Suicide Prevention
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline if you or anyone you know may be in a crisis:
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
What is Suicide Prevention?
Suicide is a severe public health issue with long-term consequences for individuals, families, and communities. Suicide is caused by a variety of circumstances. The goal of suicide prevention is to reduce the risk factors that enhance the likelihood of suicide. Suicide was the tenth-largest cause of death in the United States in 2019, taking the lives of approximately 47,500 individuals. Suicide is complex and heartbreaking, yet it is often avoidable. Understanding the warning signs of suicidal behavior and how to get treatment can help save countless lives.
What Exactly is Suicide?
- Suicide occurs when people intentionally damage themselves in order to end their lives and die as a direct result.
- Suicide attempts are those who attempt to hurt themselves but do not die as a result but may be tremendously injured.
- Terms like "committing, successful, or failed suicide" should be avoided since they generally have a negative connotation.
Warning Signs of Suicide
The following are some of the warning signs that someone is contemplating suicide:
- Talking about wanting to die or killing themselves
- Talking about feeling empty or hopeless or having no reason to live
- Talking about feeling trapped or feeling that there are no solutions
- Feeling unbearable emotional or physical pain
- Talking about being a burden to others
- Withdrawing from family and friends
- Taking great risks that could lead to death, such as driving extremely fast
- Thinking or talking about death often
Serious warning signs of someone contemplating suicide include:
- Extreme mood swings, suddenly changing from very sad to very calm or happy
- Making a plan to kill themselves such as buying a gun, planning a date, lethal methods
- Using an excessive amount of drugs or alcohol
- Often feelings of anxiety or aggravation
- Eating and sleeping habits begin to change
Stress and suicide may not be the same issue, and symptoms of significant stress should not be overlooked. If any of these warning signals apply to you or someone you know, it is critical to get treatment as soon as possible, especially if the behaviors are new or have intensified.
Attached below are the 5 action steps to help someone in emotional pain:
Suicide Can Be Prevented
Suicide is avoidable, and everyone can help save lives and build healthy, strong people, families, and communities. Suicide prevention involves a multifaceted health strategy. The solutions range from those geared to help persons who are at higher risk to those that are aimed at the entire population, regardless of risk.
Mark Henick's Suicide Awareness Ted Talks
Mark Henick was an adolescent when he was overcome by despair and anxiety, which led to a series of progressively deadly suicide attempts. He climbed onto a bridge above an overpass one night and stood in the wind. Someone yelled, "Jump you coward!" Another man, a stranger in a brown coat, spoke slowly, calmly, and with genuine empathy to him. The man in the brown coat grabbed Henick's chest and dragged him to safety just as his feet reached the air. This encounter changed forever Henick's life. Henick devoted his life to changing minds and bringing about change. He now talks to a wide range of groups on topics such as mental health, mental illness, suicide, rehabilitation, and hope. Below is a video of Mark Henick's Ted Talk explaining his testimony on suicide.
Why Is This Issue So Important?
Suicide prevention is important to me because there are several methods in which we may prevent someone from committing suicide or having suicidal thoughts. Suicidal thoughts and behaviors must be taken seriously and must be addressed immediately in order to obtain mental health treatment. Knowing what to say or do as a friend or parent when someone mentions suicide, self-harm, or feeling hopeless is the best thing you can do. Having a safe space to talk about this issue, as well as a nonjudgmental conversation about it, will help to de-stigmatize these circumstances. When you see a difference in someone's demeanor, having a straightforward, nonjudgmental conversation with them will demonstrate that you care and are there for them when they need it. Showing your support for someone can help lessen the emotions of loneliness and isolation that accompany suicidal thoughts. I picked this topic because understanding the indications of suicidal thoughts might assist someone significantly feel less inclined to consider suicide.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, February 25). Suicide prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved April 16, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/index.html
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Suicide prevention. National Institute of Mental Health. Retrieved April 15, 2022, from https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/suicide-prevention
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