If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal ideation or thoughts of harming yourself, help is out there. Below are resources for suicide prevention that you can use for yourself or pass along to someone you know.

Consider an online MFT program and learn how you can help families by preventing suicide among struggling individuals.

National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – 988

The first resource to become familiar with is the national suicide and crisis lifeline. As of July 16th, 2020, the number 988 turned live. Previously, the only number available was 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The longer number will continue to also function indefinitely alongside 988 as a number one can dial to reach the lifeline, however, 988 is now available as a faster option one can dial in order to reach a suicide prevention specialist.

Other Functions of 988

The national suicide and crisis lifeline can also be reached via text and chat.

Suicide Prevention Resources for Youth

The dangers of suicide among young people are sometimes underestimated, but it’s the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 24. The experiences of young people are valid, and you deserve to get help. Below are some ideas for how to keep yourself or the young person in your life safe.

• How to Create a Youth Safety Plan – This resource is helpful for creating a safety plan to create coping skills ahead of a crisis.
• SAMHSA Mental Health Services Locator – This is a confidential resource to find mental health services such as therapy.
• Bullying Resources – If you or a young person you know is experiencing bullying, this resource may be helpful.
• Inclusive Therapist Finder – Inclusive therapy may be the key to helping some feel completely understood.
• Support Group, Psychiatrist, and Therapist Finder – This is a comprehensive resource for finding medication management, therapy, or support groups in your area.

Suicide Prevention Resources for LGBTQ+

People in the LGBTQ+ community are at a high risk of suicide and other mental health struggles due to a number of complex factors. Resources are out there if you are experiencing some of those struggles, or if you are trying to provide support to an LGBTQ+ person in your life. Some of these resources include:

• Trans Lifeline – Transgender peer emotional and financial support.
• The Trevor Project – Information and support to LGBTQ+ young people 24/7 all year around.
• LGBTQ+ Sexual Health Education Resources – Facts for either individual to educate themselves or people to educate others on sexual health topics related to LGBTQ+.
• It Gets Better – Hope for LGBTQ+ – A place to connect LGBTQ+ people around the world.

Guides for Allies

• You Matter: How to Be a Straight Ally
• An Ally’s Guide to Terminology

Suicide Prevention Resources for Veterans

Serving in and leaving the military can cause a difficult time in one’s life. If this is you, you’re not alone. Crisis can arise anytime, and it’s okay to look for resources. Some resources and tips that may be helpful include:

• Veterans Crisis Line – Dial 988 and then press option 1.
• National Resource Directory – This directory contains validated resources that support recovery, rehab, and reintegration for veterans, their family, and their caregivers.
• VA Local Resources – This directory can help veterans find local counseling, benefits assistance, and other resources such as support groups.
• Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator – This is a confidential and anonymous source of information for those looking for potential treatment for mental health struggles or substance abuse issues.
• How to Create a Safety Plan – This resource is helpful for creating a safety plan to create coping skills ahead of a crisis.

Suicide Prevention Resources for Post Partum

Pregnancy and postpartum can be difficult for new moms. It’s important to have resources ready. If you need help, check out these resources below or call the national suicide and crisis lifeline.

• Make a safety plan – Having a safety plan ready for when/if you feel depressed or suicidal can be a lifesaver. Safety plans can include coping strategies, support in your life, what others can do if you’re in crisis, and more.
• Postpartum Support International and Helpline – This resource is for anyone who has given birth and is experiencing postpartum depression or has experienced pregnancy loss, infant or child loss, or other perinatal mental health disorders. This website contains information for their helpline, online support groups, loss and grief resources, and more.
• National Maternal Mental Health Hotline – 1-833-943-5746 (1-833-9-HELP4MOMS)
• Mom’s Mental Health Matters – Education and resources surrounding the effects of birth on mental health and what to do about it.

Suicide Prevention for the Black Community

Studies show that suicide rates among the black community have been increasing faster than any other racial/ethnic group. Complex factors such as barriers to care and treatment due to structural racism lead to outcomes like only one in three black adults receiving needed care. See the resources below to utilize for yourself if you’re in crisis or to pass along if needed.

• Therapy for Black Girls – This resource is a tool that can help find therapists specific to the common needs of black girls.
• Therapy for Black Men – This resource is a tool that can help find therapists specific to the common needs of black men.
• Center for Healing Racial Trauma – Healing Trauma can be vital to suicide prevention. This resource offers services and training to help marginalized communities heal.
• BEAM – Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective – This institution builds grants, holds training, and builds movements to help heal the black community.
• Black Mental Health Alliance – This resource provides resources and community education about healing practices and culturally relevant approaches to racial challenges as well as empowering the black community.

Suicide Prevention Resources for Neurodivergent Individuals

• Neurodiversity Network – This resource contains comprehensive information on where you can find yourself or someone you know help with mental health struggles that you may be facing. This includes crisis numbers, blogs where you can connect with others, and more.
• Autism & Warning Signs of Suicide – This resource helps you and others become aware of what it might look like if an autistic person is contemplating suicide and what to do to intervene to help yourself or them.
• Autistic Self Advocacy Network – Because autism is sometimes misunderstood or ignored by healthcare professionals, it’s important to know how to self-advocate for your own mental wellness. The Autistic Self Advocacy Network has many resources to educate on your rights, how to stand up for yourself, and updates on various laws and other things going on in the world that could impact you.

People who are neurodivergent, such as those who are autistic, have ADHD or have other disorders, may experience the world differently than neurotypicals (people without those conditions). This can bring on unique challenges and mental health struggles. Below are some resources for neurotypical individuals.

Suicide Prevention Resources for Older Adults and Seniors

Suicide attempts are often more lethal in older adults than younger adults. Depression and suicidal thoughts do not discriminate, and you can struggle no matter your age. Suicide rates are particularly high among older men, with men over the age of 85 and older having the highest rate of any group in the country. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, there is help available. Take a look at the resources below that may be helpful for yourself or someone you know.

• Institute on Aging: Friendship Line – This resource is a 24/7 crisis line available
  specifically for people aged 60 years and older and adults living with disabilities. They also provide wellness checks and other outreach services for older adults.
• Suicide Prevention Alliance – This resource holds information on older adult suicide and a compilation of resources and informative material.
• United Way 211 – Note that this is not a crisis number, however, this resource is helpful in a number of ways. If you or a senior is struggling, the number 211 can be called to reach a phone representative in your area to find local mental health resources or even social services such as rental assistance or other assistance for issues that may be causing stress.

Working in Mental Health

While there are many ways to help individuals who are struggling with mental health challenges, becoming a marriage and family therapist will provide you with the skillset needed to more directly assist those in need. The following list includes MFT programs that have been accredited by COAMFTE, which is the major accrediting body for marriage and family therapy programs. The cost of MFT programs can also be high, so we have put together a guide on finding affordable MFT programs in your area or online.

Other General Suicide Prevention Resources

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Suicide Prevention – Center for Disease Control and Prevention

National Institute of Mental Health Suicide Prevention

MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health

Ayuda En Español

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In New Hampshire, twice as many people take their own lives than in Massachusetts.

Massachusetts and New Hampshire share more than a border, Puritan heritage, and the New England Patriots. Both states are prosperous, with median household incomes and state health care systems that rank among the top ten in the country. They’re predominantly white and largely Christian.

Despite these similarities, the two states diverge drastically in a key public health metric. In 2014, the most recent year for which data is available, New Hampshire’s gun suicide rate was four times that of Massachusetts, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

New Hampshire’s overall suicide rate of 18.6 per 100,000 was more than twice as high as its neighbor.

Public health researchers say there is no single reason for the widely different suicide rates, but note that Massachusetts offers robust state-run mental illness and substance abuse treatment services, and is more urban than New Hampshire, which means that medical help for most residents is never too far away. Statewide, Massachusetts has a mental health provider for every 200 residents, whereas New Hampshire has 390 residents per provider, according to data compiled by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

But the clearest explanation for the suicide gap, researchers say, is a 20-point difference in firearm ownership rates. In Massachusetts, an average of 13.9 percent of residents own a gun, according to a study by researchers at Boston University, and published in the American Journal of Public Health in July. In New Hampshire, an average of 35.1 percent of residents own a firearm.

The study found that for every 10 percentage point increase in a state’s gun ownership rate, there was an associated increase of 3.3 deaths per 100,000 among firearm-owning men, and a 0.5 death increase among women.

The means matters, researchers say. Most suicide attempts are not planned out in advance. People often use what they deem as the most convenient available method. If they have easy access to a gun, the odds that they shoot themselves increase dramatically.

“Suicidal ideation is not a constant state of being,” Cassandra Crifasi, a professor in the Department of Health Policy at Johns Hopkins University, tells The Trace. “You may have lost your job, or you’re having a problem with your relationship, or trouble with the law, and you’re triggered into this crisis moment and you have an impulsive thought, I’m going to use a firearm to kill myself. If you can’t get a firearm during that time, by the time you actually get your gun, you may not be feeling suicidal.”

Guns are a devastatingly effective means of ending one’s own life. Firearms suicide accounted for 6 percent of attempts and 54 percent of fatalities in one study that examined hospital data from eight states. For comparison, drug or poison overdosing accounted for 71 percent of attempts but only 12 percent of fatalities.

More than 8 out of every 10 people who used a gun to end their own life were successful.

“It’s not because gun owners are more likely to be depressed or more likely to be suicidal,” says Elaine Frank, program director for the New Hampshire-based suicide prevention organization called Counseling on Access to Lethal Means (CALM). “It’s that an attempt with a firearm is far more likely to be fatal than an attempt with almost any other method.”

In the U.S. as a whole, half of all suicides are carried out with a gun. In Massachusetts, guns are used in just 22 percent of suicides. (The most common means in the state is hanging.)

Massachusetts and New Hampshire have very different rules about who can get guns, and how quickly. Massachusetts is one of six states where people are required to get a license before acquiring any kind of firearm, contingent on passing a background check. New Hampshire does not have this requirement.

A study of Connecticut’s licensing requirement found it was associated with a 15 percent decrease in suicide rates during the first 10 years of its enactment. In the five years after Missouri repealed its licensing laws, the gun suicide rate increased 16 percent.

Licensing laws were intended to prevent criminals from getting guns, Cristafi says. However, many of the characteristics that put someone at risk to commit interpersonal violence — such as having a substance disorder, or having a mental illness, for example — are also risk factors for self harm. Another unintended benefit is that they slow down the gun-buying process, which can protect people during a stressful time, Crifasi says. In Massachusetts, for example, acquiring a license typically takes two to six weeks.

Massachusetts is also one of just four states that requires that all firearms be stored with locks in place. Restricting access can help prevent teen suicide: A 2010 study by a team of Harvard researchers found that at least 82 percent of adolescent suicides were carried out with a gun owned by someone in the home. Another study by Michael Anestis, who runs the Suicide and Emotion Dysregulation Lab at the University of Southern Mississippi, concluded that the four states that require gun locks have firearm suicide rates that are about 40 percent lower per capita compared to states without those requirements.

New Hampshire has no laws governing gun locks or safe storage.

Some experts caution that enhanced gun laws won’t stop people from killing themselves. “We’re not going to legislate our way out of suicide,” Anestis says, adding that there’s still a lot to learn about which laws are most effective. Still, he says, laws can work in tandem with non-legislative approaches that reduce access to lethal means.

Frank, in New Hampshire, says she is enlisting gun shops to help with public outreach, in the hope of preventing suicides. In 2011, she helped launch the Gun Shop Project, which asks owners to distribute materials about suicide prevention to their customers.

“For years, the suicide prevention community didn’t want to talk about guns for fear of the politics therein and the firearm community didn’t want to talk about suicide for exactly the same reason,” she says. “We’re finally saying, the way to address this issue is for both of us to talk together collaboratively and respectfully to work together.”

She adds: “Wherever you are on the gun issue, pretty much everybody is anti-suicide.”

The post Why Do These New England States Have Starkly Different Suicide Rates? appeared first on My Blog.

Special thanks to Japantimes.com for making this article available

Katelin Cruz at a park near her home in Ware, Mass., on Sept. 1, 2022. Cruz uses a phone and FitBit to submit data about her mood and other metrics to Harvard researchers studying suicidal tendencies. (Kayana Szymczak/The New York Times)

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS – In March, Katelin Cruz left her latest psychiatric hospitalization with a familiar mix of feelings. She was, on the one hand, relieved to leave the ward, where aides took away her shoelaces and sometimes followed her into the shower to ensure that she would not harm herself.

But her life on the outside was as unsettled as ever, she said in an interview, with a stack of unpaid bills and no permanent home. It was easy to slide back into suicidal thoughts. For fragile patients, the weeks after discharge from a psychiatric facility are a notoriously difficult period, with a suicide rate around 15 times the national rate, according to one study.

This time, however, Cruz, 29, left the hospital as part of a vast research project which attempts to use advances in artificial intelligence to do something that has eluded psychiatrists for centuries: to predict who is likely to attempt suicide and when that person is likely to attempt it, and then, to intervene.

On her wrist, she wore a Fitbit programmed to track her sleep and physical activity. On her smartphone, an app was collecting data about her moods, her movement and her social interactions. Each device was providing a continuous stream of information to a team of researchers on the 12th floor of the William James Building, which houses Harvard University’s psychology department.

In the field of mental health, few new areas generate as much excitement as machine learning, which uses computer algorithms to better predict human behavior. There is, at the same time, exploding interest in biosensors that can track a person’s mood in real time, factoring in music choices, social media posts, facial expression and vocal expression.

Matthew K. Nock, a Harvard psychologist who is one of the nation’s top suicide researchers, hopes to knit these technologies together into a kind of early-warning system that could be used when an at-risk patient is released from the hospital.

He offers this example of how it could work: The sensor reports that a patient’s sleep is disturbed, she reports a low mood on questionnaires and GPS shows she is not leaving the house. But an accelerometer on her phone shows that she is moving around a lot, suggesting agitation. The algorithm flags the patient. A ping sounds on a dashboard. And, at just the right time, a clinician reaches out with a phone call or a message.

There are plenty of reasons to doubt that an algorithm can ever achieve this level of accuracy. Suicide is such a rare event, even among those at highest risk, that any effort to predict it is bound to result in false positives, forcing interventions on people who may not need them. False negatives could thrust legal responsibility onto clinicians.

Algorithms require granular, long-term data from a large number of people, and it’s nearly impossible to observe large numbers of people who die by suicide. Finally, the data needed for this kind of monitoring raises red flags about invading the privacy of some of society’s most vulnerable people.

Nock is familiar with all these arguments but has persisted, in part out of sheer frustration. “With all due respect to people who’ve been doing this work for decades, for a century, we haven’t learned a great deal about how to identify people at risk and how to intervene,” he said. “The suicide rate now is the same it was literally 100 years ago. So just if we’re being honest, we’re not getting better.”

A fire hose of data

On an August afternoon in the William James building, a lanky data scientist named Adam Bear sat in front of a monitor in Nock’s lab, wearing flip-flops and baggy shorts, staring at the zigzagging graphs of a subject’s stress levels over the course of a week.

When moods are mapped as data, patterns emerge, and it’s Bear’s job to look for them. He spent his summer poring through the days and hours of 571 subjects who, after seeking medical care for suicidal thoughts, agreed to be tracked continuously for six months. While they were being tracked, two died by suicide and between 50 and 100 made attempts.

It is, Nock believes, the largest reservoir of information ever collected about the daily lives of people struggling with suicidal thoughts.

The team is most interested in the days preceding suicide attempts, which would allow time for intervention. Already, some signs have emerged: Although suicidal urges often do not change in the period before an attempt, the ability to resist those urges does seem to diminish. Something simple — sleep deprivation — seems to contribute to that.

Nock has been looking for ways to study these patients since 1994, when he had an experience that shocked him profoundly. During an undergraduate internship in the United Kingdom, he was assigned to a locked unit for violent and self-injurious patients. There, he saw things he had never encountered: Patients had cuts up and down their arms. One of them pulled out his own eyeball. A young man he befriended, who seemed to be improving, was later found in the Thames.

Another shock came when he began to pepper the clinicians with questions about treating these patients and realized how little they knew: He recalls being told, “We give them some medicine, we talk to them and we hope they get better.”

One reason, he concluded, was that it had never been possible to study a large number of people with suicidal ideation in the same way that we are able to observe patients with heart disease or tuberculosis. “Psychology hasn’t advanced as much as other sciences because we’ve been largely doing it wrong,” he said. “We haven’t gone out and found some behavior that is important in nature, and gone out and observed it.”

But with the advent of phone-based apps and wearable sensors, he added, “we have data from so many different channels, and we have, increasingly, the ability to analyze those data, and observe people as they’re out living their lives.” One dilemma in designing the study was what to do when participants expressed a strong desire to hurt themselves. Nock decided they should intervene.

Telling the truth to a computer

It was around 9 p.m., a few weeks into the six-month study, when the question popped up on Cruz’s phone: “Right now how strong is your desire to kill yourself?”

Without stopping to think, she dragged her finger all the way to the end of the bar: 10. A few seconds later, she was asked to choose between two statements: “I am definitely not going to kill myself today” and “I am definitely going kill myself today.” She scrolled to the second.

Fifteen minutes later, her phone rang. It was a member of the research team calling her. The woman called 911 and kept Cruz on the line until police knocked on her door, and she passed out. Later, when she regained consciousness, a medical team was giving her a sternum rub, a painful procedure used to revive people after overdoses.

Cruz has a pale, seraphic face and a fringe of dark curls. She had been studying for a nursing degree when a cascade of mental health crises sent her life swerving in a different direction. She maintains an A-student’s nerdy interest in science, joking that the rib cage on her T-shirt is “totally anatomically correct.”

Right away, she had been intrigued by the trial, and she responded dutifully six times a day, when the apps on her phone surveyed her about her suicidal thoughts. The pings were intrusive, but also comforting. “It felt like I wasn’t being ignored,” she said. “To have somebody know how I feel, that takes some of the weight off.”

On the night of her attempt, she was alone in a hotel room in Concord, Massachusetts. She didn’t have enough money for another night there, and her possessions were mounded in trash bags on the floor. She was tired, she said, “of feeling like I had nobody and nothing.” Looking back, Cruz said she thought the technology — its anonymity and lack of judgment — made it easier to ask for help.

“I think it’s almost easier to tell the truth to a computer,” she said.

Last week, as the six-month clinical trial came to an end, Cruz filled out her final questionnaire with a twinge of sorrow. She would miss the $1 she received for each response. And she would miss the sense that someone was watching her, even if it was someone faceless, at a distance, through a device.

“Honestly, it makes me feel a little bit safer to know that somebody cares enough to read that data every day, you know?” she said. “I’ll be kind of sad when it’s over.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times. © 2022 The New York Times Company

If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency in Japan, please call 119 for immediate assistance. The TELL Lifeline is available for those who need free and anonymous counseling at 03-5774-0992. For those in other countries, visit International Suicide Hotlines for a detailed list of resources and assistance.

The post Can smartphones help predict suicide? appeared first on My Blog.

( Part two of our HereNOW Help series on suicide awareness )

By John C Riley | HereNOW Help Staff

Why does this matter?

Suicide is a troubling public health issue that leaves a lasting impact on families and communities. Between 1999 and 2019, the suicide death rate increased 33%. There were nearly 46,000 deaths by suicide in 2020, making it the 12th-leading cause of death in the United States. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), that same year, 12.2 million adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.2 million made a plan and 1.2 million attempted suicide in the past year.

Statistics 

U.S. Value: 14.5

Healthiest State: New Jersey: 8.4

Least-healthy State: Wyoming: 29.8

Definition: Deaths due to intentional self-harm per 100,000 population

Data Source & Year(s): CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death Files, 2019

Suggested Citation: America’s Health Rankings analysis of CDC WONDER, Multiple Cause of Death Files, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2022.

State Analysis

Mental Health America of Wisconsin is pleased to announce a funding opportunity for elementary, middle, and high schools in Wisconsin. This opportunity is in addition to the 3rd Annual Peer-to-Peer Suicide Prevention Grant Competition through the Department of Public Instruction. With a focus on training Wisconsin students to recognize the signs of suicide shown by fellow students, peer-to-peer programs use messages of hope, health, and strength to develop peer leaders and resources for students who may be struggling.

The Covid-19 pandemic increased reported mental health concerns, especially among workers in frontline industries, though suicide rates overall declined by about 3% in 2020. Despite this overall decline, the pandemic severely affected the mental health of frontline workers and has provoked concerns about the lack of mental health resources and support systems, especially in frontline occupations.

“Covid was an exposure of existing problems and compounding variables,” said Dr Jessica Gold, assistant professor and director of wellness, engagement and outreach at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri. “Workplaces can be triggers and workplaces can compound existing mental health conditions, or could cause new ones.”

“New York has faced overwhelming trauma during this pandemic,” said Health Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi. In 2020, 542 people died of suicide in New York City, according to provisional mortality data in a new Health Department report (PDF). Based on this data, which is subject to change, the number of suicide deaths in New York City remained stable in 2020 compared to prior years. Over the last decade, the overall rate of suicide has remained flat in NYC, and is about half of the national rate, a second new report (PDF) looking at suicide death trends from 2010 to 2019 found. 

Every 16 hours, someone dies from suicide in New York City. Based on Community Health Survey data, 2.4% of NYC adults ages 18 and older seriously thought about killing themselves at some point in the past 12 months. Among those with suicidal ideation, 14.1% attempted suicide in the past 12 months.

Suicide is preventable. Warning signs that someone may be considering suicide include:

• Talking about death or suicide
• Showing or talking about feelings of hopelessness
• Saying they are a burden, avoiding friends and family
• Losing interest in activities
• Displaying mood swings
• Giving away possessions
• Saying goodbye to family or friends

A common misconception is that talking or asking about suicide will give someone the idea to harm themselves. This is not true. By asking, you are giving someone an opportunity to open up and allow you to help. Listen to their story without judgment and let them know you care.

New Yorkers seeking support with their mental health can connect to trained counselors, for free and in over 200 languages, through NYC Well. For 24/7 support, call 888-NYC-WELL, text “WELL” to 65173 or chat online at nyc.gov/nycwell. If you or someone you know is at immediate risk of hurting themselves, or in immediate danger, call 911.

Who is affected?

The suicide rate among older adults is higher among:

• Men compared with women. 
• Those ages 85 and older compared with those ages 65-74 and 75-84. 
• White adults compared with American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander and Black adults, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2019 WISQARS data.
• LGBTQ adults compared with straight adults. Lifetime discrimination and victimization based on sexual orientation may contribute to this higher suicide rate.

What works?

Suicide is often preventable. Preventing suicide among older adults may require use of multiple and aggressive interventions. 

Risk factors for suicide among older adults include mental illness, depression, previous suicide attempts, substance use problems, chronic pain, physical illness, declining function, disability, family discord or loss, family history of suicide and social isolation. Dementia and other forms of impaired cognitive ability have also been linked with suicidal behavior in older adults. 

Several interventions have proved effective at preventing suicide and reducing risk factors among older adults, including:

• Primary care interventions using care coordinators.
• Telephone counseling (primarily effective among women).
• Education and community activities to improve resilience.
• Clinical treatments. 

Some doctors and researchers are urging caregivers of older adults with dementia to secure or eliminate firearms from their environment, in part because firearms are the most common method of suicide among older adults. 

The Suicide Prevention Resource Center provides resources, effective prevention strategies and a map of state-specific contacts. SAMHSA published a brief in conjunction with the Administration on Aging to help health care and social service organizations prevent suicide among older adults. SAGE is an organization that advocates for older LGBTQ+ adults and has an LGBTQ+ Elder Hotline certified in crisis response. 

Goals

Reducing the suicide rate from 11.3 suicides per 100,000 in 2018 to 12.8 suicides per 100,000 population in 2030 is a Healthy People 2030 leading health indicator. Improved/increase of proper and helpful counseling for those who contemplate ending their life. This would be the first step toward reducing the amount of people who commit suicide. Resources that are not solely 911 because there are some people who contemplate taking their life but have not reached that point. 988 is a phone number that people can use that is run by Lifeline that can help prevent suicide. The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States. https://988lifeline.org/. 

Do not be afraid to communicate with with a loved one if they show signs of distress, it is best to confront and run the possibility of causing a fight as long as it shows that you feel something is wrong and want to help, fights can be resolved but suicide cannot. This is the most important thing family and friends need to look out for because those who feel like suicide is the only solution will hide it from everyone and believe that they can handle it alone and feel ashamed or fear of being locked up in a medical facility that makes them feel trapped. I speak from experience because I am a disabled veteran that lives with depression, anxiety, and PTSD and there have been moments in my life where I have thought about suicide and the delusion that it will fix all of my problems. It fixes nothing and creates more problems for family and friends. I never talked about it with loved ones until the last time I thought it was the answer but could not be completely honest because I was scared they would section me in a padded room for fear that I would be a danger to anyone and most importantly myself. I am better now and believe that recovery, talking to professionals, taking helpful medications, and being honest about my feelings truly has helped me not become a statistic. Together we can utilize stronger awareness and reactions to warning signs so we can save lives. Thank you. 

References 

Betz, Marian E., Alexander D. McCourt, Jon S. Vernick, Megan L. Ranney, Donovan T. Maust, and Garen J. Wintemute. “Firearms and Dementia: Clinical Considerations.” Annals of Internal Medicine 169, no. 1 (July 3, 2018): 47. https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-0140.

Conwell, Yeates, Kimberly Van Orden, and Eric D. Caine. “Suicide in Older Adults.” Psychiatric Clinics of North America, Geriatric Psychiatry: Advances and Directions, 34, no. 2 (June 1, 2011): 451–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psc.2011.02.002.

Cukrowicz, Kelly C., Danielle R. Jahn, Ryan D. Graham, Erin K. Poindexter, and Ryan B. Williams. “Suicide Risk in Older Adults: Evaluating Models of Risk and Predicting Excess Zeros in a Primary Care Sample.” Journal of Abnormal Psychology 122, no. 4 (November 2013): 1021–30. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034953.

Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I., and Anna Muraco. “Aging and Sexual Orientation: A 25-Year Review of the Literature.” Research on Aging 32, no. 3 (May 2010): 372–413. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027509360355.

King, Michael, Joanna Semlyen, Sharon See Tai, Helen Killaspy, David Osborn, Dmitri Popelyuk, and Irwin Nazareth. “A Systematic Review of Mental Disorder, Suicide, and Deliberate Self Harm in Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual People.” BMC Psychiatry 8, no. 1 (December 2008): 70. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-244X-8-70.

Kiosses, Dimitris N., Katalin Szanto, and George S. Alexopoulos. “Suicide in Older Adults: The Role of Emotions and Cognition.” Current Psychiatry Reports 16, no. 11 (September 18, 2014): 495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-014-0495-3.

Lapierre, Sylvie, Annette Erlangsen, Margda Waern, Diego De Leo, Hirofumi Oyama, Paolo Scocco, Joseph Gallo, et al. “A Systematic Review of Elderly Suicide Prevention Programs.” Crisis 32, no. 2 (January 1, 2011): 88–98. https://doi.org/10.1027/0227-5910/a000076.

Shepard, Donald S., Deborah Gurewich, Aung K. Lwin, Gerald A. Reed, and Morton M. Silverman. “Suicide and Suicidal Attempts in the United States: Costs and Policy Implications.” Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 46, no. 3 (June 2016): 352–62. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.12225.

Snow, Caitlin E., and Robert C. Abrams. “The Indirect Costs of Late-Life Depression in the United States: A Literature Review and Perspective.” Geriatrics 1, no. 4 (December 2016): 30. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics1040030.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health.” Rockville, MD: Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2020. https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/SAMHSA_Digital_Download/PEP20-07-01-001-PDF.pdf.

https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/about/press/pr2021/dohmh-releases-data-on-suicide-death-rate-nyc.page#:~:text=There%20is%20support%20available%20to,Health%20Department%20report%20(PDF).

MHA

https://www.mhawisconsin.org/suicide_prevention.aspx

https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html

Infograph – https://www.pdgrehab.com/mental-health-statistics-2022/

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/may/27/us-workplace-suicide-rates-pandemic

The post <strong>Understanding an Epidemic</strong> appeared first on My Blog.

By Claudia Wallis

PREFACE: If you or a loved one is going through thoughts of suicide you can call 911 or if you need to talk to someone first call Lifeline at 988. If you are a Veteran with thoughts of suicide and need to talk to someone visit https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/, text 838255, or dial 988 and press 1.

Note from HereNOW Help Publisher: This is the first of two blogs that will be focusing on the epidemic of suicide. This blog is an intro to what we would like to discuss. Our second blog will focus on a deep dive into the stats of this issue that effects our loved ones. We here at HereNOW Help want to focus on how everyone can take steps to reduce suicide by paying attention to the warning signs and offering help. We are based out of New York and a lot of the blog will focus specifically about suicide in our state and how we could possible guide our readers to do the right thing. Scientific America did a great job compiling this information and it is a good starting point for our mission to help.

Thank you and God bless.

John Riley
HereNOW Help

Another epidemic besides COVID-19 stalks the land. This one takes a heavy toll on the young. It has been raging ever more lethally for the past 20 years with no flattening of the curve in sight: an American epidemic of suicide.

Between 1999 and 2017 the age-adjusted suicide rate in the U.S. climbed 33 percent, from 10.5 to 14 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the rise has been accelerating. The rate of suicide—the second leading cause of death in the U.S. among people ages 10 to 34 and the tenth overall—rose by an average of 1 percent a year between 1999 and 2006, after which it rose at double that pace. And although males in every age group are far more likely to take their own lives than girls and women are, females are slowly closing the gap.

Every year seems to bring a fresh helping of these dark statistics. A new CDC analysis looked at both suicide attempts and mortality. It reported that the sharpest rise in attempts—up a shocking 8 percent annually between 2006 and 2015—occurred among youngsters ages 10 to 19. (The study captured only the attempts that led to a hospital visit.) Nearly 80 percent of attempts were among people younger than 45, although there was also a rise in the 65-to-74 age group. As others have found, the incidence of attempts, as well as of fatalities, was shown to be rising faster in women and girls than in men and boys. Sadly, this “was not surprising to us,” says lead author Jing Wang, an epidemiologist at the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. The study also documented a rise in lethality—that is, a higher rate of attempts that resulted in death.

Measuring trends is a lot easier than explaining them. The suicide epidemic among adolescents and young adults, for example, “is consistent with the broader finding on rising rates of depression and depressed mood in young people,” says psychiatrist and epidemiologist Mark Olfson of Columbia University. On the other hand, he notes, “it’s a real puzzle that suicide rates are going up at a time when substance use is going down in this age group.” The two usually go hand in hand.

A possible factor is how much time young people spend with digital devices. A 2018 study that drew on data from more than half a million teenagers, led by psychologist Jean Twenge of San Diego State University, found that screen time correlates with depressive symptoms and suicide-related behaviors (considering it, making a plan, attempting it), especially for girls. “The rise in social media, the threat of cyberbullying, of being ostracized, can be a triggering event,” Olfson says, but in terms of causality, he notes, “it’s a difficult hypothesis to evaluate.” Wang mentions other factors for which there is indirect evidence, such as parental use of opioids and exposure to a loved one’s suicide.

Among adults, suicide attempts track with the lack of a college degree, age between 21 and 34, very low income, mental illness, and a history of violence or past suicide attempts, a large study by Olfson and his colleagues found. Adults are much more likely than teenagers to actually kill themselves, in part because they have easier access to more lethal means such as guns and because they are more planful and less impulsive. Adults who take their own lives are predominantly male and white or Native American, often with a history of substance use, mental disorders, past attempts, loneliness and personal loss.

Mental health professionals worry that the social isolation, financial hardships and anxiety related to the coronavirus pandemic might worsen suicide trends. Past research in Europe and in the U.S. has shown that for every 1 percent rise in unemployment, there is a 0.8 to 1 percent jump in suicides. The pattern could be different in 2020 if people get back to work quickly or if the response is more akin to that in a time of war. “The rates go down in wartime, maybe because people feel more joined to a larger cause,” says Michael Hogan, who served as commissioner of mental health in New York, Connecticut and Ohio. Still, he’s concerned.

Hogan, who is also a founder of the Zero Suicide movement, argues that rather than waiting to address such massive issues as mental illness, unemployment and loneliness, it makes sense to focus on low-cost interventions that start closer to the critical period when thoughts of suicide take hold. One key idea is to ensure that medical personnel screen for such thoughts as routinely as they check blood pressure and to train them in next steps for vulnerable people. A number of interventions, including support from crisis hotlines, could save lives—if offered in time.

This article was originally published with the title “The Other U.S. Epidemic” in Scientific American 323, 2, 23 (August 2020)

doi:10.1038/scientificamerican0820-23

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