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accessHealthNews.net
June 2024
Volume 10 | Issue No. 85
The webinar covered in this article was
presented to clinicians and medical
personnel. The duties and responsibilities
discussed here do not apply equally to
nonmedical people. Before becoming
a support for a suicidal person, establish
boundaries around how you will support
them and secure support for yourself,
especially if you are alone in supporting
them. If someone threatens suicide or
self harm to get you to comply with
their instructions or desires, seek help
immediately.
In a recent HRSA webinar, Joe Hyde,
LMHC, CAS, spoke about understanding,
managing, and treating suicidality in men.
Although suicide has gradually lost some
tabboo as a topic, cultural biases about
men and emotions stunted conversation
about men's mental health to the point of
creating a lethal lag in in the improvement
of men's mental health.
Clinicians are often the first line of defense
in catching and treating mental health
crises in men. "A patient's ambivalent
thoughts about dying are an opportunity
for you to save a life," Hyde said.
The facts around suicide and men paint
a stark picture. Men are less likely to seek
help for mental health, regardless of age,
nationality, or race, and just half as likely
to seek help for depression or anxiety. At
the same time, men account for 75% of
suicide deaths in the U.S. Although this
data can make it seem as though men
account for just a third of mental health
crises and a disproportionate 75% of
suicide deaths, the disparity largely lies
in the number of men with poor mental
health and the number of men seeking
mental health care.
READ MORE
"I did not know anything about autism. I was not aware of autism.
The only thing I knew was that a few years before, there was the
movie Rain Man. That's all I knew about, and I kept saying, 'That's
not my son.' But actually, it was my son."
- Muriel Jones, mother of a son with an autism
spectrum disorder and schizophrenia