How To Detect Signs Of Suicidal Thoughts – Mass Appeal

What Everyone Should Know About Suicide

• The frequency of suicide has bee;n increasing in the US for at least the past decade.
  • 123 /day
  • Now 45,000 a year, showing a 25% increase between 1999 and 2016
  • The male suicide rate is more than 3x that of females.
  • Native Americans have the highest suicide rate in the US, Inuits in Canada, Aboriginal People in Australia (high stress/lessened access to mental health care).
  • Worldwide, 600,000 people each year die in wars vs 800,000-1 million die by suicide.
• Most but not all people who eventually commit suicide talk about their intentions, so threats must be taken seriously and evaluated.
• Other warning signs:
  • Repeatedly saying life isn’t worth living.
  • Giving away valued possessions.
  • Checking one’s will / life insurance policy.
• You will NOT “put the idea into their head” by asking someone if they are thinking of killing themselves.
• Key questions to ask a person about whom you are concerned.
  • Do you have thoughts about wanting to be dead?
  • Have you thought of killing yourself?
    • Have you thought about ways you might do it?
    • Have you felt any intention to follow through on doing this?
  • Have you ever done any preparation (collecting pills, trying the strength of a beam in the garage)/rehearsal?
• Helping the suicidal individual stay away from their preferred method of self-harm (keeping the gun at someone else’s home, for example) can be lifesaving because the impulse to act often passes quickly.
• Clinical depression is often a major contributing factor and all medical staff should screen for this illness, but it is not always present.
• Despair (hopelessness) is a key factor even when no clinical depression is evident.
• Empathy without judgment can help to keep an open line of communication and support.
• We need to combat the stigma associated with mental health challenges so that this and other emotional health matters become easier to talk about without feeling shame.
• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

Source: https://www.wwlp.com/mass-appeal/how-to-detect-signs-of-suicidal-thoughts/1894857649