3) When You're Left Behind ~ Who Suffers?

3] When You're Left Behind 

~ Who Suffers

A self-inflicted death does to the hearts of surviving loved ones what a suicide bomber does to the bodies and souls of his victims. Those closest to the emotional blast experience not only the physical impact but also the emotional devastation of a suicide. But whole communities are also deeply affected.

~ NEXT ~ 

[ The Immediate Family ]

2) When You're Left Behind ~ Who's At Risk?

2] When You're Left Behind 

~ Who's At Risk?

Who is most vulnerable to suicide? Although there are many exceptions, gender, race, and age are all factors.  

GENDER ~While males are four times more likely to die by suicide than females, females attempt suicide three times as often as males. The disparity in these numbers has to do with the fact that males usually choose more lethal means. Males use a gun 60 percent of the time, while females often use a drug overdose.  

RACE ~White Americans are twice as likely to die by suicide than all other racial backgrounds.  

AGE ~While the overall rate of suicide among youth has slowly declined since 1992, suicide still remains high and is the third leading cause of death among young people ages 15-24 and the second leading cause of death among those 22-34. Surprisingly, suicide rates increase with age and very high among people 65 and older, especially those who are suffering with physical illnesses or are divorced or widowed. In fact, the group most vulnerable to suicide is white American males over the age of 65. 

In spite of the desperation suicidal people battle with, the real victims of suicide are not those who die but those who are left behind to face the aftermath of a self-inflicted death. They are called survivors.

~ NEXT ~ 

[ Who Suffers ? ]

1) When You're Left Behind ~ The Magnitude Of The Problem

1 ] When You're Left Behind

~ The Magnitude Of The Problem

" With much wisdom comes much sorrow; 

the more knowledge, the more grief "

Those ancient words are all too true for those who face the sobering impact and frequency of suicide.  "Death has been called the 'the new obscenity,' the nasty thing which no polite person nowadays will talk about in public."  If that's the case, suicide is the proverbial elephant in the room that everyone would rather ignore than talk about.  "While suicides often take place in isolation, they never are unnoticed by others."  There are over one million suicides worldwide every year, each leaving behind at least 6 and often 10 or more survivors to wrestle with the aftershock. About 32,000 suicides occur in the US alone each year. That's one every 17 minutes, making it the eleventh leading cause of death. More people in the US die each year by suicide than by HIV or homicide. It is estimated that in the US alone there are well over 5 million suicide survivors, and more than 12,000 children who will lose a parent this year to suicide. While those numbers alone are are staggering, it's even more sobering to learn that for every death by suicide there are 25 attempts. Yet such statistics do not even begin to reveal the oceans of despair behind them.

~ NEXT ~ 

[ Who's At Risk? ]

給亞燕的信 [中國國慶之香港煙花夜2009]

Dearest 亞燕, 

 今早收到妳的短訊, 本想打給妳, 但在看中國國慶在香港放煙花表演, 在電視看, 香港的而且確真的很美麗啊!! 

 那一刻心裡只有一個想法, 現在可以在香港就好了. 

 霎時衝動而已. 連做夢都未想過我會搬得倒回香港來. 唔知呢! 或許總有這一天吧! 不知道你們出外看煙花還是留在家中看電視. 當我在看的時候, 心裡很澎湃, 在那一刻心中充滿着 [ 明天會更好, 每個明天都更好 ], 心裡起着一種莫名的生機, 但很可惜, 當節目完了, 跟放煙花一樣, 放完便煙消雲散... 我又再次跌落谷底, 

 為免夜長夢多, 馬上收拾心情, 趕緊搵嘢做... [ 洗地毡 ], 

 哈哈... 邊洗地毡邊洗衫, 啲嗒,啲嗒的, 時間過得真快, 就要去接放學了...  

 唔知要等到何時再可和妳慢條施里地逛逛街, 喝喝茶, 吹吹水等仔仔放工一起 dinner?!?!  

 又自己在哈哈大笑了, 話咁易咩! anyway, 來日方長... 有機有機, 好了, 又要收筆了, well.... 唔知點收筆.... byebye.. take care.. miss you.. 

Love Sis,

~ Sophine