FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Every Life Has Value
May 5, 2021
CONTACT: Patricia Noll, Founder and CEO
Good With Me Foundation
2628 5th Avenue North
St. Petersburg, FL 33713
727-424-1270 (Cell)
patricia@goodwithmefoundation.org
www.goodwithmefoundation.org
SUICIDE: THE SECOND PANDEMIC
St. Petersburg, FL Wednesday, May 5, 2021 -- Suicide, the second pandemic, reached pandemic levels in our society long before the COVID-19 pandemic. "Of the two pandemics, suicide is more dangerous, says Patricia Noll, Founder of the "Good With Me" Foundation global humanitarian movement, because signs of potential loss of life are not always visible.
Loss of life has led the news headlines for over a year. During that time, widespread isolation, loss of lifestyle, and loss of loved-ones has led to increased loneliness, addiction, fear of what's next, and an overwhelming sense of powerlessness.
At the same time, depression, anxiety, grief, worry, and uncertainty about each day, has led to increased emotional stress. Stress has been determined to be an epidemic as seen on the June 6, 1983 Time Magazine cover referring to stress as "The Epidemic of the Eighties" and America's No. 1 health problem. What was deemed to be an epidemic has grown into pandemic proportions during the last year. And yet we have done little to prevent stress since that time. People are more stressed than at any other time in history. According to Noll, "The two pandemics, COVID-19 and suicide, coupled with a stress pandemic is a recipe for disaster. We see this disaster manifesting in countless ways in our society daily."
Not knowing how to maneuver through the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, many in our society have opted to get through this new normal by using increased amounts of alcohol, drugs, and food. Some have even opted out of life in this mood-altered state of mind. "I have seen a marked increase in the number of people entering into substance abuse treatment due to the increased harmful results of these poor choices."
Much of our society has become so angry over their plight that their anger has turned into rage, violence (including domestic violence), criminal behavior, and our second pandemic of suicide. When anger becomes that powerful it cannot be contained and will either explode, implode, or both. We see the results of this daily in our news reports. All too many of our valued citizens have become the focus of our news reports, end up entangled in the legal system, are incarcerated, or end up dead due to violence and or suicide.
Job losses, evictions, and standing in food lines have destroyed self-worth and dignity for respectable good people from all walks of life and social status. This has given energy to the second pandemic that already existed in pandemic proportions. Undoubtedly, this second pandemic will continue to grow long after COVID-19 has faded into the history books unless we learn how to recognize its root cause.
During this time that people have lost their self-worth and dignity, many feel an increasingly sense of being weird, different, or not having a place to belong in an abnormal ever-changing society. They do not like who they are or where they have ended up in life. They spend a lot of time thinking about the "what if's". For many this harsh judgmental thinking about themselves leads to the belief that no one else likes them either.
Noll calls this self-defeating thinking and behavior other-dependency. It means that happiness and self-worth is dependent upon someone or something outside of us. Our worry about what others think about us leads to the need for approval, looking good, being right, and being the best. It also encompasses what we do, know, have, and our successes and accomplishments. "I believe that other-dependency is responsible for our society's widespread unhappiness, stress, addictions, and the second pandemic of suicide."
This can be happening to a family member, a friend, neighbor, co-worker, and even to yourself. For most, no one will notice until it is too late. Most do a great job of hiding negative thoughts and faking okayness.
The second pandemic exists in the domain of what we don't know we don't know for most of society. The faking of okayness often goes unrecognized and overlooked. This is evidenced by a recent article in the Washington Post when the father of a 16-year-old son who committed suicide one month into the COVID-19 pandemic discovered notes on his son's laptop that a voice inside was whispering how worthless he was, how he was hated by everyone.
In spite of current controversy about whether the number of suicide deaths have actually increased or decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, or whether they have gotten lost in the increased number of alcohol deaths, drug overdoses, and gunshot accidents, one thing is certain. What we have been doing to decrease the number of deaths by suicide is not working enough of the time. There is no vaccine or pill that will eliminate the second pandemic of suicide.
On the other hand, there is something we can do about it and we must. It isn't about who's right and who's wrong. It is about changing thoughts and saving lives. It is the focus of Noll's programs and the "Good With Me" Foundation. Teaching individuals of every age how to esteem themselves from the inside-out and recognize their own inherent value does change thoughts and save lives. Noll knows first-hand that it is possible to learn to think good thoughts about ourselves, regardless of circumstances.
We currently do not have a system that works for monitoring this second pandemic of suicide. How could we when very few know what to look for?
For answers go to https://www.goodwithmefoundation.org to find information on how to make a difference.
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About the "Good With Me" Foundation
The foundation, founded in 2019, seeks to change thoughts and save lives. It does this by funding the "Good With Me" Day virtual celebration, the annual "Good With Me" Festival, and the "Good With Me" Community Leader Program. It is a global humanitarian movement that seeks to make "Good With Me" community groups around the globe available to those who can't afford to participate as well as those who can. Learn more at https://www.goodwithmefoundation.org
About Patricia Noll
The founder and CEO of the "Good With Me" Foundation, Patricia Noll, is available for interviews about how to recognize the warning signs of suicide and how to change thoughts to save lives.
patricia@goodwithmefoundation.org
727-424-1270 (Cell/Text)
Televised addiction and self-esteem expert, Patricia Noll, is the author of Good With Me: A Simple Approach to Real Happiness from the Inside Out. She is a licensed mental health counselor, certified addictions professional, acupuncture physician, and founder of Focus One, an outpatient substance abuse treatment program licensed by the state of Florida in 1989. Noll specializes in addressing self-esteem and the way we think about ourselves as the root of all addiction.
Her addiction treatment manual has received endorsements from internationally renowned speakers and authors Deepak Chopra, Larry Dossey, Jack Kornfield, and Jacquelyn Small.