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I think that the numbers are increasing, but I still think that it isn't getting much attention. I think that this "keep it in the family" mess takes away from the truth and aids to skewing the actual statistics. Unless you are in the family or the word gets out, people never know the truth. How many times have you read obituaries that stated someone's cause of death as "complications from pnemonia" or "undetermined causes" or simply stated as died at his/her home?
I know that I have veered a little bit off subject, but they all tie in. I know that it may feel embarrassing or shameful for the world to know that your loved one killed themselves or died from AIDS or something else, but we need to be truthful. My students may not read anything else in the newspaper, but are quick to read the obituaries. Once they start seeing the truth and read about the REAL number of people that have committed suicide or died from AIDS, reality will really start to set in and we can get out of the "we don't do that" or "it doesn't happen to us" frame of mind.
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