Statement from Arpan Waghray, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Well Being Trust on Recent Data Indicating Suicides are Rising and High Profile Completed Suicides

2 min readJun 8, 2018

Oakland, Calif., June 8, 2018 –

“Each of these deaths is a daughter, a son, a mother, a father, a brother, a sister, a partner, a coworker, a soldier, a colleague, a boss, a member of our church or synagogue or mosque, a friend, a neighbor. Someone with a life once full of hope and promise, cut too short, too soon.” –

Arpan Waghray, MD — Chief Medical Officer of WBT, Swedish System Director, Behavioral Medicine, System Medical Director, Telepsychiatry for Providence Health and Services.

Every one of us knows someone affected. Some of us are the ones affected.

Well Being Trust is an organization dedicated to improving mental health and well-being for all residents of this country. Engaging in real conversations with the people in our lives is a somewhat simple thing we can all do this week, this month, and beyond.

We have also curated a list of resources in our Mental Health Information Hub that you or someone you know might find helpful. I include much of that information at the end of this.

Now, more than ever, each of us must acknowledge that we are on the front line and can be a life preserver for someone we care about.”

Resources:

· Teen Line: Teens Helping Teens | call 310–855–4673 or text TEEN to 839863
New parent site: www.teenlineonline.org/parents

· Oregon Youthline: Teens Helping Teens | call 877–968–8491 or text teen2teen to 839863

· National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: call 1800–273–8255

· Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741 | 24/7 Crisis support in the US

· Suicide prevention: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (Talk Saves Lives VIDEO)

· LGBTQ youth suicide prevention & crisis intervention: The Trevor Project

· Suicide prevention advocacy: American Association of Suicidology

· Sexual assault: RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network)

· Depression: National Institute for Mental Health

· Anxiety: Anxiety and Depression Association of America

· Substance abuse prevention and education: Lines for Life

· Drug misuse and addiction: National Institute on Drug Abuse for Teens

· Alcohol misuse: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

· Bullying: StopBullying.gov

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Well Being Trust is a national foundation dedicated to advancing the mental, social, and spiritual health of the nation. Created to include participation from organizations across sectors and perspectives, Well Being Trust is committed to innovating and addressing the most critical mental health challenges facing America, and to transforming individual and community wellness. www.wellbeingtrust.org. Twitter: @WellBeing_Trust

Statement from Arpan Waghray, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Well Being Trust on Recent Data Indicating Suicides are Rising and High Profile Completed Suicides

Written by Well Being Trust