Instagram's famous world_record_egg partners with @MentalHealthAm for a Super Bowl message about #mentalhealth, and launches a simple website with useful mental health links from all over the world. https://t.co/XwB1EJ5ZVx https://t.co/OTOH7nxmvC via @voxdotcom
— Rader Ward Foundation (@RaderWardFound) February 7, 2019
the best way to ask if someone is suicidal
500 facebook likes!
Yay! And thank you! We've reached 500 likes on Facebook!
When I share information about suicide prevention, mental health, and grief support, I am striving to get those resources into the hands of as many people as possible. You truly never know who needs them.
So I appreciate all of you for liking the page and interacting with my posts when you see something you find useful or meaningful. When you share a post, you might be the one who sends a message of hope to someone at just the right time. Thanks again!
Mario Monday: book giveaway winners!
We had entries on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. I put all the names together in a Mario hat, and drew eight, with winners happening to come from all three social media platforms. (I had ordered an extra copy each of “How to Be a Good Creature” and “Here If You Need Me” from Amazon, because I needed to take a photo of them Thursday and wasn’t sure when the ones I ordered from my local independent bookstore would arrive. So I have eight books to give away instead of just six.) I’ve sent direct messages to all the winners on social media.
I was so pleased to join the book giveaway celebration of NotOKApp’s first anniversary. You guys are doing great work!
we read to know we're not alone
book giveaway ends sunday at midnight
it's national freedom day!
happy anniversary, @NotOKApp!
listen to kate braestrup's story, "house of mourning"
Thinking of the book giveaway in celebration of the first anniversary of notOK App tomorrow. One of the books I'm giving is Kate Braestrup's Here If You Need Me. I first heard of Kate through this story on The Moth podcast in 2015. It's about 14 minutes long and might make you cry. But its message gave me courage when Rader died. "You can trust a human being with grief ... for grief is just love squaring up to its oldest enemy, and ... love is up to the challenge."
I'll lay out the giveaway details in tomorrow's post.
enjoy brain pickings' take on "how to be a good creature"
Mario Music Monday: metal!
an astonishing thing
My friends at notOK App are celebrating their one-year anniversary this week with a book giveaway, and they've invited me to participate. I love books, so I'm in!
I'm planning to give away copies of my current three favorite books: It's OK That You're Not OK by Megan Devine of Refuge In Grief, Here If You Need Me by Kate Braestrup, and How To Be A Good Creature by Sy Montgomery.
Later I'll post details of what you need to do to win. For now, please click on notOK App and learn about who they are (tech-savvy teenagers!) and how their app can help save the lives of kids like them and anyone who struggles with mental health issues.
new resource: lost got found
I'm always on the lookout for new resources to share with you. Lost Got Found is a nonprofit "dedicated to eliminating the negative stigma surrounding mental health." They have a mental illness and suicide prevention curriculum that I plan to take a look at and will tell you more about later.
One simple thing I love about Lost Got Found is their logo and slogan: "At times, life will head south, but you can always choose a new direction."
thirteen
I've posted a couple more pieces of my writing from last year's workshop to the website. On the thirteenth day of writing prompts, our prompt was the number 13, and I began this way:
Montessori: let the child be the guide
I had the opportunity yesterday to tour Five Oaks Academy, one of the Rader Ward Memorial Scholarship's partner Montessori schools. (Another is Montessori School of Mauldin, and I'll be meeting soon with Montessori School of Greenville.) So it is the perfect time to share this lovely film trailer with any of you unfamiliar with the Montessori method. This film focuses on primary, which is the classroom for 3-6 year olds. Our scholarships will support elementary and middle school students, but this exploration of primary demonstrates Montessori's beautiful foundation.
library shelfie day!
caring for your houseplant, your loved one, or yourself
I published this essay on LinkedIn this morning. It's going to take some practice to make posts there look and work the way I want. Learning new things!
Mario Monday: collectibles!
26 Likes, 0 Comments - @raderwardfoundation on Instagram: "#MarioMonday! Here are more of our favorite #SuperMario collectibles. . . . #Mario #Ninstagram..."
half of parents don't know teen is considering suicide
lighthouse project FAQ answers misconceptions about suicide
Still more useful information from the Columbia Lighthouse Project: their FAQ. In addition to addressing questions about using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (with their six-question protocol), they also cover general questions and misconceptions about people at risk for suicide, including this one:
DOES ASKING PEOPLE ABOUT SUICIDE PUT THE IDEA INTO THEIR HEADS?
No, and for people who are considering suicide it can actually be a relief to talk about it. A seminal study by one of the Columbia Protocol developers — published in 2005 in the Journal of the American Medical Association — found that if you ask high school students about suicide, it doesn’t cause them to become suicidal or even distressed. For depressed students, asking the questions actually lowered their distress.
A review of all 13 research papers on this issue that were published from 2001 to 2014 found that none showed a statistically significant increase in suicidal ideation. According to the resulting report, “Our findings suggest acknowledging and talking about suicide may in fact reduce, rather than increase suicidal ideation, and may lead to improvements in mental health in treatment-seeking populations.”
Visit the page to see the other important questions answered (such as "If someone intended to attempt suicide, why would that person tell you?"), and to follow links to the studies mentioned above.