 |
| A photo of Jello shots that I found on Google |
Recently our county started a Suicide Prevention and Awareness group. I was so happy to find this out. The first thing I did was contact the admin of their Facebook page and tell them how cool I thought it was that there was finally something like this available for the people of our county. The group is doing really well and even did a "A Walk To Remember" to honor those who we have lost to suicide and to raise money to help others who are struggling. Due to money issues myself and my husband were unable to attend the walk but we had plans on supporting the group in the future. I was checking their Facebook to see how the walk went. I was greeted with photos of men, women and children, all of them smiling and their faces beaming with hope. I was regretful that I couldn't be a part of their purple parade. I started to look on the page to try and see when their next event would be. The first one I saw is at the bowling alley that is right down the road from my house. I'm not much one for bowling but I could put that aside for a good cause. The only time I had ever bowled was in grade school so maybe it was time I try it again. Their next event made my heart drop. It was at a bar.
 |
| A close up on a beer bottle, a popular drink in our town |
We live in an almost dry county. There are only four places(that I know of) to buy alcohol. Two are truck stops, one is a liquor store and the last one is a bar. I don't like bars myself. Being female, I have never been in a bar that I felt safe in. I always feel nervous and as though I could be in danger. When I do drink, I would much rather drink at home. Most of my friends and family are the same way. One thing that we all loved about the walk event was that it was family friendly. I could bring my baby sisters and they could help too(we have always been very open about mental health with the girls) I can't image how they would react if we left for an event like this and had to leave them at home. Because of suicide my sisters have a Great Uncle that they will never meet. Events like this would force them to stay home making it seem like suicide only effects adult, which isn't true. Suicide effects entire families. Its a bolder crashing into the water that sends waves off onto distant shores, the effects of which can be felt for entire life times, even life times that may not have begun yet.
 |
| Alchool can make you feel worse |
Putting aside the emotion toll(for now), lets talk about the relation between alcohol, binge drinking and suicide. Alcohol lowers you inhibition, making you do things that you may not normally do. This can be innocent things like dancing with a lampshade on your head but for people suffering from depression this can prove to be fatal. Around one forth of people who commit suicide are under the influence of alcohol. At times when depression hits hard, its still possible to see a light at the end. Its not always easy, but you can fight your depression and give yourself hope. While under the influence of alcohol that light can be snuffed out. Leaving someone feeling dark, alone and hopeless. Alcohol is a known depressive, a "downer" meaning that it makes your mood go lower. If you are depressed, drinking can make your depression much worse. In a survey of 58,000 people it was found that 22 percent were legally drunk when they took their own life. That's a a lot of people. With this number in mind, why would you want to host a suicide prevention event at a bar?
 |
| The suicide rate is higher for men |
You may be thinking that the event might be serving non alcoholic drinks or that the bar was just a good location to draw people in. Its not that simple. The group is selling Jell-O shots to help raise money for suicide prevention and awareness. The point of doing shots of any alcohol is to drunk very, very fast. You can do a shot faster than you can drink a mixed a drink. One thing that shots are associated with is binge drinking. Binge drinking is defined as a male drinking more that five drinks(or shots) in one drinking session and four drinks(or shots) in one session for women. Jell-O shots are a popular choice for binge drinkers and parities alike because they are cheap, easy to make, and they get you drunk fast. The group is also boasting about "signature shots". Generally this is a shot or drink that is created by one person. Its unique to them and may have a catchy name. Most often this person(or place) is the only way to taste this shot. Having not only cheap Jell-O shots but a special, shot as well encourages binge drinking. Yes, the money spent on this alcohol is all going to a good cause but the effects of the party will prove negative in the long run. An event like this should never be about money, it should be about helping the community as whole. 4.6 percent of people in our county report being heavy drinkers. Binge drinking is not something that many people are willing to open up about so I would guess that in reality that that number is much higher. The suicide rate in our county( as of 2004-2006) is 22.9 for men and 10.7 for women. This is much higher than the rates for the state of Ohio as a whole(the rate for males being 18.8 and the rate for females being 4.4). Alcohol can and will increase this rate. Seeing a suicide prevention group do an event at a bar makes my family and I feel as though the group does not truly care about reducing our counties high suicide rate.
 |
| Andy of Black Veil Brides. He has been open and active about mental health and suicide prevention |
Another issue with the bar setting is not including a huge group of people. Teenagers. My depression started in my teens years, this was the same for many of my friends as well. With social media more and more groups have popped up that are about suicide prevention and a lot of them are gear toward teens and young adults. This is due to the high suicide rates that effect those ages groups. Teens and young adult are also at a risk to engage in risky behaviors as well. Suicide prevention and awareness has become cool and trendy with teens. This is thanks in part to bands and musicians being open with their fans about their own mental struggles. Combine the trendiness of suicide prevention with the pressure and "right of passage" vibes that are given off by alcohol and parties and you have a very bad message.
Personally, this makes me very leery of the group. They have stated that they are not encouraging people to drink but by selling Jell-O shots it leaves me feeling confused. Drinking can be a very unhealthy habit, while it can be enjoyed respectability and in moderation, I feel as though a group like this should not be selling shots. Its really cool that the local bar wants to help out. I admire that. The issue is with the alcohol. Not only does it prevent people who are under 21 to help with event, the event itself may push locals away from the group. I spoke with one local who said that she felt like the group couldn't be trusted due to doing an event like this. She openly told me that she wonders if the money is really going to the right cause. I still feel like the groups heart is in the right place and I do understand their logic and thought process of going to a bar but when it comes to suicide prevention and alcohol, the two should stay apart. I am not going to tell people to not support this group because I know that this group could help a lot of people. I just feel like the group has pushed my family and friends away with this choice of event. The group does do family events but I'm not sure if families would want to do the events after this. I know that I am going to catch some hate for this and I still believe that this group is a good thing for our county but this should be about bringing people together not pushing them away. Suicide prevention is for all ages because suicide effects all ages.
Sources
http://www.mces.org/pages/suicide_fact_alcohol.php
http://alcoholrehab.com/alcoholism/binge-drinking-increases-suicide-risk/
http://www.drugfree.org/news-service/almost-one-fourth-of-suicide-victims-are-legally-intoxicated-when-they-die/
http://www.healthy.ohio.gov/comprofiles/adams.pdf
Comments
Post a Comment