What to do when someone is at risk

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) has a trove of information about crisis intervention and advocacy. In this article, AFSP provides concrete steps you can take to help someone who is at risk. You can read the original article here.

HAVE AN HONEST CONVERSATION
  1. Talk to them in private.
  2. Listen to their story.
  3. Tell them you care about them.
  4. Ask directly if they are thinking about suicide.
  5. Encourage them to seek treatment or contact their doctor or therapist.
  6. Avoid debating the value of life, minimizing their problems or giving advice.

Continue reading “What to do when someone is at risk”

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, a time to come together with a combined voice and collective passion to focus on the tragedy of suicide and what can be done to help prevent it.

The National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) uses Suicide
Prevention Awareness Month to shift public perception, spread hope and share vital information to people affected by suicide. NAMI’s goal is to ensure individuals, friends and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention and to seek help.

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The stigma and the truth: Suicide by the numbers

By TIM ROWDEN
The Grief Project Blog

When our son Ian died of suicide in September 2021, we could have remained silent in our grief, hiding his true cause of death and hoping no one would ask. But doing so would have made us complicit in the stigma and ignorance surrounding suicide and mental health. Doing so would have betrayed his memory and implied we were ashamed of how he had died. We are not. We’re heartbroken that he’s gone.

One of the most harmful misconceptions about suicide is the idea that it’s something someone actively chooses to do to themselves. I don’t believe that’s true. That’s like blaming someone for having cancer or a heart attack or diabetes.

Depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and other mental health conditions, race, gender, gender identity, substance abuse and age all play a role in determining who is most at risk of suicide.

People suffering with major depressive disorder and other mental illnesses who take their lives are ultimately dying from a disease. 

As someone who has suffered with chronic major depressive disorder for most of my adult life, I’ve stood on that ledge. For me it was the top of six-story parking garage, where I called my wife just to hear her voice because I knew for certain I was about to jump. Hearing her voice brought me back, but I was reluctant to seek the help I really needed.

Not until the morning that I couldn’t get out of bed for the fear and dread engulfing me did I admit I needed more help than I was getting from a mild anti-depressant and a low-dose of alprazolam.

If I’d been alone and had the means that day, I would have used it.

Ian lived alone and had purchased a gun we didn’t know about. Living alone with access to firearms are two of the most significant risk factors among young men for a depressive episode ending in suicide. Being alone with your feelings with ready access to lethal means virtually ensures how the story will end.

LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States, with 47,646 deaths in 2021, an increase of nearly four percent over 2020,  according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS
If you are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support, contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

• Call or text 988 to connect with a trained crisis counselor.
• 988 is confidential, free, and available 24-hours-a-day.

 

For more information, visit the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988lifeline.org.

 

 

988: Help is three digits away

If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or desire to end your life, you don’t have to face it alone. Help is available by calling or texting 988.

988 offers 24/7 access to trained crisis counselors who can help people experiencing mental health-related distress. That could be:

  • Thoughts of suicide
  • Mental health or substance use crisis, or
  • Any other kind of emotional distress.
  • People can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org for themselves or if they are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.988 serves as a universal entry point so that no matter where you live in the United States, you can reach a trained crisis counselor who can help.

Rhitu Chatterjee, a health correspondent with NPR, explains the new three-digit 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is designed to be a memorable and quick number that connects people who are suicidal or in any other mental health crisis to a trained mental health professional. Currently, the majority of people experiencing a mental health emergency end up dialing 911.

“If you are willing to turn to someone in your moment of crisis, 988 will be there. 988 won’t be a busy signal, and 988 won’t put you on hold. You will get help.”

Xavier Becerra, secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services

The problem is that 911 wasn’t set up to address mental health needs. Either callers end up in a frenetic emergency room, waiting for hours and sometimes days to get care, or they end up interacting with law enforcement, which can lead to tragedy or trauma.Mental health advocates hope that 988 will become a widely known, safer and more effective alternative.

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