Around 2012, something started going wrong in the lives of teens. In just the five years between 2010 and 2015, the number of U.S. teens who felt useless and joyless – classic symptoms of depression – surged 33 percent in large national surveys. Teen suicide attempts increased 23 percent. Even more troubling, the number of 13- to Read more
An English judge has freed a chemist charged with murdering his 85-year-old father who wished to die. The judge said, “Your acts of assistance were acts of pure compassion and mercy.” Read more
Suspected suicides have increased by 11 per cent in the last three months compared to 2016, raising concerns from the chief coroner. Chief Coroner Judge Deborah Marshall shared the new figures at a zero suicide prevention forum in Christchurch this week. She said it was too early to draw conclusions on the 2017-18 figures, but said: “Clearly Read more
As 100 bikers arrived in Featherston last month to rally against teen suicide, our youth were there to manaaki them, and the whole community got in behind them in support. Yet only a couple of years ago, the youth were the talk of the town – but the talk was hardly positive. Alan Maxwell, an Read more
We don’t subscribe to print publications in our house (despite the best efforts of the New Zealand Herald to get us hooked with their free “hit” of six weeks’ free newspapers – we tried it once but it wasn’t worth the numerous letters and phone calls we received afterwards trying to convince us to purchase a subscription). Read more
When I was 16 years old, a member of my family made a serious attempt at suicide; so serious no-one could work out how they’d survived. I remember sitting on the floor in the lounge, going through the motions of doing my homework, wondering how anyone could do that. Being a self-absorbed teenager, I also wondered Read more
News from Chief Coroner Deborah Marshall that a record 606 people took their own lives in 2016/17, up from 579 the previous year and 564 the year before that, shows that how this country is tackling suicide is not working. This month Health Minister Jonathan Coleman announced a $100 million allocation to fund 17 initiatives Read more
Unlike some other principals in South Canterbury, Roncalli College’s Chris Comeau, has brushed off the concerns raised by the South Canterbury District Health Board (SCDHB) about Mental health crusader Mike King speaking to his students. “While I can appreciate their concerns, I think it would be far more effective for all of us to get Read more
There’s no such thing as male privilege when it comes to suicide. International statistics confirm we’re three times more likely than women to take our own lives. For guys under 45, it’s the primary cause of death. Though women are worse off in many ways in society, this is one issue that disproportionally affects men. Read more