This resource was originally published by MHA-National.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741, or call 911, or go to the nearest emergency room.
You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline. Trained crisis workers will listen to you and direct you to the resources you need.
Click here for more resources for immediate response.
Recursos para respuesta inmediata
No suicide attempt should be dismissed or treated lightly. We should all learn more about suicide, self-harm, and mental health so that the stigma surrounding the topic is reduced and people aren’t afraid of openly talking about their struggles before crisis.
Data from MHAscreening.org
- More than 25,000 depression screeners reported having thoughts of self-harm or suicide on more than half the days of the week.
- Starting in May 2020, MHAscreening.org saw a dramatic spike in suicidal or self-harm thinking. More than 21,000 people reported this – four times the average numbers from November to January.
- In June 2020, 25,498 depression screeners reported thinking of suicide or self-harm on more than half of days to nearly every day, with 14,607 reporting these thoughts nearly every day.
- In July, more than 72,000 of our screeners indicated moderate to severe symptoms of depression, more than 39,000 had moderate to severe systems of anxiety, and more than 19,000 had symptoms of psychosis – the highest numbers we have ever seen.
- Collectively, since the end of February more than 263,000 people – over and above what we would have expected – have screened moderate to severe for depression or anxiety. This reflects how pervasive mental health conditions are becoming in the general population as a result of the pandemic.
- In addition to hundreds of thousands experiencing depression or anxiety, more than 42,000 people have also now experienced symptoms related to emerging psychosis.
- Most worrisome are the 90,000 plus people who report regularly thinking of suicide or self-harm – more than 30,000 in the month of July alone.
- The July average for suicidal ideation was higher than the May and June averages, as well as the 2019 average for every racial/ethnic group. Native American or American Indian screeners had the highest average percent change over time for suicidal ideation at 1.34 percent, followed by Asian or Pacific Islander screeners at 0.68 percent and Black or African American screeners at 0.53 percent.
- Since the end of May 2020, nearly every racial/ethnic group has been experiencing consistently higher rates of suicidal ideation than the 2019 average (excluding Native American or American Indian screeners and screeners who identified as another race/ethnicity, who experienced consistently higher rates of suicidal ideation than the 2019 average beginning in July).
Awareness Campaigns
- World Suicide Prevention Day is September 10
- National Suicide Prevention Week in 2020 is September 6 – September 12
- September is National Suicide Prevention Month
General Information on Suicide and Self-Harm
- General Overview on Suicide
- Self-Injury (Cutting, Self-Harm, Self-Mutilation)
- Recognizing Warning Signs And How To Cope
- Self-Injury and Youth
- Child and Adolescent Suicide
- Helpful vs. Harmful: Ways to Manage Emotions
- 6 Things To Know About Self-Injury
MHA’s Screening-to-Supports (S2S) Articles
- Self-Harm Information and Support Hub
- How Do I Stop Cutting?
- My Loved One’s Behavior is Scaring Me
- I’m Afraid I’m Going to Kill Myself
- I Want to Die
- I Hate My Body
- Types of Intrusive Thoughts