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