September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
SEP 23
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Here’s food for thought the next time you’re in a room with four other people. One in five people will experience mental illness at some point in the next year. If you’ve got four people around you, the odds are high that one of you will be affected by or is already living with a mental health disorder.
A mental health disorder, while certainly unwelcome, isn’t catastrophic. Like any other illness, it’s treatable. And, in fact, there are more and more groundbreaking treatments available all the time that help people balance their brains and lead healthy, happy, productive lives.
What is catastrophic is the link between mental illness and suicide. To bring awareness to this devastating issue, we’re joining with people and organizations across the country to participate in National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month this September.
Suicide is stigmatized. We don’t talk about it, which means we also don’t talk about what leads to it and what we can do to prevent it. That’s why we think this month of awareness, cultivating conversations around this topic, is so important.
If you’ve ever experienced suicidal thoughts, we encourage you to talk with someone about them. Just verbalizing those thoughts releases some of their power over you. And working with someone you trust helps you get on a path toward greater mental health and happiness.
The link between depression and suicide
What leads to suicide? It can be a number of factors. But one of the leading causes is depression. The US Department of Health & Human Services reports that being diagnosed with depression is directly linked to an increased risk of dying by suicide. And the more severe your depression, the greater your risk. All told, they estimate that around 60% of people who commit suicide were living with a mental health disorder like depression.
If you’re living with depression, seeking treatment is one of the best things you can do to lower your risk of suicide and help yourself reclaim your happiness. Don’t let the stigma around mental illnesses keep you from talking with people about the way you’re feeling. Mental illness is just like physical illness; it can affect anyone and, in many cases, it’s not something that will just go away on its own.
Getting treatment for your depression and reclaiming your life
At Acacia, we’re here to help. Our team of dedicated mental health professionals is committed to joining you on your journey to take back your happiness. That’s why we offer a range of treatments, including talk therapy, medication management, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS).
TMS is an FDA-approved, noninvasive, medication-free treatment for people with depression who haven’t responded to other types of treatment. During TMS, our team uses magnetic impulses to stimulate the parts of your brain that cause depression because they’re underactive. Kickstarting activity in these portions of your brain can deliver both short-term relief from your symptoms and lasting control over your depression.
This September is a perfect time to talk about mental health. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team to discuss the way you’re feeling — and how we can help you feel better.
