USA Today (8/11, Weintraub, Kelly, Today) reports that “suicide claims more than 38,000 American lives each year – more than the number killed by car accidents, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – and the rate hasn’t budged in decades, says Jeffrey Lieberman, professor and chairman of psychiatry at New York’s Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. “ The death of comedian and actor Robin “Williams could put a human face on a problem that often gets little attention, Lieberman says,” adding that Williams “was such a charismatic and beloved figure, that if his death can galvanize our society to act instead of just grieve, it will be a fitting memorial to him.” Dr. Lieberman is a former president of the American Psychiatric Association.
Related Links:
— “Suicide a risk even for beloved characters like Williams,” Karen Weintraub and Dennis Kelly, USA Today, August 12, 2014.