4 Ways to Protect Women from Suicide

By: Joseph Bonner (Mental Health Coach)

Managing a house, raising children and working full time to support a family financially – women have absolutely shown themselves to be both resilient in the face of rising obstacles and prevailing in their pursuit of success. 

In addition, many women have silently braved relentless sexual harassment, abuse, and violence while striving to maintain emotional and mental balance for themselves and their families.

Women positively are the unsung heroines of the 21st century, however, these champions are not immune from the suicide crisis that reportedly took the lives of over 1,000,000 women in 2015 according to Statista. (link 1)

A major contributing factor to suicide rates among women was identified in a NCIB study case (2) that evaluated 222 working women in China. 10.81 of participants reported suicidal ideation. Among those women, levels of happiness, warmth/friendliness, interest, relaxation/calmness were significantly low.

This case study reveals 4 fundamental states of mind or comfort levels that women require to truly be happy in life. 

Happiness

There are many things that contribute to genuine happiness, and volunteering is one of them.

In an article (3) written by Jeanne Segal, Ph.D. and Lawrence Robinson, published by Harvard Health, it was noted that volunteers benefit from what they called the “happiness effect.” By regularly volunteering, individuals combat depression and are more happy, self-confident and healthy.

So, for you fantastic women out there who are looking for more happiness in your life, get out there and volunteer! Your physical and mental health will thank you for it for years to come.

Warmth

Warmth and closeness are readily related to intimate friendships and relationships.

In addition to countering suicide, people who have close social relationships are protected from premature death. Actually, a 2010 (4) journal by the Brigham Young University in Utah combined 148 studies that revealed that social bonds undeniably influence lifespan twice as much as exercise. In addition, having strong social ties is comparable to giving up tobacco.

I strongly recommend having 1-3 close friends that you can rely on weekly for emotional, mental and social support.

Interest

Do work that you love!

Life is too short not to be doing work that you love. While you may be working at a job that you are less than enthusiastic about, is it possible to also find time to do work that you are genuinely interested in? Not only will it improve your mental health, but it can also improve your physical health.

Being interested in the work you do will not only contribute to your overall positivity, which is directly linked to your mental and emotional health, but can also help you live longer.

According to a study (5) by the National Academy of Science, what they term "Positive Affect," or a positive attitude, was measured. Participants in the lowest third of PA had a death rate of 7.3%, compared with 4.6% in the medium-PA group and 3.6% in the high-PA group.

Doing what you love will increase PA and by extension, improve your mental and physical health.

Relaxation

Read a good book, take a mini staycation or listen to some of your favorite relaxing music.

Take some time to relax every week because you surely deserve it. This will afford you the weekly opportunity to emotionally and mentally recharge.

Interesting to note, too, that researchers from Sweden attest to a significant association between stress and breast cancer. (6) So, relaxing can improve your mental health and reportedly reduce the risk of breast cancer.

In conclusion, women are brilliant, talented and gifted in so many ways.

It is important that every woman feel loved, supported and valued each day so as to counter suicidal emotions.

While there may be many things women can do to aid their mental health, it is a responsibility of us all to ensure that the girls and women in our life feel loved and supported every day.

It is all our responsibilities to defend and serve these self-sacrificing treasures to mankind.

Yes, even in the face of suicide, women will likely always prevail!

References

1. https://www.statista.com/statistics/187478/death-rate-from-suicide-in-the-us-by-gender-since-1950/

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28377731

3. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-living/volunteering-and-its-surprising-benefits.htm

4. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1000316

5. https://www.pnas.org/content/108/45/18244

6. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3132260.stm