From the Yld President
| Publication year | 2020 |
| Pages | 0010 |
| Citation | Vol. 26 No. 3 Pg. 0010 |
Suicide Prevention:You Are Not Alone
In November, I had the opportunity to participate with the State Bar of Georgia’s Wellness Committee team in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s Out of the Darkness Walk campaign for suicide awareness. It was a great experience for a worthy cause.
Suicide is a difficult topic to broach, but this has been a most difficult year. We are now in the holiday season, which for many people is a time of joyous celebration, but for others this time of year can actually exacerbate feelings of sadness and hopelessness. It is particularly important that we learn the signs of suicide risk and know what to do when we see them.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its stranglehold on everyday life, a recent Mayo Clinic article warns, “… you may experience anxiety, fear, frustration, sadness and loneliness—to the point that those feelings become constant and overwhelming. Existing mental health conditions, including severe anxiety and major depression, may worsen.” Although little data has been generated on the pandemic’s impact on the rate of suicide, “… clearly the pandemic has added intense emotional and mental stress to the lives of people around the world. Fear, anxiety and depression can stem from a wide range of concerns and experiences, from personal and family issues to work-related stress.” This is especially true for individuals struggling to cope with or recover from what they consider to be an overwhelming life situation.
The Mayo Clinic lists a number of particular concerns related to the pandemic. Personal and family issues may include fear that your loved ones will contract COVID-19, the inability to be with and comfort a loved one who is seriously ill or dying in the hospital, grief over the loss of a family member or friend, social isolation from necessary stay-at-home or distancing policies—or too much time in close quarters with one’s spouse, partner or children for the same reason.
COVID-19-related issues in the workplace may be different for lawyers than they are for our family members and friends who work, for example, in health care, the service industry or other places on the front lines of the pandemic battlefield. But the economic impact of the virus can cause worry in any profession over the potential loss of a job and an inability to provide basic needs for yourself and your family.
Dr. Christine Moutier of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, writing for JAMA Psychiatry, reports on a nationally representative study of adults in the United States that found, as the pandemic continued, an increase in the proportion of respondents who reported detrimental effects on their mental...
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