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promoting mental health for young Australians
Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent and Family Mental Health Association Ltd
ABN 87 093 479 022
Back to AICAFMHA Homepage / News in Brief Index / Issue #3.11
Date 13 June 2003 For immediate release
-------------------------------------------------------------SANE Australia
A national charity helping those affected by mental illness through
campaigning, education and research
media release
Staying alive: Saying ?no? to suicide
SANE Australia patron, award-winning writer and film-maker, Anne Deveson AO, will today launch a new SANE Guide aimed at keeping Australians with a mental illness alive ? at the 10 th Annual Suicide Prevention Australia National Conference
Suicide tragically claims the lives of an average 2,500 Australians each year, reflecting their despair and lack of hope, and causing untold grief and distress amongst family and friends. For every completed suicide a further 30 people will try to take their own lives.
The SANE Guide to Staying Alive provides practical advice and hope to people with a mental illness whose lives are plagued by suicidal thoughts. People living with mental illness, particularly depression, are at much greater risk of suicide than the general population, and are especially vulnerable in the year following discharge from hospital ? one third of males and more than half of females in a West Australian study were found to have a diagnosed mental illness in the year preceding their death.
Anne Deveson and her family know first hand the tragedy of suicide, after her son Jonathan, who lived with schizophrenia, took his own life (seventy per cent of people living with a psychotic illness, such as schizophrenia, have contemplated or attempted suicide).
SANE Australia?s Executive Director, Barbara Hocking said: ?Very many of these suicides are preventable. While there is no single solution, it is important that people have access to effective clinical treatment and the full range of community support programs. People with mental illness also need to have meaning and hope in their lives. The SANE Guide to Staying Alive helps by promoting resilience and providing a support for people with a mental illness who feel suicidal.?
The Guide has been written to help people recognise when they are at risk of suicidal feelings, what support they need, how to deal with suicidal thoughts on an ongoing or ?one-off? basis, and to understand what they can do to get on with life again after an attempt. The Guide, developed with people who know what it is like to feel suicidal, family members and health workers, also has a section for families and friends about helping someone who is suicidal.
The SANE Guide to Staying Alive is available from SANE Australia for $9.00 plus postage and handling. To order call 1800 688 382 or visit the SANE website at www.sane.org
Anne Deveson AO and SANE Australia will today launch at 1.45 PM The SANE
Guide to Staying Alive at
10 th Annual Suicide Prevention Australia National Conference
Trade Exhibition Hall
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre
Brisbane Queensland
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