October 7, 2010 will see people all over Australia asking “R U OK?” – and for good reason! RUOK Day aims to help prevent suicide by ‘encouraging Australians to connect with someone they care about and help stop little problems turning into big ones.’
Here’s what the RUOK team has to say about this important initiative:
“Research shows that talking about suicide with someone at risk actually reduces the chance of them taking their own life. It is the one thing we can all do to make a real difference. “Staying connected and ensuring your colleagues, friends and loved ones do so as well is as simple as having regular meaningful conversations. So every day can be RUOK? Day.”
Things you can do:
- Visit the RUOK Day website
- Follow the RUOK Day Twitter stream
- Join in the conversation on the RUOK Day Facebook page
- Read some of these amazing journal articles about suicide prevention and treatment:
- Thinking about Suicide: Contemplating and Comprehending the Urge to Die
- Learning from Suicide
- The Challenge of Suicide Prevention: An Overview of National Strategies
- Child and Adolescent Suicide: Epidemiology, Risk Factors, and Approaches to Prevention
- Suicide on railway networks: epidemiology, risk factors and prevention
- Browse the Journal Databases for many more articles
- But most of all, if you or someone you know or love is doing it tough, ask “R U OK?” (the RUOK website has some great resources about reaching out and connecting with people) or if you are in need of some support, try some of the crisis intervention organisations assisting people supporting RUOK Day.