When Suicide Hits Close to Home by Rev. Barbara Meyers

By SAMHSA/White Buffalo Calf Women of the Lakota People [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The suicide of Rev. Jennifer Slade, the minister of the Unitarian Church of Norfolk, we are reminded of the seriousness of depression, and of how prevalent it can be even among the most respected members of society. Sometimes, just hearing of a suicide can be very unsettling and disturbing to people who are living with depression.

Here are some resources for people who might need to have extra support at this time:

The American Association of Suicidology is dedicated to the understanding and prevention of suicide. Links to suicide support groups nation-wide.

What to do if someone seems suicidal:

· Lane County Suicide Prevention Program

· Quinnett, Paul. Question Persuade Refer - Ask a Question Save a Life, a booklet used for training for Certified QPR Gatekeeper Instructors by the QPR Institute, 1995.

· Ellis, Thomas and Newman, Cory. Choosing to Live - How to Defeat Suicide through Cognitive Therapy, Oakland, California: New Harbinger Publications, 1996.

· Grollman, Earl A. Suicide: Prevention, Intervention, Postvention, Second Edition, Boston: Beacon Press, 1988.

· Heckler, Richard A. Waking Up Alive - The Descent, The Suicide Attempt and the Return to Life, New York: G.P. Putnams Sons, 1994.

· Jamison, Kay Redfield. Night Falls Fast - Understanding Suicide, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1999.

After a suicide:

· Bolton, Iris with Curtis Mitchell, My Son ... My Son ... - A Guide to Healing After Death, Loss, or Suicide, Roswell, GA: Bolton Press Atlanta, 1983.

· Fine, Carla, No Time to Say Goodbye - Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One, New York: Broadway Books, 1997.

· Mennonite Media. Fierce Goodbye - Living in the Shadow of Suicide, Harrisburg, VA: Mennonite Media Productions.

Depression and Bipolar Disorder:

· Top 100 websites for information on depression and bipolar disorder:

· Adularia, Alysse. I Wish You'd Tell Me - A tool box of answers to the question, "What can I say that will help?" when the one you love is bipolar, Lulu, 2010.

· Fieve, Ronald. Moodswing, New York: Bantam Books, 1989.

· Jamison, Kay Redfield. Touched with Fire Manic-Depressive Illness and the Artistic Temperament, New York: Free Press Paperbacks, 1994.

· Schaefer, Elizabeth M. Writing through the Darkness - easing your depression with paper and pen, Celestial Arts, 2008.

· Solomon, Andrew. The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.