MARCH 2023

FEATURE
Suicide Prevention
BY JACQUELINE RAXTER, MSW
RESOURCES:
According to the American Foundation
for Suicide Prevention
(AFSP), suicide is currently
the 12th leading cause of death in the
United States. There is an average of 130
deaths by suicide every day. In 2020,
45,979 Americans died by suicide and
there were an estimated 1.2 million suicide
attempts. The suicide rate in 2020
was 13.48 per 100,000 individuals.
And it may be getting worse.
Throughout this unprecedented pandemic,
studies show that 1 in 4 adults
suffer from suicidal thoughts. Moreover,
40 percent of adults admit to
struggling with severe anxiety and dependency
on drugs since the coronavirus
epidemic changed all our lives.
75 percent of young adults report
having an extremely difficult time coping
with the sudden changes caused
by the pandemic. Fortunately, 93 percent
of those surveyed by AFSP in the
United States think suicide can be
prevented. At-risk suicide prevention
training is geared to train non-mental
health professionals detect warning
signs of suicidal behavior.
Youth at Risk
Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of
death for individuals aged 10-19, and
the 2nd leading cause for ages 20-34.
Based on the most recent Youth
Risk Behaviors Survey from 2019, 8.9
percent of youth in grades 9-12 reported
that they had made at least one suicide
attempt in the past 12 months. Female
students attempted almost twice
as often as male students.
According to the most recent data
(February 2022) from the CDC, 10 percent
of adult Americans have thought
about suicide and a whopping 54 percent
of Americans have been affected
by suicide.
What Can I Do to Support Someone
Who I Think May Be at Risk?
If in doubt, don’t wait — ask the question,
“Are you thinking of harming
yourself?” Alternate ways to ask include
“Have you been so very unhappy
lately that you’ve been thinking about
ending your life?” and “You look pretty
miserable; I wonder if you’re thinking
about suicide?”
If the person is reluctant to talk,
be persistent. Get them alone or someplace
private and allow them to speak
freely without judgement or defensiveness.
Give them plenty of time to identify
their feelings. Listen to them with
your full attention, offer hope in any
form and have resources handy; phone
numbers, counselor’s name and any
other information that might help.
Remember, suicide is not the problem,
only the solution to a perceived
insoluble problem.
Keep Asking
Suicidal individuals often feel that they
cannot be helped so you may need to do
more.
The best referral involves taking
the person directly to someone
who can help. The next best referral
is getting a commitment from them
to accept help, then making the arrangements
to get that help. The
third best referral is to give referral
information and try to get a good
faith commitment not to attempt suicide.
Any willingness to accept help
at some time, even if in the future, is
a good outcome.
Ask and keep asking, “Will you go
with me to get help?” or “Will you let
me help you get help?” or “What can
we do to keep you safe for now?”
Your willingness to listen can rekindle
hope and make all the difference.
If there is a life-threatening emergency
call 911 or go to the nearest
hospital ER.
Call or text 988 (Suicide Crisis
Line) for immediate trained counselor
support.
Contact Macomb County Mental
Health Emergency Crisis Line
24/7 at (586) 307-9100.
Seek support from a professional
physician, nurse practitioner, social
worker, professional counselor,
psychiatrist, or psychologist.
Often, your Primary Care doctor
or insurance provider can assist
with a referral.
A Holding on to Life Toolkit is
available at https://www.mcspc.
org/ToolKit.html.
Chaldean Community Foundation’s
Project Light is available to
assist with mental health treatment
questions during business
hours. Offering services by appointment
for individual intake,
treatment planning, and individual
therapy in a CARF accredited,
private not-for-profit professional
office setting. Call (586) 722-7253.
28 CHALDEAN NEWS MARCH 2023