Did you know that in the year 2007 they were 34,598 lives lost to suicide in United States alone? This are completed suicides because there are no accurate records on attempts that were unsuccessful. This translates to 94.8 suicides per day or 1 suicide every 15.2 minutes. A preliminary report showed an increase of 4.1% of suicides in young individuals ages 15 to 24 years from 2007 to 2008. Daunting numbers.
Suicide is the 11th cause of death in United States. This problem like many other medical problems has no prejudice and crosses all boundaries including but not limited to race, socio-economic, and educational status. Suicide is preventable, and in many occasions the warning signs are ignored because of the stigma around mental illness. Some people believe that talking about suicide will influence behavior in a negative fashion. That is wrong, most people give warning signs because they want help. Individuals that commit suicide in many occasions are looking for a solution to a complex problem and not to end a life. Suicide not only affects the victim but also the ones left behind to make sense of the senseless, to grieve while coping with the deep feelings of guilt that loved ones are left with.
Some of the risk factors are depression-the more episodes of depression the higher the risk; substance abuse also increases the risk of suicide because of the impaired judgement to make sound decisions; males are at higher risk and they also used more lethal violent methods, and a family history of suicide and previous attempts place individuals at higher level risk. People that are experiencing life changes or milestones are at higher risk. For example retirement, divorce, loss of a job, abandonment by a partner. Also children that are bullied at school are at greater risk as well. Indivuals who are coping with gender issues and acceptance are among those at risk as well.
Nobody wants to talk about suicide but we should all have our radar on the alert to identify people at risk and recommend them to seek help. We are losing too many lives and we must try to do our best to lower those numbers. Behind each number there is a story, and we should keep that in mind.
Some of the suicide warning signs are:
1) Ideas of dying
2) Substance abuse
3) Hopelessness
3) Reckless behavior
4) Giving meaningful things away
5) Mood changes like increased depression or anger
6) Feeling trapped like there is no way out
Today my life was touched by suicide. I found out that one my providers had ended his life. I was devastated to find out. I can't even begin to imagine the desperation that he must have felt to take his own life. He was a well balanced, successful individual. I hope that his soul is resting in peace, that peace that he was not able to find while he was alive.
Note: The statistics on this blog were taken from the American Association of Suicidology and they are latest national numbers available. http://www.suicidology.org/web/guest/stats-and-tools/statistics
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Devolution of Customer Service
What ever happened to customer service? Instead of adopting a process of evolution it has been going through a process of devolution.
This afternoon I went back to the university bookstore. I didn't have any other option, but revisiting this semester's torture chamber- at least for me. It brought back memories of my previous visit in which I went to inquire about my book order and one employee told me "it will come eventually". After that encounter my plan was to return that book when it finally arrive, and get it somewhere else. Today, I was trying to pick up "the book" that arrived on September 12th. I placed the order in August 30th through their online service. I have never used their online service before, so I made the assumption that it will be like an Amazon.com type experience. Not really!
After I arrived I had to wait to be acknowledge. It seemed like the piled boxes deserved better treatment and prompt attention. When I was finally greeted I explained the reason for my visit. A very polite lady asked me to follow her. She was going to try to find my order which was in the towers of boxes that were leaning against the wall. They were hundreds of boxes and bags, and nobody thought of putting them in an ordinal manner to facilitate retrieval. They were in disarray. I guess respect for people's time isn't included in the book price.
After the search came back empty she called the manager. Here comes a red head woman (not a natural one), with a medium frame. Her severe demeanor told me that things were going to be changing pretty quickly. She gave me a look that made feel like I was under attack. In a loud and rude manner-just like she was talking to the world- she asked me "why are you returning the book?" I answered because it is two weeks late and I bought it somewhere else. In an angry manner, she said, "well, you will have to wait until we go through all the boxes to be able to process the transaction." If you ever saw the movie Monster-in-Law, you might be able to remember when Jeniffer Lopez had this fantasy of slamming her future mother-in-law's head against a table. I had a similar thought, but I am aware that violence isn't a good conflict resolution technique. In my polite self I remained cool.
I was rescued by the first lady I encountered, and she took my information to process the return at a later time. I am very grateful that she treated me like I was human. Shouldn't good customer service be part of every business transaction? Who do we complaint when the department head abuses customers? Can compliants make a difference? My way of complaining is that I will never buy anything at the bookstore. It will probably not make such a great impact in their business but it will in my mental sanity. I will go and spend my money in a place that respects me and my time. It is very sad to see this type of behavior in an academic institution. Shouldn't we be an example to others?
This afternoon I went back to the university bookstore. I didn't have any other option, but revisiting this semester's torture chamber- at least for me. It brought back memories of my previous visit in which I went to inquire about my book order and one employee told me "it will come eventually". After that encounter my plan was to return that book when it finally arrive, and get it somewhere else. Today, I was trying to pick up "the book" that arrived on September 12th. I placed the order in August 30th through their online service. I have never used their online service before, so I made the assumption that it will be like an Amazon.com type experience. Not really!
After I arrived I had to wait to be acknowledge. It seemed like the piled boxes deserved better treatment and prompt attention. When I was finally greeted I explained the reason for my visit. A very polite lady asked me to follow her. She was going to try to find my order which was in the towers of boxes that were leaning against the wall. They were hundreds of boxes and bags, and nobody thought of putting them in an ordinal manner to facilitate retrieval. They were in disarray. I guess respect for people's time isn't included in the book price.
After the search came back empty she called the manager. Here comes a red head woman (not a natural one), with a medium frame. Her severe demeanor told me that things were going to be changing pretty quickly. She gave me a look that made feel like I was under attack. In a loud and rude manner-just like she was talking to the world- she asked me "why are you returning the book?" I answered because it is two weeks late and I bought it somewhere else. In an angry manner, she said, "well, you will have to wait until we go through all the boxes to be able to process the transaction." If you ever saw the movie Monster-in-Law, you might be able to remember when Jeniffer Lopez had this fantasy of slamming her future mother-in-law's head against a table. I had a similar thought, but I am aware that violence isn't a good conflict resolution technique. In my polite self I remained cool.
I was rescued by the first lady I encountered, and she took my information to process the return at a later time. I am very grateful that she treated me like I was human. Shouldn't good customer service be part of every business transaction? Who do we complaint when the department head abuses customers? Can compliants make a difference? My way of complaining is that I will never buy anything at the bookstore. It will probably not make such a great impact in their business but it will in my mental sanity. I will go and spend my money in a place that respects me and my time. It is very sad to see this type of behavior in an academic institution. Shouldn't we be an example to others?
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