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Day 47
Current Mood: Angry
-Yeah, so in between debating Suicide, Genocide, Gender wars, Christopher Columbus, Kill Bill, and soccer/football, I kind of let the stupidity of people get to me today... (instead of doing homework)
-Of course, I couldn't help feeling just slightly ticked when I see a topic with the title: happy happy lets kill teh natives day!!!!!!
-Biggest piece of shit article I've ever read: http://www.coxandforkum.com/archives/Columbus-X.gif
-Stupid Columbus Day...
-My mood did slightly raise though, after reading this article on Jordan's weblog:
Suicidal tendencies: Holden Caulfield was tougher than you think
by Caroline Alphonso - Saturday, August 2, 2003 - The Globe & Mail, Page F8
Young adults with suicidal tendencies may be stronger and much more resilient than most of us believe.
New research by University of Alberta educational psychologists Robin Everall and Barbara Paulson reveals that young people with early suicidal thoughts show surprising inner strength and are able to rebound from this adversity.
"We think of people who become suicidal as being weak," Ms. Everall said, "and what they're showing us is that they go into this process -- and it is a process of feeling very weak -- but they're able to dig out strength inside of themselves to cure themselves.
"I think that's huge."
The suicide rate for Canadian teens has been of growing concern in recent years because it has been rising so rapidly.
For example, Health Canada says the figure increased from 3.3 deaths for every 100,000 teens in 1950 to 13.8 in 1991, when only auto accidents killed more young people.
The Alberta researchers say there is plenty of medical information about suicidal tendencies in teenagers, but very little from the perspective of the teens themselves. "Until we can put a handle on the processes underlying feeling suicidal," Ms. Everall explains, "it's very difficult to really do something about it in a way that's meaningful."
So, rather than focus on teens who have committed suicide, she and her colleague are looking at those thinking about it.
For every young person who dies, she estimates at least 10, and likely many more, are gradually working up to it.
And yet, she adds, there is little help for them. "If you are at the extreme end, we give you service. But if you're not, there's not a lot of services to access."
To learn more about such young people, the two researchers are studying more than 65 of them who live in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and Nova Scotia. All are 15 to 24 years old, and say they have seriously considered taking their own lives.
Their interviews have revealed that those who have overcome the self-destructive impulse have at least four things in common:
They were able to build strong relationships, not with just one or two people, but in larger settings, such as the workplace.
They confided in someone else about their feelings and weren't judged for doing so.
They started to focus on the present, blocking out the negative experiences of the past.
They exhibited personal control, knowing that what they did would make a difference in their lives.
According to Ms. Everall, the results show that "there needs to be a shift in what we do with people that we see are struggling, in terms of providing positive perspectives to life and encouragement."
-Also, website has a new poetry page. Go me.
-Turkey dinner three nights in a row. Yum. Turkey sandwiches to follow for weeks
-Anyways, I must be off. Homework calls.
Current Song: Twisted Nerve - Bernard Hermann
And so this wraps up Lunae Dies, October 13th. Adios
last modified Oct 13, 2003 at 13:23
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