Winter has many associations that stir a range of emotional responses. Some may look forward to the holiday season, colder weather, and burrowing indoors with the comforts they have come to seek over the years. Others may find themselves longing for sunshine, wishing they could fast-forward to warmer months. In Hawaii, winter usually consists of cooler temperatures, rain, a shifting swell (from the south shore to the north shore), and relatively shorter days. The changes that accompany the seasons, whether drastic or nuanced, can serve as reminders that we, too, are changing.

In 2015, the National Center for Health Statistics found that in the U.S. alone, 9.8 million adults endorsed having serious suicidal thoughts, and 1.3 million adults reported a suicide attempt during the past year (World Health Organization). Suicide experts advocate for restricting access to lethal means as an effective strategy to reduce suicide rates. In this blog, I plan to review the efficacy of reducing access to various lethal means.