Suicide
- Jan 6
- 2010
Editor’s Web Note: I get so excited about this generation. They are the most socially tolerant, emotionally aware, and loving generation this country has known. Perhaps it is due to a childhood free of physical violence (most Boomer parents didn’t spank) that allowed their hearts to expand instead of contract. They don’t even know how amazing they are. Most are seriously puzzled by why anyone would think something is wrong with a black or female president, or two people of the same sex being in love and getting married. It doesn’t occur to them that this should be something to fear. It is truly an honor to work with them. —Lauren
DEAR READERS: What’s wrong with the world? How can we improve it? Here is Part II of the panel’s vision for 2010. As I said last week, the Millennial Generation are old souls when it comes to understanding root causes and psychological processes—and knowing that lasting change springs from…
- Dec 2
- 2009
Editor’s Web Note: The holidays are here, along with extra stress. I’m hoping families will take the time to slow down and check in with each other. Too often warning signs of suicide are right in our face and we’re running too fast to see them. All people really want is to be “got”. And to “get” somebody takes time. Here are the warning signs of suicide and what to do when you spot them.
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: Your recent column (NOV 25) about the sister who kept saying she felt like killing herself really hit home. Threats of suicide need to be taken seriously, no matter how false or flakey they appear. My sister was extremely moody and would say she felt like killing herself…
- Nov 25
- 2009
Editor’s Web Note: The experiences the panelists share in this column help dispel one of the most dangerous myths about suicide: that telling someone in authority will cause the suicidal person to actually do it. People considering suicide want help and even when they share with you in the strictest confidence — or deny their feelings, they are secretly hoping that you WILL tell someone who can help them. — Lauren
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I’m 17 and have a 15-year-old sister who I really love and care about. She constantly swings from feeling high to feeling low. She confides in me about her problems at night in our room, and when she’s low she says she feels like killing herself. When I get upset, she…
- Aug 12
- 2009
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I just picked up my 16-year-old son from a street corner after he was incommunicado for a week. He’s very mixed up, and I need help. Right before freshman year, I moved to LA but he didn’t want to go so he moved to his dad’s in a pretty rough school district. He fell in…
- Jul 29
- 2009
Editor’s Web Note: Today’s column is dedicated to the memory of Zachary Clark Mathews. May his life serve as a reminder NEVER to use heroin. —Lauren
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I am writing to “Desperate in Salinas” (JUL 15), the girl who was hiding her heroin-addicted boyfriend in her parent’s basement. I, too, was deeply in love with a beautiful soul addicted to heroin, and I guarantee if you don’t get help, he will take you into a pit of…
- Jan 7
- 2009
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: My friend, “Max”, has huge family problems and is cutting his wrists. The cuts aren’t deep, but his arm is infected because his parents lock the medicine cabinet and he isn’t cleaning it properly. Max showed me and some other girls the infection and told us not to tell…
- Aug 20
- 2008
DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: After reading the column about how to help prevent suicide (July 16), I want to say that, over the years, I have attracted friends who were cutting, depressed, anorexic, or bulimic. I’m strong and happy and I would reach out to them. But it got crazy. I became emotionally…