Approximately one million people worldwide die from suicide every year. It is estimated that death by suicide has risen 60% in the last 45 years.
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. All across the globe people will be utilizing social media and their voices to raise awareness of suicide prevention. The participants in this event are from all walks of life, nationalities, races, and religious beliefs. They are being brought together because they are passionate about suicide prevention.
Twitter is full of messages about suicide prevention, most using the hash tag #wspd (stands for World Suicide Prevention Day). Many of the messages contain the slogan "Take 5 To Save a Life," created by the organization Take 5 To Save Lives. They have a great website that helps to 
educate the public about suicide prevention and offers ideas about what people can do to help raise awareness.
Many Facebookers are using their statuses to promote World Suicide Prevention Day and suicide prevention. A World Suicide Prevention Day Event has been set up on Facebook. At this time there are close to 3000 people attending this virtual event.
Bloggers everywhere are using their blogs to promote suicide awareness. Some are even sharing personal stories to explain why they are passionate about suicide prevention. A family member or a friend attempting or dying by suicide, or their own personal suicide attempts, are among the list of reasons some bloggers are participating in World Suicide Prevention Day. Some blog posts, written by various authors, can be found here at the NAMI Mass Blog.
The main goal for all these people is to educate the world about suicide and how to prevent it. They want people to understand that death by suicide has reached epidemic proportions and only through a concerted group effort can that be changed.
Article comments
1 - Jeanne
Melissa,
Thank you for posting about this very important topic.
Jeanne
2 - Melissa Mashburn
Jeanne,
I appreciate you saying that.