Humanitys mental health crisis has reached pandemic proportions.
Bluntly put: we dont seem capable of solving the problem on our own.
For humans to intervene in mental health-related medical emergencies we have to be aware of the problem.
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In the past 18 monthsat least 22 US veteranshave killed themselves at Veterans Administration centers in the US.
And this means the Federal government is finally invested in finding technological interventions to suicide.
TNW spoke with Jason Reid, the founder ofChooselife.org, about the suicide epidemic.
He told us:
People dont need suicide awareness.
Theyre pretty aware of suicide.
What people really want to know is what they can do.
We need suicide prevention and we need to talk about suicide with each other and our children.
Because we all know bad things can happen when illness goes untreated.
Reids son Ryan took his own life in March of 2018.
He was only 14 years old.
Because we all would think I know my kids, and thatll never happen to me.
I thought the same thing.
I spent time with my kids.
For Gods sake I wrotea bookon how to be a better parent.
But it happened to me.
The personal stories of families like Reids are always devastating, but just how bad is the suicide problem?
Its a number that should bother anyone.
Compare that to the number of suicides in the US in the same year: over 47,000.
Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the US and second among teens and young adults.
And about 22 US veterans kill themselves every single day.
But you probably knew that already.
What we need is help.
He told us:
Is 13 the right age to be on Facebook?
I dont think it is.
I know social media companies think it is because they get more money that way.
But heres the thing: my son wasnt even on social media …
He was on the internet with his phone.
In his suicide note he told us he had searched for ways to kill himself on the web.
Porns not the worst thing on the internet.
We have the tools to make it happen.
For more information on Chooselife.org visit its websitehere.
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