM THE EDITOR: September is National Suicide Awareness Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is our arts and style issue, so you\u2019re about to read a lot of relatively light-spirited articles about fashion, music and the arts.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s start with the heavy stuff, all right?<\/p>\n

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. We tend not to talk about suicide and mental health, because it\u2019s a heavy topic, and because there\u2019s still a lot of stigma associated with mental illness. Personally, I don\u2019t get that. If you\u2019re sick, you\u2019re sick, whether it\u2019s depression or cancer or lupus or multiple sclerosis, and you should feel no shame in seeking treatment for it. But everyone has their hang-ups, I guess.<\/p>\n

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. More than 41,000 people die by suicide every year. In 2017 alone, there were an estimated 1,400,000\u00a0suicide attempts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And this is definitely a women\u2019s issue. While statistically more men complete suicide, women show higher rates of suicidal ideation and are more likely to attempt suicide, according to studies by the World Health Organization<\/a>. And since 2010, while suicide rates for both genders have risen, the spike is much higher among women \u2014 50 percent <\/a>vs. 21 percent among men.<\/p>\n

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness<\/a>, some 46 percent of people who die by suicide had a diagnosed mental health condition. But that\u2019s not the only risk factor for suicide. Others include:<\/p>\n