May is Mental Health Month
May 16, 2018
by Editor
in Updates
During Mental Health Month, I want to call special attention to the tenth leading cause of death in the United States: suicide. More than 100 American lives are lost to suicide each day. That means in the next hour, four people will commit suicide. One will be a veteran.
In our state, suicide is the second leading cause of death among Minnesotans ages 15-34.
These staggering numbers are part of a larger trend. From 2000-2010, suicides increased 16 percent. In that same 10 year period, deaths from causes like stroke and heart disease declined. While we have made progress in reducing deaths from physical diseases, we have left those dealing with substance use and mental illness behind.