Every single one of us lives in a country of about 300 million people. And all of us face obstacles that can and will come along and interfere with our quality of life. One of the major obstacles that nearly 40% of citizens in our country encounter at some point is an unhealthy state of mind.
Suicide, therefore, is a very important public health issue. The U.S. suicide rates have steadily increased between 1999 and today. The Suicide rate in this country among teenagers and young adults is increasing and it is one of the leading causes of death in that age group. Suicide is the highest it has been in this country in the past 30 years.
Over 40,000 of the 300 million people living in our great nation end their own life prematurely annually making suicide the 10th leading cause of death in this country. Suicide is usually so shocking for many of us because it is hard to imagine being in a suicidal state of mind unless you have actually experienced it yourself. But, suicide is definitely real and growing amongst us in this nation.
Even though we don’t speak about it as often as we should, it is something that I am sure has found its way into all of our lives at one point or another. It is a subject matter that we all need to be more aware of and acknowledge publicly more often in order to save lives.
For us to make this happen, we first have to understand one fundamental truth, and that is,