Using These Four Questions To Prevent Teen Suicide | Jackie Simmons, Author | Back To School & Off To College Series

Welcome to the first in our series on "Back to School & Off to College".

Every 40 seconds someone takes their own life according to the World Health Organization. Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 24 in the U.S. and Nearly 20% of high school students report serious thoughts of suicide and 9% have made an attempt to take their lives.

My guest today, author Jackie Simmons, and her daughters are working to change those numbers. Through founding the Teen Suicide Prevention Society, they are working to educate parents to have"The Suicide Talk" with their teens and young adults regardless of whether or not they see signs of struggle. 

In this episode Jackie takes us through this talk, the importance of it, and how it can possibly save your teen or young adult's life. She is showing us how normalizing talk around suicide is the only way to pre-empt it.

In this episode we discuss:

1. Why the "suicide talk" is so important.
2. What it looks like and how it works.
3. How many numbers of people are affected from one suicide or attempted suicide.
4. Why pre-empting suicide with open dialogue is so important.
5. How parents "miss" the signs of their children's struggle.
6. The best prevention tool.
7. How to suicide proof.
8. How the talk and language around suicide is being normalized and why it's a good thing.
9. Who is at risk of suicide?
10. Knowing the best time to have the suicide talk.

I hope that you will search out Jackie at the free tools she has available. You can find them at

Teen Suicide Prevention Society: https://teensuicidepreventionsociety.com/
Jackie's Ted Talk is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzmmBXgXb70
The Suicide Talk: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeob81RYpQFjRrBYlEXvRkWEsVdoJ6yKe3tABb1_TwwalrgTw/viewform
Other Resources talked about:
http://emotionalteflon.com
http://positivitycalls.com

Please do not forget that the suicide prevention hotline number has been changed to 988. The old number still works as well. Don't hesitate to reach out.

As mentioned in the podcast - my friend Leah Jantzen is raising awareness and money for The Hidden Opponent https://www.thehiddenopponent.org/. They are an advocacy group that addresses the stigma attached to athlete mental health. PleaFind me on my Website:
https://www.lesleylmcshane.com

Questions? Email me: lesley@lesleylmcshane.com

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