COUNTY - September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day.

 Acting out in violence and suicide can seem like the only option when one is hurting with loneliness and hopelessness.

 In such cases we often perceive our situation to be hopeless; our focus is so concentrated on the one situation that we are blind to the support and care of families and friends. We lose sight of the positive and continuing areas of our lives and relationships, our children, our siblings, our friends and community.

 The reality is that our loss has been great but we still have so much more in our lives and often there are others who need us. When we find ourselves in this dark spiral into potentially destructive behaviour, we need to remember that there are resources available in any community.

 Because the South Shore tends to be rural does not mean that the resources available to us are not there. Modern communication systems are there to offer support to anyone in need. A few of those resources in our area are:

 Help Line (1-877-521-1188) is a telephone-based program helping people through empathetic listening and connection or referral to the appropriate community-based resources.

 Kids Help Phone (1-800-668-6868) offers anonymous phone counselling and referral services for children and youth. Internet service is available at http://www.kidshelpphone.ca.

 Mental Health Services (527-5228 or http://www.mentalhealthsouthshore.ca) provides services for people of all ages experiencing mental health issues.

 Addiction Services has offices in Liverpool (354-3422), Bridgewater (543-7882) and Lunenburg (634-7325). They provide help with alcohol, drug and gambling addictions for individuals and families.

 Youth Help Line (1-800-420-TEEN or 8336) is a confidential, anonymous telephone-based service offering information, referral, lay counselling and crisis and suicide intervention.

 Harbour House (1-888-543-3999) offers support and shelter to families of domestic violence.

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 Other resources available to all people are local clergy who have some level of pastoral counselling training and many have some suicide intervention training such as ASSIST. They are willing to walk with you through the process of getting appropriate care and support.

 Your family physician, the local walk-in clinic or hospital emergency room can also be the first step to getting the right support.

 Friends and neighbours are a resource because they care about us and often know how deeply we are hurting. They will usually be willing to walk with us through the beginning of the process of getting help and will show us how important we are to them.

 Approximately one million people around the world commit suicide each year and for certain age groups, suicide is the leading cause of death. While every suicide is different and not all is completely understood about suicide, we do know that some of the causes involve a combination of hopelessness, pain and aloneness.

 For most people the intervention of a caring person and the right support will go far to prevent a suicide and restore people to good mental health. Just as cancer is serious and needs appropriate intervention, so mental health concerns need treatment and can be completely cured.

 If you would like to know more about World Suicide Prevention Day, go to http://www.iasp.info/wspd/index.php.

 One of the activities for World Suicide Prevention Day will be to light a candle of hope in your window at 8 p.m. on September 10.

posted on 09/07/10