Skip to main content

No More Blame



Today’s guest post by Rebecca Niburg is a look at mental illness and suicide, prompted by the news of designer Kate Spade’s untimely death.


For many years, mental health issues have been a particular problem for women. Not only are women more apt to have mental health issues (https://www.psychologytoday.com/…/…/women-and-mental-illness; http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditi…/depression-women) but the way that women have been treated and stereotyped ("hysterical female" and "too emotional for the workplace" for example) means that there is a stigma and societal framework surrounding getting help for mental health.
In addition, this isn't a "one size fits all" problem or issue, different groups have different issues (http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/c…/minority-mental-health). The numbers for suicide specifically, however, show that minorities (except for native peoples) are less likely to die by suicide (https://www.sprc.org/racial-ethnic-disparities). Minorities do have a high instance of depression and PTSD however (not surprising considering how we as a society treat Latinx, AA, and other minority groups especially under but not limited to the current administration).http://www.networkofcare.org/library/womenanddepression.pdf

Suicide is also not a young person's problem. The age group most likely to die by suicide is 45-54 and second likely is over age 85. https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics/

Mental health research and resources have been chronically underfunded and this administration has taken steps to further reduce the money available. The organization which does the most research into suicide prevention is the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (full disclosure, I served as the Walk co-/chair for AFSP in Howard County for the past 3 years). https://afsp.org/ NAMI is another organization working on mental health issues as a whole (not specific to suicide like AFSP) https://www.nami.org/

So, what can you do? The first thing is to focus on the language that you use so that you aren't unintentionally contributing to the stigma or playing into outdated ideas. For example, saying someone "committed suicide" has a blame component - would you say someone intentionally caused a heart attack? or cancer? same idea - mental illness caused the suicide, not the person. My most apt used phrase when talking about mental illness and suicide is "don't ascribe logic, mental illness doesn't use logic and someone having a mental health crisis is having the disease speak for/through them." Similarly, don't call someone "crazy" because they are acting in a way you don't like. Using words associated with mental illness for people acting poorly draws a correlation between "bad behavior" and mental illness and thereby stigmatizes people suffering from the illness. https://www.speakingofsuicide.com/20…/…/21/suicide-language/https://www.today.com/…/calling-people-crazy-ocd-or-psycho-…

The second thing you can do is to visit resources like this: https://afsp.org/take-action/https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/What-Can-I-Do and share resources like this: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/

Also, if anyone wants to walk with me in Columbia MD at the end of September, I'd love to have you join me. Its also an easy way to make a donation to help fight suicide and brings a supportive community together (if every member made a $5 donation, think about how much that would be!). There are multiple walks all over the area if Howard County isn't convenient for you and you can find  links to those Walks from the AFSP page. https://afsp.donordrive.com/index.cfm…

                                                                *****

Rebecca Niburg began advocating on mental health issues after losing a friend to suicide in 2011 and has served as chair/co-chair of the Howard County Out of the Darkness Walk for the past 3 years.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more