SALT LAKE CITY After Meghan Markle sent shock waves across the globe Sunday night as she revealed her struggles with suicide ideation, mental health experts in Utah say her story could reduce stigma to an issue faced by so many.
As she joined the British royal family, tabloids began targeting Markle the former actress from the U.S. who married Prince Harry with racist, sexist headlines. The media attacks hurt her friends and family and sent her into depression, she recalled.
Markle said she felt the hateful articles would end if she no longer existed. I knew if I didn t say it, that I would do it. I just didn t want to be alive anymore. And that was a very clear and real and frightening, constant thought, Markle told Oprah Winfrey during the bombshell interview on CBS.
Mental Health Experts Praise Meghan Markle for Revealing Suicidal Thoughts
On 3/9/21 at 11:39 AM EST
Mental health campaigners have praised Meghan Markle for revealing she suffered suicidal thoughts after the British tabloid press targeted her.
Markle told Oprah Winfrey in a CBS interview that aired on Sunday that she didn t want to be alive anymore when she was a member of the royal family, and confirmed that she had in the past considered ending her life.
Her comments drew fresh attention to the issue of suicide, which is a leading cause of death in the U.S., accounting for around one death every 11 minutes in 2019 according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the U.K., where Markle was based at her time of crisis, official figures show almost 6,000 people died by suicide in 2019 alone.
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Matt Sandgren: Utah leads on innovative solutions to mental health crisis
New 988 emergency number connects people with mental health services.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart speaks during a news conference about the National Suicide Prevention Hotline Improvement Act being signed into law. Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2018.
By Matt Sandgren | Special to The Tribune
| Jan. 26, 2021, 8:00 p.m.
Amid a global pandemic and an economic recession, our country is also grappling with a mental health crisis. The effects of this crisis have been acutely felt in Utah, which has the fifth-highest suicide rate in the nation.
What are the root causes of this crisis? How is it impacting individual Utahns and their families? And what policies can we put in place to stem the rise in suicides and improve mental health across the board?
Deseret News
Need ‘has never been greater,’ school official says
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Steve Griffin, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY The Huntsman Mental Health Institute at the University of Utah was dedicated Thursday in a virtual ceremony held during the coronavirus pandemic that has made the need for mental health care more urgent than ever.
“Today, we find ourselves in the midst of a mental health crisis. The need for accessible, affordable comprehensive mental health services has never been greater. We are vaccinating against COVID-19, but none of us are immune from the effects of mental illness,” according to Dr. Michael L. Good, University of Utah Health CEO.