This will come as a shock to some of you, but many journalists do have a moral compass. Occasionally, we take one out and see if anyone remembers how to use it. These newsroom debates are passionate and I have been at the center of many. For years, I argued that omitting details of sex crimes because "some readers might be not want to read about that over their Cheerios" misrepresented the true level of brutality against women in America. I mean, come on, the music industry turned misogyny into entertainment a long time ago. Why not throw in a little reality for balance? I am not arguing for gratuitous details. However, very often the word "rape" does not capture the true horror of many of these crimes. The same is true for media coverage of suicide. There is an unspoken rule among editors throughout the land that covering a suicide -- especially details of a suicide -- is morally wrong. It unnecessarily inflicts  more pain upon the loved ones left behind. They argue that suicide is not newsworthy unless a celebrity kills himself or the suicide affects the public -- for instance, when  tortured soul jumps off an overpass during rush hour and brings traffic to a halt. I disagree.

Among the many, many changes being proposed to the DSM is one that I consider ridiculously brilliant: A separate, standardized questionnaire to assess the risk of suicide among teens. It's ridiculous because everyone knows that teens are different but for some reason teens are often screened as though they are adults. For example, teenage boys are less likely to have depression, more likely to abuse alcohol and often exhibit aggressive behavior before a suicide attempt. Teen girls often have depression but are less likely to abuse alcohol. For both, suicide is often spontaneous and impulsive. Meanwhile, adult suicides often follow detailed planning, worsening of depression, heavy drinking, increased anxiety, and agitated behavior. The recommendation for a separate assessment scale for teens is brilliant because the proposal recommends testing teens without verbally asking questions. Instead, teens will tested on paper or on a computer. It seems teens are reluctant to verbally answer personal questions asked by adult authority figures. (Imagine that.) Finally, the proposal recommends that the results are recorded in a teen's medical records. Seems like common sense, but apparently, doctors don't always record the results of a suicide risk assessment in medical records. “While clinicians must currently evaluate individuals in their care for suicide risk, there are a number of different scales in use and the evaluation is sometimes not included in the written record,” said David Shaffer, M.D., a member of the Disorders in Childhood and AdolescenceWork Group. “The use of a single research-based scale and accompanying record of assessmentmay help clinicians better assess suicide risk as well as provide important information forresearchers to help us more accurately identify and treat those at greatest risk for suicide.” How could this proposal possibly be controversial?

I sat down and talked with several suicide survivors last night. By "survivor" I do not mean they had attempted to take their own lives. By "survivor" I mean they have survived the suicide of a loved one. After listening for a couple of hours, I realized that the word "survivor" has never been been more aptly applied to a group of people. And after listening to these people for a couple of hours I can unequivocally say that I will never, ever try to kill myself again. Ever. I felt uncomfortable among them, not just because their stories were terrible. It was the visceral carnage every suicide leaves behind and how it affects even the most routine, mundane tasks we all perform in our daily lives.

Something horrible happened here on Thanksgiving night. I heard about it when I walked into the newsroom on Friday morning. As the day ...

All threee have dates. Bryan's date is Oct. 10, 2008. That is the day his father killed himself. Bryan talked about his father today at the annual survivor conference sponsored by the Southeast Florida Chapter of ...

There are books on display by the front table here at the annual conference for survivors sponsored by the southeast Florida Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. There are books on grief, ...

I am spending today with several dozen survivors at a gathering sponsored by the southeast Florida chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. On each table are programs for the event, LifeSavers candy ...

Today is National Suicide Survivors Day. Survivors are the loved ones who live with anguished - and sometimes angry - hearts. Their lives are consumed with unimaginable sorrow and unanswered questions: What could I have ...

I was a panelist last Friday on the BBC radio program called World Have Your Say. The title of the program was Should You Make Your Mental Illness Public? Debates like this are being ...

  Stigma kills. Robert Enke, the beloved goalkeeper for the German national soccer team, stepped in front of a train ...