Activists Battle Culture Of Denial Over Suicide In Rural California Community
Amador has the third-highest suicide rate of any county in California — but some residents there don't even like to say the word. "I always thought that if people took antidepressants or wanted to hurt themselves, that they just weren’t strong-minded, they weren’t strong-willed," said resident Ashley Moore. "I used to think, ‘You don’t need that, just get over it, just be OK, just don’t be sad.'”
Capital Public Radio:
The ‘S’ Word: How Suicide Is Devastating Amador County And Rural Communities
Mental illness isn’t visible. It doesn’t mottle flesh, shrivel muscles or cause a limp. It grows slowly and silently, chipping away at one’s vitality and sense of purpose. And if left unattended for too long, it can cause unbearable pain that drives people to end their own lives. That’s happening with alarming frequency in California’s rural communities, where economic downturn, slim mental health resources, transportation barriers and high rates of substance abuse are creating breeding grounds for suicide. (Caiola, 9/10)
In other public health news —
Orange County Register:
Concussions In The NFL Have Increased Since Protocols Were Put In Place In 2012
A record 291 concussions were reported in the NFL in 2017. The NFL, NCAA and high school associations are increasing education and concussion protocols. What does that mean? From 2003 to 2009, the NFL’s now-defunct Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee concluded that “no NFL player” had experienced chronic brain damage from repeat concussions, and “Professional football players do not sustain frequent repetitive blows to the brain on a regular basis.” (Snibbe, 9/8)