Mental health experts say it’s time to stop saying ‘committed suicide.’ Here’s why – The Calgary Journal

Oct 15, 2018

Mental health experts say it’s time to stop saying ‘committed suicide.’ Here’s why.

Despite critiques of how media discuss mental health issues, Steven Leong, the Fund Development leader of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), says the media is doing a much better job than it used to.

Leong lost his cousin to suicide five years ago. His cousin’s death was among the 4,054 cases in Canada in 2013, a number that dropped to 3,926 in 2016, according to the latest census.

Although shocked by his cousin’s unexpected death, Leong says media efforts around the language of suicide have improved.

“I think it’s pretty good, it’s better than it’s ever been,” Leong says. “Even in the last five years, we’ve come a really long way.”