Depression / Suicide

What is Depression?

•Clinical depression is defined as being sad or feeling down every day for 2 consecutive weeks.

Reasons for depression

•Loss of a family member

•victim of bullying

•Low self-esteem

Signs and Symptoms of Depression•Not being able to sleep / sleeping too

much

•Not being able to concentrate or find simple tasks difficult

•Feelings hopeless / helpless

•Can’t control negative thoughts

•Loss of appetite and weight loss or Can’t stop eating and weight gain

Signs & Symptoms continued

•Much more irritable, short tempered, or aggressive

•Having thoughts that life is not worth living (Seek help immediately)

Class Question

•How many people in the United States of America are Depressed every day?

•1,000

•5,000

•1 Million

•19 Million

Answer

•19 Million people in the United States suffer from Depression.

How Many People in the World Suffer from

Depression?

•20 Million

•100 Million

•350 million

•500 million

Answer

•350 Million people in the world suffer from depression

Suicide warning signs

•Expressing strong feelings of hopelessness

•Acting recklessly, as if they have a death wish

•Giving away prized possessions

•Saying things like “Everyone would be better off without me”

Warning signs continued

•A sudden switch from being extremely depressed to acting calm and happy

Facts

•On average one suicide occurs EVERY 17 minutes

•Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 (only behind accidents and homicide)

•4:1 male to female ratio of successful suicides

Facts

•3:1 female to male ratio of suicide attempts

•Alaska Ranks Number 1 in the country for the number of suicides per year at 23.6%

•Connecticut Ranks 45th in the country for the number of suicides per year at 8.4%

Hotline numbers

•Depression: 800-273-TALK (8255)

•Suicide: 800-SUICIDE (784-2433)