What Do You Say To Someone Who's Survived A Suicide Attempt?

HealthyPlace Mental Health Newsletter

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• What Do You Say To Someone Who's Survived A Suicide Attempt?
• Sharing Your Mental Health Experiences
• Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans
• From HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs
• Your Thoughts: From the HealthyPlace Forums and Chat
• The Pitfalls of Labeling and Medicating Our Mentally Ill Children
• From Life of the Party to Get a Life

What Do You Say To Someone Who's Survived A Suicide Attempt?

It's a BIG question! Frankly, I can envision it going horribly wrong. Maybe it's one of those awkward moments and you don't know what to say. "Uh...everything okay?" Or you're upset and angry because your loved one just tried to kill themselves. How dare they!

What I'm getting to is, most of us aren't prepared for that moment, yet many of us have loved ones and friends who suffer profoundly with major depression - and suicidal thoughts and behaviors are part of the illness.

Breaking Bipolar blog author, Natasha Tracy, addressed the subject in her article For Loved Ones, After a Suicide Attempt. It's been passed around hundreds of times this week on Facebook and Twitter. I hope you, too, will read it and share it with others. (you can use our social bookmark button at the bottom of the article) It's an important read.

Here are just a few comments from some of our HealthyPlace Twitter followers:

• @mentalcapital: talking to someone whose attempted suicide - say how are you? Be prepared to listen.
• @unsuicide: If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything. My family ostracized me in awful ways. But better silence than more hurt.
• @LisaKiftTherapy: What to Say to Someone Who Has Attempted Suicide. Listen. Validate feelings. Help bolster their support network.

There are more comments on Natasha's blog. How about adding your thoughts/experiences on what to say to someone who has survived a suicide attempt? or call our "Share Your Mental Health Experiences" line at 1-888-883-8045.  For suicide crisis line phone numbers and suicide information, go here.

Mental Health Experiences

Share your thoughts/experiences with any mental health subject, or respond to other people's audio posts, by calling our toll-free number (1-888-883-8045).

You can listen to what other people are saying by clicking on the gray title bars inside the widgets located on the "Sharing Your Mental Health Experiences" homepage, the HealthyPlace homepage, and the HealthyPlace Support Network homepage.

If you have any questions, write us at: info AT healthyplace.com

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Most Popular HealthyPlace Articles Shared by Facebook Fans

It's a "social" world out there and many of you have told us you'd like to know what others are reading. Of course, we have the "Facebook Recommend" box on the right side of many of our pages. But here are the top 3 mental health articles HealthyPlace Facebook Fans are recommending you read:

1. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) Definition
2. Early Warning Signs of a Bipolar Relapse or Oncoming Episode
3. My Depression Feels Unreal | Depression Diaries Blog

If you're not already, I hope you'll join us/like us on Facebook too. There are a lot of wonderful, supportive people there.

From HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

Your comments and observations are welcomed.

• Parents as Valuable Allies in Mental Illness Treatment (Mental Illness in the Family Blog)
• My Depression Feels Unreal (Depression Diaries Blog)
• For Loved Ones, After a Suicide Attempt (Breaking Bipolar Blog)
• Abuse Yourself With Self-Blame (Verbal Abuse and Relationships Blog)
• Psychiatry is a Tool. Use It. (Treating Anxiety Blog)
• Believing In Your Right To Recovery: Silencing The Eating Disorder Voices (Surviving ED Blog)
• Mentally Ill Child and Siblings Can Spread a Parent Thin (Life with Bob: A Parenting Blog)
• Betty Ford and the Legacy She Leaves (Debunking Addiction Blog)
• When Doctors Don't Heal: Mental Illness and Physical Symptoms (More Than Borderline Blog)
• Normalizing Dissociation Part 3: Derealization (Dissociative Living Blog)
• Leaving Abuse - What to Expect (Part 1)
• My Bipolar Son Returns Home: A Happier Homecoming
• I Hate the Mentally Ill - My Ex was Bipolar and She was Evil
• Hold onto the Hope: NAMI National Convention
• Depression Disclosure
• Mental Health Care: The Myth of Equal Treatment for All
• Sobriety and Social Occasions

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

Your Thoughts: From the HealthyPlace Forums and Chat

On our Bipolar Forum, emmaeyes wants to know how to deal with nightmares. She asks: "Do you try to hold on to the content so you can 'work on' the issues, or do you try to forget it as fast as possible." Sign into the forums and share your thoughts and comments.

Join us on the HealthyPlace Mental Health Forums and Chat

You must be a registered HealthyPlace member. If you aren't already, it's free and takes less than 30 seconds. Just click the "register button" at the top of the page.

At the bottom of the forums page, you'll notice a chat bar (similar to facebook). You can chat with any registered member on the forums site.

We hope you'll be a frequent participant and share our support link with others who may benefit.

The Pitfalls of Labeling and Medicating Our Mentally Ill Children on HealthyPlace TV

One of the biggest growth categories for pharma companies is psychiatric medications for children. And there continues to be huge debate over whether children should even be labelled with a psychiatric disorder. Our guest, Dr. Marilyn Wedge is the author of the book "Suffer the Children: The Case Against Labeling and Medicating and an Effective Alternative". Dr. Wedge offers up another solution. Watch this week's HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show. (Labeling and Medicating Our Mentally Ill Children - TV Show blog)

Other Recent HPTV Shows

• Healing from Childhood Traumas in Midlife
• Chronic Illness and Mental Health Connection
• Surviving PTSD

Coming in July on the HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show

• Surviving a Long-Lasting Battle with Depression

If you would like to be a guest on the show or share your personal story in writing or via video, please write us at: producer AT healthyplace.com

For all previous HealthyPlace Mental Health TV archived shows.

From Life of the Party to Get a Life on HealthyPlace Radio

Stephanie used to enjoy life. There were lunches and parties with friends. Going shopping. Doing fun things. Then she was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. And her social life came to a rip roaring halt. We discuss why the big change and what her life is like today on this edition of the HealthyPlace Mental Health Radio Show. Listen to From Life of the Party to Get a Life.

Other Recent HealthyPlace Radio Shows

• Living with Adult ADHD. Kelly Babcock, author of the blog "Tao of Taylor," spent a good portion of his life trying to figure out why things weren't going right. For him, receiving a diagnosis of Adult ADHD was a life-changing event.
• Feedback Treatments for Anxiety and ADHD: Many people don't like and don't want to take psychiatric medication. For those who don't have a serious or debilitating mental illness, neurofeedback or biofeedback may be a viable treatment solution. Jeff Lewis, MSSW, LSCSW, BCIAC talks about the uses, efficacy, the difference between the real deal and those who are not practicing by the best standards, and more.

If you know of anyone who can benefit from this newsletter or the HealthyPlace.com site, I hope you'll pass this onto them. You can also share the newsletter on any social network (like facebook, stumbleupon, or digg) you belong to by clicking the links below. For updates throughout the week,

• follow HealthyPlace on Twitter or become a fan of HealthyPlace on Facebook.

back to: HealthyPlace.com Mental-Health Newsletter Index