Year Two of the Three Year 2021-2023 Triennial Theme ‘Creating Hope Through Action’
World Suicide Prevention Day is hosted on 10 September each year by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and provides the opportunity for people, across the globe, to raise awareness of suicide and suicide prevention.
Suicide is the single biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the country, but suicides among teenage girls and young women have almost doubled in recent years.
The 2021-2023 three-year theme for World Suicide Prevention Day, as set by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) is ‘creating hope through action’. The IASP message is clear – they’re asking everyone to help create hope through action, by reflecting on how you can support someone who may be experiencing suicidal thoughts or at risk of suicide. Encouraging understanding and sharing experiences creates a society where people have the confidence to take action, building hope for the future.
‘Creating Hope Through Action’ – Professor Rory O’Connor President of the International Association For Suicide Prevention Statement:
“This call to action seeks to instil hope in those who feel despair, a sense of hope in those who feel isolated or trapped. Anyone of us can reach in to show someone that we care, offering a listening ear, engaging in a non-judgemental conversation, sharing a useful resource or helping someone in crisis to make a ‘safety plan’. These are examples of actions that can promote hope, compassion, trust and empathy go a long way in supporting someone who’s thinking of suicide. Hopefully by showing compassion or trust or empathy, one can help somebody feel that ‘life is worth living’, that there will be brighter days ahead.
Raising awareness of suicide can help to strengthen our understanding and reduce the stigma surrounding suicide. This in turn helps to bring down the many barriers to people seeking help. It can also help create a more acceptable society. A society where people are encouraged to come forward to receive help and support that they so badly need.
It’s also so important to remember that suicide is preventable right up until the very last moment.
Through sharing life experiences we learn that no one is alone in this pain. The insight offered by anyone of us discussing our own personal accounts of distress, our own accounts of suicidal crisis, our own experiences of grief and despair following bereavement by suicide, that by sharing these accounts we can help others recognise that we can overcome anguish and if we can overcome anguish, we can inspire hope in others who face very similar challenges.
The IASP invites everyone to join the campaign to be a beacon of hope, spreading the message that can help inspire others and together we can create a world where fewer people think of suicide and fewer people die of suicide.”
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