September is National Suicide Prevention Month, a month in which we shine a light on one of the most misunderstood and stigmatized human experiences.

I see this month as a call to arms, not in the sense of weapons, but rather in the form of people working together. That said, if we are to leverage the opportunity this month affords us to prevent suicide, we first need to understand suicide.

Most all suicides result from a combination of two things: a mental health disorder — depression, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress (PTS), traumatic brain injury (TBI), morale injury, survivors guilt, etc., and aggravating social factors such as relationship problems, death of a loved one, loss of job and associated purpose, legal issues — or financial difficulties. Unfortunately, the destructive clash of these forces far too often ends in the death of hope for the one who is suffering and ending their lives by their own hand.

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