Dr. Dawn, The Suicide Prevention Pharmacist

 

Writing on my book (working title The Great Physician) continues. As of this writing I have written over 17,000 words, and I have completed over 25% of my first draft. I continue to enjoy the process of seeing an additional 1500 words being added each week, and I can visually see the progress being made. 

 

I also continue to read through the Bible, which contains both high and low moments. If that doesn’t compare to the work of suicide prevention I don’t know what does. 

 

I hope that everyone has a great April as we continue to spread the message of suicide prevention.

 

Writing on my book (working title The Great Physician) continues. As of this writing I have completed over 11,000 words, and that number alone is giving me the drive to keep going. I am absolutely enjoying the process of seeing an additional 1500 words being added each week, and I can visually see the progress being made. 

 

I also continue to read through the Bible, which contains moments of both joy and sorrow. If that doesn’t compare to the work of suicide prevention I don’t know what does. 

 

I hope that everyone has a great March as we continue to work towards suicide prevention for all.

I am happy to report that I have started my book. Its working title is called The Great Physician, and my goal is to write 1500 words a week. Right now I do this by writing 500 words three times a week. It seems like a sustainable pace, so we will see how it goes. 

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day occurs on the Saturday before Thanksgiving in the United States – many cities host an event for suicide loss survivors to come together, and more information can be found here:

 

 

Here is some additional information taken directly from the above link: 

 

In 1999, Senator Harry Reid, who lost his father to suicide, introduced a resolution to the United States Senate, leading to the creation of International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day. Also known as Survivor Day, the day was designated by the United States Congress as a day on which those affected by suicide can join together for healing and support. It was determined that Survivor Day would always fall on the Saturday before American Thanksgiving, as the holidays are often a difficult time for suicide loss survivors.

 

In partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) co-sponsored the first annual World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10th, 2003 to focus public attention on suicide prevention efforts and activities. Since then, communities, individuals, practitioners, researchers and other professionals around the globe have responded each year on September 10 by raising awareness of the global burden of suicide, implementing prevention initiatives or campaigns, announcing important research findings, developing region-specific prevention strategies, and widely sharing other suicide prevention-focused activities.

To assist in IASP efforts, the National Council for Suicide Prevention (NCSP) launched the Take 5 to Save Lives campaign. Take 5 encourages everyone to complete several action steps under 5 important themes: LEARN, KNOW, DO, TALK, and SHARE. The launch of the 2022-2025 Take 5 to Save Lives campaign broadens recognition of these important suicide prevention activities and includes even more public awareness events including World Suicide Prevention Day, National Suicide Prevention Month, and National Suicide Prevention Week. 

 The National Council for Suicide Prevention is a coalition of seven national organizations working to prevent suicide. The mission of the NCSP is to advance suicide prevention through leadership, advocacy and a collective voice. During the last year, these organizations have directly impacted the lives of over 2 million people and generated over 100 million media impressions.

The 5 steps are: 

Take a few minutes to LEARN the warning signs, risk factors, and protective factors of suicide. 

KNOW how to find help and support for yourself and others who may be suicidal.

Preventing suicide requires action. Everyone can DO something to get involved in the suicide prevention movement. 

TALKing about suicide does not put the idea of suicide in someone’s head. It can be a lifeline. 

SHARE Take 5 to help spread the word about one of the most important public health issues of our time.

National Suicide Prevention Month:

 

 

 

 

National Suicide Prevention Week: 

 

 

World Suicide Prevention Day: 

 

 

 

 

If you visit these links, you will find a wealth of information about suicide prevention as well as ways you can support the cause.  Your involvement can be as simple as a conversation or as in depth as being on the “front lines”, but the beauty is that any contribution you make can save a life or lives.  Whether you have thought about it or not, suicide touches all of us in some way, and it can also be related to many other issues.  By taking the time to learn and contribute to suicide prevention, you are affecting everyone.  Your role may not save the entire world, but it can save one person’s world, which is so important.  As we go through National Suicide Prevention Month, National Suicide Prevention Week, and World Suicide Prevention Day, my hope is that you are challenged to learn more about suicide prevention.  Then, after learning more, I hope you will consider finding ways to act and spread the message of suicide prevention.  

 

The best part of suicide prevention is that there is hope and that one day there will be no suicides.  Please join me in working towards that day.

I still think about him everyday and wonder what he would be like now.  At this point he would be just weeks away from turning 65, and I have no doubt retirement was going to come soon after that.  He would have loved retirement, but it was not meant to be.

 

Not only did retirement not happen, my dad has missed a lot in my life and in my family.  While I am so thankful that Derek and him got to spend some time together, he was gone less than a year after they first met.  My dad’s funeral was the day of our 1st year dating anniversary.  Dad missed our engagement, missed our wedding.  And perhaps, the hardest thing of all is he missed having his first (and currently only) grandson.  Dexter’s middle name, Hugh, is in honor of my dad, Dan Hugh Scott.

 

And those are some of the big things in my life.  He’s missed having two granddaughters.  He’s missed birthdays.  He’s missed anniversaries.  He’s missed holidays and celebrations.  I think we all get the point here.

 

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that my Overnight walk in New York City was in June and the Long Term Survivors of Suicide Loss Summit was just last week.  My soul needed those things, and God provided. 

 

The grief never, ever goes away, and I think that is true no matter what happens to your loved one.  You carry it with you every single day.  But in the cracks of your broken heart, more light is able to shine through as the days go on.

 

Something that hit me hard at the Summit last weekend was when David Kessler talked about finding meaning.  He said that the meaning was not found in your loved one’s death, but in what YOU do afterwards.  That gave me a tremendous amount of comfort, because my grief at this stage has been trying to figure out why my dad had to die so I could learn some profound life lessons.  That is an incredible price to pay, and I certainly don’t remember signing up for that deal.  I personally feel better thinking that my dad’s death was an event that doesn’t have to have some deep “it happened for a reason” bullshit.  He died, and it hurt badly.  The meaning is what I do as a result of what happened.  

 

So, what have I done?  Over the last 10 years I have done a lot of volunteering and a lot of helping.  I had done some things before Dad died, but I feel like that has increased over the years.  I have served on several boards, and continue to do so.  I donate blood regularly.  I donate my time.  I donate money.  And, while a lot of the time I focus on mental health, honestly all of the issues tie back to mental health anyway.  Some of my newer endeavors have centered around adoption, and we are now in the process of becoming a licensed foster home.  I also started working at NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) a few months ago, so mental health has now become my day job too.  

 

This hasn’t necessarily been a cohesive narrative, however I felt that this was an important day to reflect, and there is SO much to reflect on. 

 

I will also note that if you are struggling in any way, please know that you are not alone.  If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can call 988 for assistance.  You can also text the word HOME to 741741 for help as well.  One of those profound lessons is that life is so precious, and there is no shame in asking for help. 

 

To finish, I will say that today is also my mom’s birthday.  So, for the last 10 years, not only do we mourn Dad but we also celebrate her birthday.  As you can imagine, this is a day of some pretty mixed emotions.  But, as the years go on, I try to celebrate more than I mourn.  Even though we have had this major loss, there is also much to celebrate.  We have our grief and we have our joy.  I miss you Dad and Happy Birthday Mom.  I love you both.

My first reflection is that the whole event was surreal.  As I look back now, it almost feels like it didn’t even happen, but rather that I dreamed it.  Of course, I can’t tell you the last time I stayed up all night (even with a sick kid), so I was already tired from that part.  The walk measured in at 17.3 miles, and to me it was physically and mentally demanding.  There were many times I wanted to stop and go to bed, but luckily there were lots of people around me to help keep me motivated.  I also definitely had some leg and foot pain afterwards, and my feet were swollen for days.  However, I am proud to say I got it done.  I also want to give a special thanks to my good friend from college who walked with me the whole night. 

 

I was also surprised at the actual route of the walk, as I assumed we would spend a lot of time walking around Central Park and away from car traffic.  I was very wrong about that, as we walked around a lot of Manhattan and had to stop a lot (a lot!) at stoplights and intersections.  This made the walk take a lot longer.  We also were not allowed to start until about 30 minutes past the expected beginning, yet we were supposed to finish at the same pre-established time, so that was really stressful for me.  But again, I got it done.

 

Another reflection is that with everything going on around me, I didn’t really spend a lot of time thinking about my dad, although it did come up part of the time.  As I said already, it really all did feel kind of like a dream.

 

Now the question is: will I do it again?  Maybe.  I don’t think it has been long enough since this one to decide, but I will definitely consider it.  And, I do encourage anyone who is interested in trying it at least once to see what the experience is like.  It wasn’t perfect, however I am really proud of my accomplishment.