SECOND TAKE
DESERET NEWS: Pandemic aggravates mental health problems
Rise in Utah suicides shows need for further effort to promote awareness of psychological wellbeing
Here’s a sobering statistic: Utah has lost eight times more lives to suicide in the past 12 months than to Covid-19. That number, along with the effects of isolation, social-distancing and community and personal anxiety over the pandemic, emphasises the need to further suicide prevention and mental health awareness efforts.
Utah’s new Live On campaign (https://liveonutah.org/) was in the works well before Covid-19 spread, but it couldn’t have launched at a better time (https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/5/21/21266723/suicide-state-launches-live-on-campaign-to-prevent-provide-resources-amid-coronavirus-pandemic). Aimed at promoting education, resources and changing norms on mental health, Live On is a much needed step in trying to combat the devastating toll suicide has taken. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Utahns aged 10 to 24. A 2019 study estimated that a third of Utah overdoses (https://www.deseret.com/utah/2019/12/20/21027135/utah-overdose-suicide-opioid-deaths-...
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