You read that right! #2 cause of death in 10-34 year old's! You are probably thinking what I was thinking, what do these age groups possibly have in common health or safety wise? Well, in an article I was reading on the Minnesota Department of Health website, it says the #2 cause of death since 2020 for 10-34 year old's is SUICIDE. I almost choked on my spit! 10 year old's?
SUICIDE? What the hell! Suicide and any age is tragic. I'm not gunna lie, the 10 year old thing, really got my attention. Obviously, the pandemic has played a huge role in this statistic. 758 Minnesotans died by suicide in 2020. Over 39,000 contacted the National Suicide Prevention Line in 2021. This is heartbreaking.
Minnesota Department of Health is transitioning to a new "988" number for their suicide and crisis life line. Friends! Tell everyone you know about this! Tell your children, tell their friends, tell anyone who will listen. Suicide is preventable. Most of you may not know, but I try to be an advocate for mental health awareness. The changes that have happened in the world since the start of the pandemic have shaken our world as we used to know it.
As I read this article "Transition to 988 and Crisis Lifeline", I noticed I was holding my breath. Declining Mental health is the new pandemic! Think about it, as adults our stability and the world as we knew it was turned up side down. Now, try to imagine these children. Their world forever changed, the adults trying to navigate uncharted waters, their security was pulled out from under them like a rug! What kind of effects can that have on their development? Put, aside the fact that they will undoubtedly be behind academically, how about emotionally? The first tier in Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Chart is Physical Needs. This includes but is not limited to : breathing, food, water, sleep. Imagine how they felt wearing masks, afraid to breathe, seeing empty shelves in the grocery stores. How the Hierarchy of Needs chart works is you need to meet the needs on the bottom level before you can go to the next level. The next level is Safety Needs. The Safety Needs level includes but is not limited to : personal security, health and well-being, safety net against accidents and illness and their adverse effects. Um, do you remember how all they talked about on every media outlet was how many people were dying? Also, no matter how hard you may have tried to protect your kids from all this scary stuff, they can still sense the energy around it. The stress and fear on a collective level, not to mention from the parent worried about not having work or losing someone that is sick.
I don't mean to scare you. I just know that most of us want to forget about it and move on. These times have had a lasting effect on all of us. I fear, it had a more significant imprint on our children as they are in their formative years (0-8 years old). This needs to be worked through. Talked about. Healed. These needs, need to be met, so that they can let go of the fear and continue to grow. This goes for all of us.
In these times, we need to be checking in with all of our friends and loved ones, all ages. We need to ask ourselves and others, what do you need? How can I help? How are you feeling? We have Baby Boomers trying to retire and their 401K's may be tanking. We have elderly, that have lost all their friends. We have families that had multiple member's lost in a short period of time. People have lost people, jobs, businesses... we need to heal. Mental and Emotional Health and Wellness needs to be a focus for this healing. Please, do what you can. ~ Becky
