Suicide Prevention / MJ Maher (ePub)

MJ lost her eldest son, Bryan, to suicide on 6^th March 2020, so MJ has dedicated her time and 28 years' experience as a mental health nurse, a group analyst (psychotherapist) and a researcher to design this workbook for professionals working with suicidal patients; individuals not in therapy but experiencing suicidal feelings and seeking to understand themselves better. She also writes for relatives/friends of those triggered, providing them with a map of protective factors and actions to reduce suicide risks.

Suicide Prevention: The Traffic Light of Survival is a workbook which anyone can use, especially those who find themselves flirting with or thinking about committing suicide. You do not need to have a mental health diagnosis to want to kill yourself, and it is not a sign that you are insane or weak. Anyone can feel suicidal.

MJ introduces B.R.Y.A.N.'s Save Our Sanity (SOS) Code which warns against using antidepressants for Reactive Depression without proper risk assessment, or without the time or ability to monitor the client. B.R.Y.A.N.'s SOS Code uses a traffic light system to identify the colour that matches your feelings in the present moment: Green - when you are feeling good; Amber - when you are struggling and Red - when you feel you are not coping and are feeling suicidal. Those are the three choices. Each colour gives you activities to do and explains the possible risks, triggers, myths, and false beliefs that might impact on your choice of action.

If you risk jumping the traffic light, you face the possibility of hitting Blackout, a point of no return. Total Blackout is death by completing suicide.

MJ worked mostly with people who use destructive strategies to cope. Although most of her clients/patients had suicidal ideation, she never lost anyone to suicide. So, her work is well researched and tried out. Her personal experience strengthens her motivation to make sure that her son's death saves life.