Mental Health Issues That Can Cause Suicide By : Amelia Westbrook and Breanna Dodd

What is mental health? According to Oxford Dictionary, it is a “person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being.” Picture from source: Piedad, Ross. “How Can We Change Minds About Mental Health?” Texas Public Radio, www.tpr.org/post/how-can-we-change-minds-about-mental-health.

What is a mental health issue? It is a medical problem, just like heart disease or diabetes. Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in emotion, thinking or behavior or a combination. of these). Picture from source: https://pixabay.com/en/mental-health-birds-head-human-3813766/

Examples of Mental Health Issues Include Grief/Shame/Trauma/Depression Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Stress/Anxiety/Panic/Phobias/PTSD Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric disorder that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, a serious accident, a terrorist act, war/combat, rape or other violent personal assault. Hallucinations Definition of hallucination. A : perception of objects with no reality usually arising from disorder of the nervous system or in response to drugs (such as LSD) was having hallucinations. B : the object so perceived wasn't sure if the rain was real or a hallucination. Picture from source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night

Why is awareness important? Suicide is a major issue in our community, and each time a soul is lost, countless people are affected. If we are aware of the mental issues that can lead to this devastating event, we can work to prevent them. Depression and suicidal thoughts are two of the most frightening things a person can face in their lifetime. Unfortunately, acting on those suicidal thoughts is a far too common scenario for many across the world, including students. In fact, suicide is the second-leading cause of death for those between the ages of 15 and 24. Picture from source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yellow_Ribbon.png

Picture from source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Suicide_prevention-DOD.jpg

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call 1-800-273-8255 Available 24 hours everyday You're not alone. Confidential help is available for free

Sources “English Dictionary, Thesaurus, & Grammar Help. Oxford Dictionaries.” Oxford Dictionaries. English, Oxford Dictionaries, https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/. “Hallucination.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hallucination. Piedad, ross. “ How can We Change Minds About Mental Health?” Texas Public Radio, www.tpr.org/post/how-we-change-minds-about-mental-health. Warning Signs of Mental Illness, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/what-is-mental-illness. Warning Signs of Mental Illness, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression. “What is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder?’’ Warning Signs of Mental Illness, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/ptsc/what-is-ptsd.

Sources Continued Picture Sources Piedad, Ross. “How Can We Change Minds About Mental Health?” Texas Public Radio, www.tpr.org/post/how-can-we-change-minds-about-mental-health. Picture Sources https://pixabay.com/en/mental-health-birds-head-human-3813766/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Starry_Night https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yellow_Ribbon.png https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Suicide_prevention-DOD.jpg