The night before last, on the popular television series House, one of the main characters, Kutner, didn't come to work. Two of his co-workers went to his home - and found his body. It was a shocking and unexpected twist. It was immediately determined that he committed suicide. House wanted to believe he was murdered, so that he could have a puzzle to figure out, but there was no evidence to support his theory. Kutner's co-workers asked each other if anyone saw any signs that he was suicidal or depressed, but no one did.
At the close of the episode ended, there was a flash of white text on the screen with the logo, URL, and phone number for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), urging people to get help if they needed it or thought a loved one did.
1-800-950-NAMI (1-800-950-6264)
http://www.nami.org
Interestingly enough, the actor who portrayed Kutner, Kal Penn, asked if he could leave the show because he was offered a job at the White House! Congratulations, Kal!
I wish that the House tribute page for Kutner had the suicide hotline and additional information. I was pleased to discover the show has an ongoing affiliation with NAMI. All net proceeds from the sales of T-shirts sold through housecharitytees.com go to NAMI.
Do you think Kutner's story parallels that of any of the characters in Impulse? What does he have in common with Conner? Tony? Vanessa?
Showing posts with label suicide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label suicide. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
April: Help to prevent suicide
We have touched on suicide on several books at rgz, so our fantastic postergirl Jackie made this document for us. I thought to share it again as each of Ellen's characters has been hospitalized for attempted suicide.
If you or your friend is contemplating this act, GET HELP NOW. Each individual matters to our world.
Suicide is the third most common way for young people ages 10-24 to die. More worrisome is that for every suicide death among young people ages 15-24 there are 100-200 failed attempts. In 2005, 16.9% of U.S. high school students revealed that they had thoughts of attempting suicide in the preceding 12 months.*
Suicide is serious, but it is preventable. If you are thinking about suicide or someone you know is exhibiting signs that they might make an attempt on their own life, please use the resources below. All calls are confidential.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
1-800-273-TALK
1-800-273-8255
Call this 24-hour hotline for any kind of emotional distress ranging from suicide and mental illness to homelessness, loneliness and family problems. They’ll listen, and refer you to resources in your area.
National Hopeline Network
www.hopeline.com
1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-784-2433
This 24-hour hotline will seamlessly and immediately connect you to the crisis center closest to the place you are calling from.
The Trevor Helpline
www.thetrevorproject.org
866-4-U-TREVOR
866-488-7386
A 24-hour suicide prevention helpline focused on helping gay or questioning youth, but anyone is welcome to call.
Read more about suicide, warning signs, and general mental health issues:
http://www.kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/
http://www.teenscreen.org/teens
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/teenmentalhealth.html
* http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/Suicide/default.htm
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