Death by suicide has been in the news this week with the most recent death of Anthony Bourdain Friday morning who was found in a hotel room in France.

Bourdain was in France filming an episode of his hit CNN series 'Parts Unknown'. Bourdain was 61.

According to the CDC, death by suicide have increased by 30% since 1999 and claimed over 45,000 lives in 2016. Suicide rates have increased in 44 states including North Dakota. According to CBS News, North Dakota ranks 11th (tied with Idaho) in suicide.

Personally, I can not imagine where a person's mind is at when they contemplate suicide. I know this as a certainty, there is the help needed and as a society, we need to notice the signs of someone in crisis and start the conversation with them and erase the stigma associated with mental illness. One important fact is half of the suicides in the county are associated with individuals without a known mental illness.

Most suicides are associated with certain events in someone's life. A break-up or divorce, loss of a job or a major change affecting this person, and it gets so bad, they think that time cannot heal their situation, and suicide is the only way out.

As a society, we need to recognize the signs of suicide and start the conversation with the individual and take action, SEEK HELP!

If you or someone you know may be contemplating suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, 24 hours a day, 7-days a week.

 

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