Publications for Suicide Prevention Month

September 4, 2020

September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and National Suicide Prevention Week is September 6–12, 2020. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), it’s normal to experience a wide range of emotions during an infectious disease outbreak, such as coronavirus. Over the last several months, you may have experienced fear and worry, changes in sleeping or eating, difficulty sleeping or concentrating, or increased use of alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs. In addition, your chronic health problems or mental health conditions may worsen during these stressful times. If you or someone you love is struggling with their mental health, know that you are not alone. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mental illnesses are among the most common health conditions in the United States, and more than 50% of people will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime. There are many resources that can help. Here are just a few from the GPO online bookstore.

The booklet and DVD set kit How To Talk to a Child About a Suicide Attempt in the Family is an easy-to-read publication that can help you talk to children about a suicide attempt in the family. This publication comes with both a booklet and DVD. It outlines how to talk to kids of all ages, including preschoolers, school-aged children, and teenagers. This resource provides examples of what to say, children’s reactions that can be expected and how to handle them, and other ways to support children. This includes giving them activities and outlets to keep busy and active. It also helps to encourage kids to express their emotions. For any family that has experienced a suicide attempt, this is a must-have publication.

Relapse Prevention and Recovery Promotion in Behavioral Health Services is geared toward mental health service providers but is also useful to people who are personally dealing with mental illness or who know a friend or family member struggling with mental health. This publication from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers an overview of techniques, approaches, and best-practice guidance for preventing relapse and promoting recovery from addiction and mental illness. It provides cognitive exercises such as proactive imagination (remembering a scene of a place that feels calm, relaxed, or serene) and thought diffusion (imagining placing distressing thoughts in a balloon, or on a cloud, and watching them float away). It also discusses physical ways of coping. These include deep breathing, walking in nature, practicing gentle movement, muscle relaxation, and even singing. Emotional methods of coping mentioned in the book include writing, making a gratitude list, and listening to or playing music. Finally, SAMHSA cites relational ways of coping. These include connecting with a person, or even a pet. (Did you know petting an animal lowers blood pressure and can alleviate stress?!) According to the book, “Behavioral health services are beginning to emphasize long-term recovery from substance use and mental disorders instead of focusing on multiple episodes of acute care.” Therefore, the publication focuses on promoting ongoing recovery. The book emphasizes that many people still don’t have access to the services they need. SAMHSA suggests tips on creating easy access to care for patients. It also promotes using a strengths-based assessment, rather than focusing on what is “wrong” with a person.

Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools is a resource for high school administrators, students, parents, and individuals with suicide and other life-threatening health issues. The book was funded by SAMHSA to help high schools and their partners prevent suicide and promote behavioral health among their students. The book offers data on youth suicide. One of the helpful facts to know is that suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers. The toll among some groups, such as Native Americans, is even higher. Also included are an information sheet on bullying and a checklist of suicide prevention activities. Suggested prevention activities include implementing a written protocol for helping students who may be at risk of suicide as well as training staff on suicide prevention, among many others.

The coronavirus pandemic has been an unprecedented and tough time for our families, our communities, and our country. The CDC offers the below resources. For more information on healthy ways to cope with stress, visit the CDC website.

Get immediate help in a crisis

  • Call 911
  • Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990 (press 2 for Spanish), or text TalkWithUs for English or Hablanos for Spanish to 66746. Spanish speakers from Puerto Rico can text Hablanos to 1-787-339-2663.
  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for English, 1-888-628-9454 for Spanish, or Lifeline Crisis Chat.
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 or text LOVEIS to 22522
  • National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-4AChild (1-800-422-4453) or text 1-800-422-4453
  • National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or Online Chat
  • The Eldercare Locator: 1-800-677-1116
  • Veteran’s Crisis Line: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or Crisis Chat or text: 8388255

Find a health care provider or treatment for substance use disorder and mental health

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Sign up to receive promotional bulletin emails from the US Government Online Bookstore.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy a vast majority of eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Visit our Retail Store: To buy or order a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up(s).

Order by Phone or Email: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.  Email orders to ContactCenter@gpo.gov

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Cat Goergen is the PR Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations office.

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Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Publications for National Bullying Prevention Month

October 16, 2019

According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, more than one out of every five students reports being bullied at school. And according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), students who experience bullying are at an increased risk for poor school adjustments, sleep difficulties, anxiety, and depression. Even kids who do the bullying are at a higher risk for suicide than the rest of their peers. All around, it’s time to bring bullying to an end. October is National Bullying Prevention Month, which means now is the time that we can all do something about these statistics. The first step in preventing bullying is educating ourselves on why it happens, how to notice it, and what to do to help prevent it. Start with these publications from the GPO Online Bookstore.

Preventing Violent Extremism in Schools from the FBI covers the specific demographic and criteria factors that can draw at-risk students to violent extremism and aggressive forms of behavior, such as bullying, or engagement with gangs. It’s a great guide for school principals, teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, and educational policy makers to learn more about how youth might be susceptible to violent extremist ideologies or possible recruitment. For example, the report explains that violent extremism in mainstream culture can be aligned with technological advances. It notes that youth who feel alienated can be tempted easily via social media, online chatrooms, and even online gaming. Physical contact with extremist organizations has diminished over time. Now, the internet serves as a primary catalyst to sustain radicalized beliefs. The report also covers “leakage,” which refers to a common warning behavior of students advocating violence. According to the report, “leakage occurs when a student intentionally or unintentionally reveals clues to feelings, thoughts, fantasies, attitudes, or intentions that signal an impending act.” They might come in the form of threats, boasts, or ultimatums from a student. Read the entire guide to learn how you can help at-risk youth. You’ll also learn about who you should contact and at what point you should contact them in case you notice students exhibiting at-risk behaviors or communications.

A Comprehensive Technical Package for the Prevention of Youth Violence and Associated Risk Behaviors from the Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC is a helpful publication for parents, students, community youth centers, and first responders. This publication covers research on youth violence and strategies for preventing it. Some of these strategies include early childhood home visitation, parenting skill and family relationship programs, and mentoring programs such as Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. According to the report, mentored youth were 32% less likely to have engaged in a physical fight at an 18 month follow-up. Learn more about preventing youth violence with the important research outlined in this package.

Did you know that both victims and perpetrators of bullying are at higher risk of suicide than their peers? Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools, which offers strategies to prevent suicide and promote behavioral health among students, is helpful for both schools and parents. The toolkit notes that suicide is the third leading cause of death amongst teenagers. According to the report, many activities designed to prevent violence, bullying, and the abuse of alcohol and other drugs may also reduce suicide risk among students. The toolkit includes a suicide and bullying information sheet, as well as, an information sheet about the relationship among culture and suicide. According to the toolkit,

“Culture plays a large role in determining who (if anyone) young people turn to for emotional support. Young people from some cultures may prefer to consult family members or religious leaders rather than mental health professionals or other ‘outsiders.’ Other cultures may value self-reliance and regard any help-seeking (even within the family) as a weakness.” Schools should also consult this toolkit for a checklist of suicide prevention activities, including developing a written protocol for helping students at risk, training staff on prevention efforts, and more. Does your school have these plans in place?

As these publications all bring to light, bullying can be prevented. Knowledge is power! Know who is at risk for bullying and being bullied. Know the signs for how to recognize bullying. And know what to do to stop it from happening. Each of us has a part to play in keeping our youth safe in school and our communities!

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Sign up to receive promotional bulletin emails from the US Government Online Bookstore.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy a vast majority of eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Visit our Retail Store: To buy or order a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up(s).

Order by Phone or Email: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.  Email orders to ContactCenter@gpo.gov

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Cat Goergen is the PR Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations office.

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Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Mental Health Awareness Month

May 8, 2019

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mental illnesses are among the most common health conditions in the United States, and more than 50% of people will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in their lifetime. Mental Health Month was founded by Mental Health America (MHA) back in 1949. Since then, MHA has been increasing awareness for mental health as a topic everyone should care about. This Mental Health Awareness Month, GPO is bringing you resources to help take steps toward understanding more about mental health.

Relapse Prevention and Recovery Promotion in Behavioral Health Services is geared toward mental health service providers but is also useful to people who are personally dealing with mental illness or who know a friend or family member struggling with mental health. This publication from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) offers an overview of techniques, approaches, and best-practice guidance for preventing relapse and promoting recovery from addiction and mental illness. It provides cognitive exercises such as proactive imagination (remembering a scene of a place that feels calm, relaxed, or serene) and thought diffusion (imagining placing distressing thoughts in a balloon, or on a cloud, and watching them float away). It also discusses physical ways of coping. These include deep breathing, walking in nature, practicing gentle movement, muscle relaxation, and even singing. Emotional methods of coping mentioned in the book include writing, making a gratitude list, and listening to or playing music. Finally, SAMHSA cites relational ways of coping. These include connecting with a person, or even a pet. (Did you know petting an animal lowers blood pressure and can alleviate stress?!) According to the book, “Behavioral health services are beginning to emphasize long-term recovery from substance use and mental disorders instead of focusing on multiple episodes of acute care.” Therefore, the publication focuses on promoting ongoing recovery. The book emphasizes that many people still don’t have access to the services they need. SAMHSA suggests tips on creating easy access to care for patients. It also promotes using a strengths-based assessment, rather than focusing on what is “wrong” with a person.

Preventing Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools is a resource for high school administrators, students, parents, and individuals with suicide and other life-threatening health issues. The book was funded by SAMHSA to help high schools and their partners prevent suicide and promote behavioral health among their students. The book offers data on youth suicide. One of the helpful facts to know is that suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers. The toll among some groups, such as Native Americans, is even higher. Also included are an information sheet on bullying and a checklist of suicide prevention activities. Suggested prevention activities include implementing a written protocol for helping students who may be at risk of suicide as well as training staff on suicide prevention, among many others.

As is indicated by the CDC, mental health issues are incredibly common. This month, read up on mental health and help get the conversation going.

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Sign up to receive promotional bulletin emails from the US Government Online Bookstore.

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy a vast majority of eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Visit our Retail Store: To buy or order a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up(s).

Order by Phone or Email: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.  Email orders to ContactCenter@gpo.gov

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Cat Goergen is the PR Specialist in GPO’s Public Relations office.

Leave a Comment » | Department of Health & Human Services, health, Health care | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

September is National Suicide Prevention Month

September 24, 2018

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in America an average of 123 suicides occur every day; the tenth leading cause of death, second leading for ages 25-34, and third leading for ages 15-24. To create awareness and strengthen the fight against suicide, the month of September has been named “Suicide Prevention Month”. Suicide prevention organizations aim to decrease suicides by 20 percent over the next seven years, by making a conscious effort to talk openly about suicide, its warning signs, how to prevent it, discuss it, whether in school, workplace, and across general and social media platforms. You can participate in the fight. Get involved with local organizations and listen carefully to friends, family, anyone you make contact with who give the signs of needing help.

The U.S. Government Bookstore offers a number of authoritative works to support those in need and people ready to help with this national crisis – in print and DVD.

Here are a few examples:

How To Talk to a Child About a Suicide Attempt in the Family (Booklet and DVD Set Kit).This easy-to-ready, yet in-depth, multimedia publication informs and guides adults when talking to children about a family suicide attempt.  The package, a booklet and DVD, informs adults how to talk to preschoolers, school-aged children, and teenagers.  Included for each age group is information about when and where to talk to children, examples of what to say, children reactions to expect and how to handle them, plus ways to support children (special activities and outlets to keep them active, and encourage expressing their emotions).

Stories of Hope and Recovery: A Video Guide for Suicide Attempt Survivors (DVD) features inspiring stories from three people who survived an attempted suicide. Told through their voices and those of their families, the stories recount their journeys from the suicide attempt to a life of hope and recovery. Includes a video guide.

The GPO Online Bookstore – Easy Access to Federal Publications

HOW DO I OBTAIN THESE RESOURCES?

Shop Online Anytime: You can buy eBooks or print publications —with FREE Standard Shipping worldwide— from the U.S. Government Online Bookstore at https://bookstore.gpo.gov.

Shop our Retail Store: Buy a copy of any print editions from this collection at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, Call (202) 512-0132 for information or to arrange in-store pick-up.

Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.

Visit a Federal depository library: Search for U.S. Government publications in a nearby Federal depository library. You can find the records for most titles in GPO’s Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.

Find more than a million official Federal Government publications from all three branches at www.govinfo.gov.

About the author: Blogger contributor Ed Kessler is a Promotions Specialist in GPO’s Publication and Information Sales program office.

Leave a Comment » | Department of Health & Human Services, Family | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Trudy Hawkins

Top Health Issues for LGBT Populations

June 21, 2013

Attendee-DC-Capital-Pride-Festival-2013-in-Washington-DCLast Saturday night, I was riding the metro, and my train car was completely full of revelers from the Capital Pride Parade. Most of parade-goers had festooned themselves in rainbow-colored beads, crayon boxes and feathers. It’s hard to imagine such an out-there event happening when I was a kid. It’s equally hard to imagine the Federal government producing this document twenty years ago. But both the parade and the book are events worthy of some bead-slinging revels.

Image: Reveler at the 2013 Capital Pride Parade in Washington, DC. Credit: Flickr photo by dctim1, used under a Creative Commons license.

An LGBT Primer for Health Professionals

According to Top Health Issues for LGBT Populations Information & Resource Kit, depression and suicide related to coming out (or not coming out) is still grimly common among all LGBT groups. Thank goodness times have changed. In forty-four years, American society has moved from the June 28, 1969, police raids on the gay community at the Stonewall Inn in New York City and subsequent violent demonstrations to today, where the issuance of this video series and the publication of this book by the Federal Government can now be considered commonplace. Things could and should get better—reading the probable causes of those health risks proves that—but acceptance of LGBT persons has definitely increased over the last few decades in the United States.

tophealthissuesLGBTTop Health Issues for LGBT Populations makes health information related to lesbian, gay, bi-and transgender (LGBT) people free and publicly available. Covering the high-level bullet points of the issues is the main purpose of the volume, which provides a good resource to health professionals who need a beginner’s awareness. Although the intended audience for this volume is health professionals, the general public, health teachers, and health students will also benefit from reading this volume to achieve a beginner’s awareness. Since the book uses the vernacular rather than technical health terms, and the writers intended it for newcomers to the topic, it is easily accessible to anyone with an interest.

Understanding Gender Identity

It’s difficult to know where to begin such a primer; this volume opens with the issue of gender identity. It is critical for health professionals to have an understanding of the differences between the groups, which have some related concerns, but also separate ones. As the authors write, “It wasn’t until the 1950s that the concepts and theories about gender, gender roles, and gender identity were introduced and defined in the [psychological] literature.” But ultimately, the authors conclude that health professionals will provide the best care to patients when they work from the position that “gender is not exclusively determined by an assigned sex at birth, but determined by a person’s sense, belief, and ultimate expression of self.”

Glossary of LGBT Terms and Definitions

Following the definition of gender identity is a glossary of terms and definitions related to gender identity, gender expression, sexual identity and sexual expression. If you are unclear as to what MTF, two-spirit, queer, drag king and WSW means, you can find answers here. The section entitled “Gender vs. Sex: a Fundamental Shift from an Exclusive Binary Paradigm” sets the tone for the book, as the authors seek to explore the full rainbow of sexual and gender expression and identity as opposed to the less nuanced hues of the “binary paradigm”. The section titled “Gender Identity Disorder: a Medical Perspective” is now rendered obsolete due to the recent replacement of the more pejorative “Gender Identity Disorder” term with the phrase “gender dysphoria” that is commonly used by the healthcare community today. The authors of this book demonstrated that they were definitely ahead of their time while writing this since they had originally noted the difficulties with the use of the “Gender Identity Disorder” term.

Specific Health Concerns for Different LGBT Groups

The majority of the book is devoted to discussing the varying health issues of the different groups. All of the LGBT groups have some similar concerns: staying in the closet and coming out of the closet create high levels of distress. Sadly, a higher proportion of the LGBT population has experienced physical abuse, either from an intimate partner or a family member. In relation to specific groups, lesbians have a higher risk for breast cancer as compared to straight women due to lower birth incidence among lesbians. Lesbian women are less likely to see a doctor for routine screenings, putting them at higher risk for breast, cervical and other cancers. Bisexual women report more hazardous drinking than either straight or lesbian women. Gay men have an increased risk for testicular, prostate and colon cancers than straight men, and are more likely to have body image problems and use tobacco than straight men. Each section cites the list of risk factors and the probable causes, as well as a list of bibliographic and Web resources.

How Can I Obtain a Copy of this Publication?

Celebrate LGBT Pride month by checking out the Federal Government’s latest support publication for medical, mental health, and other professionals working with LGBT persons as well as LGBT individual, family and community members.

Buy a Print Copy:

  • Shop Online: You can purchase your own copy of Top Health Issues for LGBT Populations Information & Resource Kit through the GPO U.S. Government Online Bookstore.
  • Order by Phone: Call our Customer Contact Center Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5:30 pm Eastern (except US Federal holidays). From US and Canada, call toll-free 1.866.512.1800. DC or International customers call +1.202.512.1800.
  • Visit our Retail Store: Buy it at GPO’s retail bookstore at 710 North Capitol Street NW, Washington, DC 20401, open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., except Federal holidays, (202) 512-0132.

Find it in a Library:

About the author(s): Our guest blogger is Jennifer K. Davis from GPO’s Library Services & Content Management Division that supports the Federal Depository Libraries Program (FDLP). (Article was adapted by Government Book Talk Editor, Michele Bartram, GPO Promotions & Ecommerce Manager, from an original  post on the FDLP Community site blog by Ms. Davis.)

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Posted by Michele Bartram, U.S. Government Online Bookstore

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