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To tie in with Bell’s Annual Let’s Talk Day I thought I would share why I believe that we truly need to foster the conversation regarding mental illness and how it is leading to what I feel are totally unacceptable suicide rates for todays youth.
Did you know that suicide is the number 1 cause of death of teenagers ?
Do you know why?
Due to the fact that kids today lack the resiliency of past generations, now more than ever kids today are struggling with everything they have to deal with.
In a 2013 study conducted by the American College Health Association they surveyed close to 100,000 students across 153 campuses in the USA.
At some point over the last 12 months;
- 84.3 percent felt overwhelmed by all they had to do
- 60.5 percent felt very sad
- 57.0 percent felt very lonely
- 51.3 percent felt overwhelming anxiety
- 8.0 percent seriously considered suicide
8% = Approximately 8,000 considered suicide ! As far as I am concerned, One is too many.
The reason that the issue is very personal to me is one of the young players I coached in High School Rugby committed suicide 2 years later on the same day that my son and all his friends were celebrating their high school graduation. The inference is M wanted to send a message to his older classmates (he was in grade 10, 15 years old at the time)
The day after that tragic day I remember talking to my son and he shared that the news went viral on all their forms of social media at the dance making what should have been a moment of true celebration a sombre evening in lieu.
No one truly knows why M took his life at such a young age, but he is not the first that did so in the very same school both my kids attended.
Another was a girl in grade 11 (16 years old), a few years back, who played for the girls rugby team and was found in one of the classrooms by a custodian at the school Monday morning. The reasons that were shared she took her life, was due to the fact she had been bullied in school and on the rugby team.
Another young girl who was in kids musical theatre group took her life at 15 years old, also rumours (no note) was that she had been bullied in school.
Yet another tragic example, was one of my brothers best friends from high school, although well beyond his high school years, only a few years after getting married and becoming a father took his life in his early 40’s. At his service, they focused on how he was an amazing athlete, still an avid skier and mountain biker and he had run a very successful real estate business so all of us were in shock why.
In every instance, all that we heard were rumours or nothing at all as to why the people took their lives other than references pertaining to mental illness.
When I shared the sad news about the player I had coached to my brother who had lost his really close friend only a couple of years back, he texted me;
“Mental illness is EVIL”
He could not have nailed it on the head any better, both of us have lost people we knew either as friends, coaches and it does not appear to be getting any better any sooner.
This is why I have tweeted and sent out to all social media for everyone to take the time today to support Bell’s Let’s Talk Campaign.
A couple of other initiatives to help those in need I also wish to share;
- The Personal Sport Record – a new software platform that I believe will be a game changer in terms of how we measure fundamental movement skills as well as core skills in specific sports. One of the features recently added “Tell Someone”, an anonymous reporting tool for those suffering any form of harassment in sport (bullying, sexual harassment or abuse, hazing) so that it can be dealt with sooner than later to reduce the traumatic affects kids deal with.
For more information on the Personal Sport Record, visit their website www.personalsportrecord.com
- Please sign up for the Free End Bullying and Stop Abuse Summit starting this coming Monday, February 5th to hear from several guests (myself included) talking about their personal experiences with bullying and abuse. Two of the USA gymnasts that were victims of Larry Nassar who has been sentenced to 40+ years imprisonment will share their personal stories among many others.
To register for the summit, click on the logo below and it will take you to the registration page.
The fact that it has only been a few weeks since I wrote “Make it Safe 2018” and shared all the other sexual harassment and abuse scandals that had come to light including USA Gymnastics, Canadian Alpine Skiing, USA Swimming, Penn State Football, UK football among others and stated “ what program is next?”
Are there any other sexual predators that we don’t know about YET ?
Two others have come to light just in the last few weeks since I wrote the article;
Canadian Speed Skating (CSS) – Michael Crowe, Head Coach of CSS has been released only a few weeks before the Olympics and is under investigation for sexual harassment by CSS, but ex US speed skaters have come forward regarding sexual relationships they felt pressured into also
Canadian Gymnastics – to say I was sick to my stomach this morning when I opened the sports section and the rumour I heard while at Sport for life summit last week is in fact true, yet another coach of the Canadian Gymnastics program has been charged with several counts of assault to a minor, Scott McFarlane, 28.
This just over a month since the news that the National Team Director for Gymnastics Canada, Dave Brubaker, faces multiple sex-related charges.
Now more than ever, we all need to work together to bring the game back to the kids … where it belongs.
