James Donaldson notes: I am turning more and more of my time and efforts towards mental health issues, especially pertaining to our young people and student-athletes.
Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.
Having gone through a recent bout of depression and suicidal thoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space. http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
FRIDAY, Nov. 2, 2018 (HealthDay News) — Shootings make the headlines, yet the American public doesn’t know that guns take more lives by suicide than by homicide, a new study reveals.
In the United States, suicide is twice as common as murder, and suicide by firearm is more common than homicide by firearm, the researchers reported.
However, the new “research indicates that in the scope of violent death, the majority of U.S. adults don’t know how people are dying,” said study author Erin Morgan. She’s a doctoral student with the University of Washington School of Public Health’s department of epidemiology, in Seattle.
More Americans kill themselves with guns than kill others, Morgan said. This fact should give people who have guns second thoughts about how guns are stored and if they should keep firearms at all, she added.
To find out how people think about gun deaths, Morgan and her colleagues used data from the 2015 National Firearms Survey of nearly 4,000 U.S. adults who were asked to rank causes of violent death over the past year. The researchers compared those responses with official state death counts.
The investigators found that although suicide was more common than homicide in all the states, most people thought the opposite.
“The inconsistency between the true causes and what the public perceives to be frequent causes of death indicates a gap in knowledge, and a place where additional education can be helpful,” Morgan said in a university news release.
When people think murder is the top risk, they might buy a gun to protect themselves. Without understanding the high risk of suicide, they might not store it safely, the researchers added.
The real nature of the risk of gun deaths needs to be promoted by the media and the entertainment industry, Morgan said.
“By having mass media and other communication mechanisms enable further discussions of suicide, we, as a society, can have a more informed conversation about suicide prevention,” she explained.
The study authors want to learn more about how people form their opinions on gun violence so they can find ways to change these perceptions.
“We know that this is a mixture of mass and individual communication, but what really leads people to draw the conclusions that they do? If people think that the rate of homicide is really high because that’s what is shown on the news and on fictional TV shows, then these are opportunities to start to portray a more realistic picture of what’s happening,” Morgan concluded.
The study was published Oct. 30 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
More information
Visit the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health for more on suicide.
SOURCE: University of Washington, news release, Oct. 30, 2018
James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
www.StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
JamesD@StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
1-800-745-3161 (voicemail & fax)
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
