The Blog of P.U.R.E. and Sue Scheff

Holiday’s are known as joyful time of the year, however it is also a time we hear more about suicide. Holidays can also bring on sadness and depression to those that are suffering with a loss or simply unhappy in life. It is important we understand warnings signs. Carolyn Friedman , is working on her Masters and recently wrote an excellent article on “10 Common Myths About Suicide.” She asked me to share it with my readers. Take the time to read and learn more. You never know when you may need this knowledge. Suicide remains a serious epidemic that transcends socioeconomic, age, racial, religious, mental health, and gender/sexual identity boundaries. While studies do show that some groups stand at a higher risk of suicide than others – usually those already prone to social marginalization – the sad reality is that this mindset holds the potential to strike anyone, anywhere, at any point in life. Due to the mixed messages flailing about regarding the condition, it becomes progressively ...

Kara Tamanini is an author and therapist specializing in adolescents. One of her recent articles about Teenage Mutilation is an excellent resource for parents to better understand this behavior. Why Teenagers/Young Adults Self-Mutilate (A therapist’s perspective) First and foremost, most teenagers and young adults are not attempting suicide. The act of self-mutilation is rarely about taking one’s own life. However, some young adults have killed themselves by accident when they took the act of self-mutilation too far. The difficulty often faced in self-injurious behaviors such as cutting, burning oneself, or ripping/tearing at one’s own skin, is that the mutilation becomes addicting and is very difficult to all of a sudden stop. Mostly, in my experience I have seen young adolescent girls age ranges 11-12 years to 17-18 years old, however I have also seen teenager boys indulge in self-injurious behaviors as well as young and middle-aged adults. The one factor that I have seen that is con...