September Series 05 - Keeping Your Home Safe

Mental Health Awareness - 05

I’ve decided to start a bit of a series on some mental health topics to raise awareness.  If you haven’t read my story, feel free to read it at: http://hanmichelleb.blogspot.com/2017/08/my-mental-health-story-so-far.html

05:  Keeping Your Home Safe

Preventing suicide starts at home.  Do you know the best ways to keep your loved ones safe?

Important Statistics

Suicidal ideation normally comes quickly and lasts for less than an hour - according to AASP, a survey found that a person who decided on suicide actually made that attempt within ten minutes.  Ten minutes!  By making the means more difficult, many of these attempts likely could have been prevented.

• 30% of those surveyed also found that suicidal ideation only lasted for an hour.  

• In other countries, when the availability of highly lethal and commonly used suicide methods were reduced, the decline of suicide rates have been between 30% and 50%!
• 50% of all suicides are done with firearms (AFSP).

The first thing you should do is remove anything that could be an easy way for someone to use.  Availability is a big deal when it comes to suicide.

Guns: (responsible for 50% of suicides)

• Keep guns locked up or hidden.  Remove them from the home if the threat is imminent.  
• Store guns away from ammunition

Others:

• Lock up large prescriptions and OTC drugs
• Dispose of all old and unused prescriptions
• Request smaller refills of prescriptions
• Keep knives and sharp objects hidden or out of reach

Things you should do:

• Have the Suicide Hotline number and other numbers available.  They have magnets for your refrigerator!
• Seek assistance, this is not something to fight alone, or even just within your family.  
• Make a safety plan, do not let a loved one have suicidal ideation alone.
• Listen non-judgmentally.
• Be caring, as about each other’s well being.
• Look for ways to help if a loved one is suicidal, and figure out how to best help them.

If you are ever in a crisis (in the US):

9-1-1 (Yes, this is an option!)

National Suicide Hotline/AFSP: Call 1-800-273-8255

CRISIS TEXT LINE: Text HOME to 741-741