September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day – CAMH expert available for interview

TORONTO, Sept. 4, 2013 – Approximately 4,000 Canadians die by suicide every year, leaving thousands of devastated family members, friends and colleagues behind. While a few cases make it onto the front pages—Rehtaeh Parsons, Ashley Smith, Amanda Todd— most are never talked about. Yet the numbers are staggering:

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among Canadian youth aged 15-24 (after vehicular accidents).
About 90 per cent of people who have died by suicide have at least one mental health disorder.
Suicide rates are five to seven times higher for First Nations youth than for non-Aboriginal youth.
Suicide rates among Inuit youth are among the highest in the world, at 11 times the national average.

Suicide remains largely a taboo subject, but understanding what drives people to end their lives is the key to prevention. September 10^th is World Suicide Prevention Day, created by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) to end the silence, encourage discussion and ultimately help prevent deaths from suicide. This year’s theme is Stigma: A Major Barrier to Suicide Prevention.

“There is a need to address the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicidality, because it acts as a barrier to seeking help,” says Dr. David Goldbloom, CAMH’s Senior Medical Advisor. “Fear of addressing mental illness grows out of the myth that it’s untreatable. There are many treatments currently available that are effective, and people need to know that it’s alright to seek help, before it’s too late. But we also need better treatments and better access to them.”

As a preventable cause of death, suicide is a topic that needs to be addressed in schools, workplaces and by families. This Suicide Prevention Day, we as a society must start talking about suicide more openly.

CAMH has online resources for available for people who would like to learn more or have been affected by suicide:

Information on suicide: List of symptoms, how to help someone else, and treatment resources if you need help.
Assessment handbook: A guide for professionals
When a parent dies by suicide… What kids want to know: A resource to help discuss suicide with a child who has lost a parent.
Hope and Healing after suicide: A practical guide for people who have lost someone to suicide in Ontario.

To schedule an interview with Dr. David Goldbloom, please contact CAMH Media Relations, 416-595-6015

The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) is Canada’s largest mental health and addiction teaching hospital, as well as one of the world’s leading research centres in the area of addiction and mental health. CAMH combines clinical care, research, education, policy development and health promotion to help transform the lives of people affected by mental health and addiction issues.CAMH is fully affiliated with the University of Toronto, and is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Centre.

SOURCE Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

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