With suicide rates rising in the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is proposing the establishment of 988 as a national 3-digit number to help people access suicide prevention and mental health services. While a National Suicide Prevention Lifeline already exists – and can reached at (1-800-273-TALK) – FCC Chairman Ajit Pai says an easy-to-reach number would result in more people getting the assistance they need.

After the tenth suicide among its ranks this year, the New York Police Department has decided to offer its officers free and confidential mental health services. Police Commissioner James O'Neill and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced today that no-cost mental health counseling and prescription services would be available to officers through a program called Finest Care, which will be coordinated by New York-Presbyterian.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has published a new webpage on Suicide and Occupation. The page includes factors that are linked to increased risk of suicide among occupations, ways to prevent suicide in the workplace, and a host of other resources. There were more than 47,000 deaths by suicide in the U.S. in 2017. It was the second leading cause of death among people 10 to 34 years of age.

Timothy Leary may get vindication yet, if a new research center at Johns Hopkins Medicine yields results. Leary, a Harvard psychologist and 1960s counter culture figure, came under intense criticism for advocating the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs like Lysergic acid diethylamide – otherwise known as LSD.

With obesity among children and adolescents in the U.S. nearly tripling since the 1970s, many of those affected are dealing with health problems that previously weren't seen until adulthood. These include: High blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and elevated blood cholesterol levels. There are psychological effects as well.

Average people who suffer a concussion may be three times more likely to commit suicide years after their brain injury, a new Canadian study suggests. The long-term risk of suicide appears to increase even more if the head injury occurs during a weekend, researchers found.

A New York Police Department (NYPD) sergeant died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound Saturday afternoon – the seventh suicide among NYPD personnel this year, and the fifth since June. News reports say the 30-year-old, who had eight years’ experience on the police force, was found at his home on Staten Island after he failed to report for work.

For clients and HR officers, employees' mental health is often a top concern. But how can you convert your workforce into a self-serving support system? Tramaine El-Amin is an energetic advocate of mental health first aid, a relatively new system of providing employees with basic training on spotting signs of emotional distress and engaging with the troubled individual in what could be a potentially crucial intervention to help the person find treatment.

Having a mental health problem is nothing to be ashamed of, according to 87 percent of the American adults who participated in a recent survey conducted on behalf of the American Psychological Association (APA). That and other findings are being hailed by mental health professionals are “encouraging,” although the Harris poll did uncover some entrenched stigma as well as some surprising demographic differences in attitudes.

In a recent study in France, one third of the respondents who said they’d considered suicide within the past year cited working and employment conditions as the reason. Fear of losing one’s job was the top stressor, followed by verbal threats, humiliation and intimidation at work. Some 3.8 percent of workers between the ages of 18 and 75 said they’d had suicidal thoughts within the 12 months preceding the study.