Suicide/Self-Injury/Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

“HE HEALS the BROKENHEARTED and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

For a variety of reasons, many students are overwhelmed and start to slip into a state of depression. It is important to understand that some of these students are also dealing with traumatic events from their past, and it’s not unusual for children and youth struggling with trauma and pain to engage in self-harm to reduce pain. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines self-harm as “an act with non-fatal outcome…” Which means that it is a deliberate action causing pain. Suicide ideation refers to contemplating or planning to self-injure or planning suicide, which is on the rise.  Suicide is one of the most common causes of death among high school and college students. Stress and depression have been linked to suicide attempts/suicide. However, there are ways to help such students. Many colleges and universities are beginning to offer social support to assist students in managing stress and anxiety and have even incorporated mental health counseling services and suicide and depression awareness programs. During these transition years, students need to have a robust campus support system in place. This section has a variety of resources that will help you better understand suicide/self-injury and non-suicidal self-injury.

Adventist Possibiliy Ministries

• Global Health Issues: Mental Health – Suicide

Books

• The Neuroscience of Suicidal Behavior by Kees Van Heeringen
• Why People Die by Suicide by Thomas Joiner
• Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig
• The Recovery Letters by Olivia Sagan and James Withey
• Living When a Young Friend Commits Suicide: Or Even Starts Talking About it by Earl A Grollman and Max Malikow
• The Gift of Second: Healing from the Impact of Suicide by Brandy Lidbeck

Links to Articles

General

• FIVE DOS AND DON’TS FOR HELPING SOMEONE IN DISTRESS, Colorado State University
• How to Deal with Self Harm, Crisis Text Line
• Self-harm, National Alliance on Mental Illness
• Self-Harm, MedlinePlus
• How Are Self-Injury and Suicide-Related?, Child Mind Institute

Elementary

• Why is Suicidal Behaviour Increasing Among Elementary School Children?, Today’s Parent
• Suicidal Thoughts are Increasing in Young Kids, Experts Say, NBC News
• 5 Facts About Child Suicides in America, The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
• Can Suicide Prevention Start in Kindergarten?, Parents

Middle Grades & High School

• Non-Suicidal Self-injury in Schools: Developing & Implementing School Protocol, Cornell Research Program
• Suicidal Ideation and Behaviors Among High School Students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2019, CDC
• Teen Suicide, Child Trends
• Facts & Stats, The Jason Foundation
• Teen Suicide on the Rise Among Canadian Girls, BBC News
• Child and Teen Suicides in Canada, Canadian Children’s Rights Council

College

• Non-Suicidal Self-Injury on College Campuses, Higher Education Today
• Who self-injures?, American Psycological Association
• Self-Injuries Behaviors in College Population, Janis Whitlock, PhD, MPH, John Eckenrode, PhD, Daniel Silverman, MD, MPA
• Predicting the Incidence of Non-suicidal self-injury in College Students, Cambridge University Press
• College and Teen suicide Statistics, Verywell Mind

For Parents

• Teen and Suicide: What Parents Should Know, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• About Teen Suicide, Nemours KidsHealth
• Teen Suicides: What Are the Risk Factors?, Child Mind Institute
• Parents Can Make a Planh to Decrease Suicide Risk in Their Teens, The Washington Post
• As Youth Suicides Climb, Anguished Parents Begin To Speak Out, KHN
• Parents Often Don’t Know When Teens Have Suicidal Thoughts, Reuters
• How to Talk to Children About Suicide: An Age-by-Age Guide (Preschool through College), Today
• Why You Should Talk to Kids About Suicide, Children’s Hospital Colorado

Videos

• Teen Suicide Prevention, Mayo Clinic | (3:47 Minutes)
• Suicide Prevention, Lynn Keane | TEDxYouth@Toronto (8:47 minutes)
• Suicide IS Preventable, Shawna Percy | TEDxUW (18:19 minutes)
• Understanding Suicide and Self-Harm, Dr. Sanjay Rao – YouTube | (75:48 minutes)

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These resource links are being provided for informational purposes only. The North American Division of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists is not responsible for the accuracy, legality, or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Please contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.