In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms. This week’s term is nonsuicidal self-injury. Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a fancy way of saying self-harm behaviour that differentiates it from suicidality. Cutting and burning are the most common methods, but there are a variety of other methods people use, including […]
What Is… Nonsuicidal Self-Injury (NSSI/Self-Harm) Read More »
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. It’s also National Suicide Prevention Week and National Suicide Prevention Month (that’s a lot of awareness!). I thought it would be a good time to talk about suicide attempt survivors. The term “suicide survivor” isn’t generally used for people who’ve lived through suicide attempts. Rather, it’s the term used
Suicide Attempt Survivors: Yes, We Do Exist Read More »
I heard recently that Daisy Coleman, who was in the 2016 documentary Audrie & Daisy, had died by suicide. I had first watched the film a couple of years ago, but I thought I’d watch it again and write a post about it in honour of Daisy. Rape culture was a problem then, and it’s
Audrie & Daisy: Rape Culture Kills Read More »
The Silent Scream: An Anthology of Despair, Struggle, and Hope is put together by Maria Alfieri. There are 10 other contributors to the book using their full names, including myself, and other writing anonymously. In the introduction, Maria writes: “It is through our vulnerability that our liberation from our inauthenticity starts. Through honest conversation we
Book Review: The Silent Scream Read More »
I recently wrote about whether the wording “committed suicide” was likely to be an effective target for anti-stigma messaging. A commenter mentioned that in their home country, suicide was a crime up until quite recently. That got me curious, so I did some digging to find out where attempting suicide is illegal to this day.
Where Is Attempting Suicide Illegal? Read More »
I saw a post recently by another blogger about stigmatizing language that people should avoid. One of the things he mentioned was “committed suicide,” which is something that comes up regularly in discussions of language use related to suicide. I’m not convinced that it needs to be as big an issue as people make it
“Committed Suicide”: Word Policing of Suicide-Related Language Read More »
Shame Ate My Soul is Susan Walz’s personal story of rising above stigma, suicide attempts, addiction, and misdiagnosis, and eventually finding recovery. I’ve known Sue since the beginning of my blogging journey. The book opens with a heartbreaking conversation with 2 of her 3 children, as they tried to persuade her to accept help in
Book Review: Shame Ate My Soul Read More »
As a person with depression, being open and honest with treatment providers is likely to go straight out the window if it appears to conflict with whatever goal feels most pressing to me at the time.
Mental Illness: The Lies We Tell and the Secrets We Don’t Read More »
While I know that people tend to be somewhat skeptical of statistics, I thought it would still be interesting to explore some of the stats that are out there related to mental illness. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) These figures come from CAMH in Toronto, Canada, on their Facts and statistics page. Mental
Some Concerning Statistics on Mental Illness Disability & Stigma Read More »
The Balance Between Life and Death is a novella by Elizabeth Holland, who you may know from her blog Anxiety and Liz. The intro says “This novella focuses on the importance of putting your mental health first. A reminder that you never know what someone is hiding beneath their smile.” The protagonist is a young
Book Review: The Balance Between Life and Death Read More »
