« Psychosurgery results seen as unpredictable. | Main | Fifty-five percent of US children with mental-health problems getting help. »
December 11, 2009
Holiday suicide myth may increase anxiety, psychiatrist says.
USA Today (11/30, Painter) reports that it is a myth that "suicides climb during the winter holidays." In fact, "suicide numbers peak in the spring and may even dip in December, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
This "myth may" even "harm people," explained psychiatrist Ronald Pies, MD, of the Tufts University School of Medicine, who said, "It might unnecessarily put people on their guard or increase their anxiety." He added that "some people 'on the brink' of self-harm might feel encouraged to follow through when they read or hear that holiday suicides are common," thereby turning "the myth" into "a self-fulfilling prophecy."
Related Links:
- Why the holiday suicide myth persists," Kim Painter, USA Today, November 29, 2009.
Posted by admin at December 11, 2009 02:09 AM