Breaking Silence on Suicide

Let's talk about the risk factors associated with suicide, ways to cope with suicide, and ways that we can help our loved ones or help even identify, you know if someone is suicidal.

Suicide is not talked about very much. We're breaking the silence a little bit where we weren't. We used to be as far as discussing suicide, but many families when suicide doesn't discuss it due to the stigma related to it. Part of my motto and mission doing these is to break the stigma. I want people to feel like they can get the help they need.

Suicide is REAL and hits the adolescent population hard. It is the second leading cause of death in adolescents and teenagers, from ages 16 to 24. We're talking about 3000 adolescents and young adults who die by suicide a year. And we're looking in the grand scheme of things, about 30,000 people in the United States die a year by suicide. And in comparison amongst the whole world, we're talking about 800 million people die yearly due to suicide.

As a mental health professional, I am convinced that it's preventable. If patients get the help they need or people get the help that they need, they don't suffer many times in silence. That means, on average, with a eight hundred million people dying by suicide a year, we're looking at, on average, one person dying by suicide every 16 minutes. That's a lot.

During the winter, the sun doesn't come out and shine like it usually does. Sunlight boosts serotonin levels because your body releases endorphins, but also, the most prevalent way to get vitamin D is through sunlight. If we're not getting sunlight like we usually would and vitamin D levels are typically lower, it can be a depressive symptom.

So, we're struggling in the winter due to some seasonal affective changes, and people start feeling depressed and hopeless, and those serotonin levels in the brain keep tanking. They keep decreasing, and by the time spring comes around, they've been depressed for four months, and those serotonin levels are so low it's hard to get out of that. When spring happens, and often when people have been so low for so long, it's hard to come out of that, and you have a higher risk for suicide. So let's talk about some teenage statistics. 16% of high school students reported that they have seriously contemplated suicide. 13% have said, I even have a plan. We're looking at 16% of 300 or 16% of a thousand, those numbers change, but that's pretty astronomical. So obviously, teenage girls are more likely to report that they're feeling suicidal and attempt suicide than males. Typically males are more lethal in their suicide attempts. Another heavy risk factor are those who identify as LGBTQ and having the stigmas and everything related to that and being ostracized that typically leads to a form of bullying. The number one cause of suicide is untreated depression. That's what I say. It's preventable because it typically stems from untreated depression.

People feel like they can not get help, are trying to get help, and can not get in to see somebody, or their primary care doctor is treating them, and they get put on a three to four to a five-month waitlist to see a psychiatrist.

Another risk factor would be other mental health issues, such as anxiety, OCD, and bipolar disorder. That's up to us to determine what's causing these suicidal thoughts. Some things that could be causing it are: at school; could be bullying. Bullying is triggering. The depression triggers suicidal thoughts and can be caused by just straight depression. Or it could be caused by bullying. A medical diagnosis could also cause it, like kids living with type one diabetes or even severe asthma where they can't play sports and feel ostracized. And so that is a risk factor for other causes of suicide.

Another thing is physical and sexual abuse, that is so prevalent. These things get into these teenage years, and they can't process items. It leads to a lot of depression, which leads to many suicidal thoughts and self-harm. Breakups are huge. Separation divorce is detrimental. Adjusting to new lives and moving often can cause depression, leading to suicidal thoughts.

What are some symptoms of depression?

Depression is the number one cause of suicide: helplessness, lack of self-worth, guilt, and lack of appetite.

If someone is feeling suicidal and is researching different methods and ways to support them to complete their plans, it's out there only to defeat those negative thoughts they're already experiencing to make it more natural to them. I'm telling you this because cyberbullying is prevalent. It's a newer thing that cyberbullying is happening in the school systems. And honestly, just blatant bullying at school. We all know that happens. That's been going on for years. And often, bullying can be making threats, spreading false rumors, physically attacking somebody, verbally attacking somebody, or excluding people on purpose, and bullying is just unwanted aggressive behavior. Bullying can be even in adulthood when someone exerts their power over authority, over you, to benefit themselves. Some way that you can identify bullying is by talking to your child. But sometimes, when we see behavioral changes in our children, that is key to what's going on because when you go through things, you internalize things.

It turns into behavioral changes because the more you stuff in and pack in, the more it'll come out in your behavior. So if you start seeing someone you know, someone you love, your child, your significant other, and even as adults, if we don't talk about things, it'll start coming out. If we're starting to exhibit depression, it'll begin as behavior patterns. So pay attention to behavioral patterns because just bullying can lead to suicidal ideations. And what does the correlation between suicide and bullying? You can link the two together. You can't say one's being caused by the other.

What are some other risk factors for suicide?

It could be drug and alcohol abuse, physical disabilities, medical issues, or family conflict. There are different reasons and risk factors out there. All it takes is for someone to feel down. And if they stay in that, their thoughts spiral, and the more they're spiraling, the worse those thoughts get.

So what are some things that we can do?

Help minimize those risk factors. Drug and alcohol abuse extend help when needed.

What are some warning signs when someone is contemplating so truly contemplating suicide?

They're not going to talk about it. Sometimes, someone will talk about things, but most of the time, when we talk about suicide, people aren't going to say, I want to kill myself. They either really want to kill themselves, or they feel like they will be a burden.

There are plenty of Instagram pages and websites out there that support suicide. And so they'll find people to help versus what they perceive as criticism about talking to someone else. So they'll start gathering lethal weapons like knives or guns: impulsive behavior and personality changes. Maybe someone's feeling upbeat, or as they've been down, then all of a sudden, they're optimistic. They start giving away things that have always meant a lot to them. Whether it be trophies for kids, books they've treasured, or pitch. Adults would give away jewelry or just prized possessions. And all of a sudden, have this sudden mood change to be in a positive perspective.

When you start noticing these red flags, your alarm should go off and say, what's happening? You need to check on them and talk to them. It's okay to ask the following:

• Are you feeling okay?

• Are you having suicidal thoughts?

• How can I help you?

Because many times, people who are battling suicidal thoughts in their minds don't want to be a burden.

• What are some verbal warning signs that someone might be struggling with suicidal thoughts? I can't go on like this anymore.

• I wish I were never born.

• I won't need this anymore.

• I wish I were dead.

• My parents won't have to think about me anymore.

• They don't have to worry about me.

• Anyone would be better off with —.

• I'm sorry.

• Everyone would be better off if I were dead. Nobody cares.

• If I live or die, you know, there are many things that we can do.

If you see someone spiraling at that point, that's when you can help it by scheduling. And sometimes, when moods are so low, depression is so prevalent. Reaching out on behalf of them sometimes is all it takes. There are a bunch of resources out there for suicide prevention.

How do we treat when someone is suicidal?

Figure out if this person needs to go inpatient or outpatient. Inpatient is for one purpose only: to make sure they are safe, make sure that they don't kill themselves. Make sure they don't need medication to help them or whatever's going on. Everybody's situation is different. There are various risk factors involved.

So we use different risk factors in determining whether somebody goes to the hospital or goes to an outpatient. We do a risk assessment appropriately and decide where you need to go for inpatient or outpatient treatment. So obviously, our goal is not to do inpatient less is just 100% necessary. So risk factors are:

• Do you have a plan?

• If you have a plan, do you want to act on that plan?

• What kind of support do you have at home?

• Do you have the means to the plan, whether it's overdose or cutting yourself?

But when your mood gets that low to the point where you are debating suicide, at that point is when I typically say we're in an emergency type of situation, we have got to get you to a better and healthier place. Emotionally at that point, I typically always recommend medication for the time being. Many times depression stems from situational issues, whether it's separation or family conflict, Or life circumstances in general.

When looking at a hospital versus outpatient, outpatient is where we want to go. Therapy is always a requirement for me, like cognitive behavioral therapy. Often suicidal thoughts stem from negative studies about yourself and spiral over time to a place where you get deep and dark.

Another thing parents would look for with children is their journals. Are they drawing kind of dark, negative things that lets you know whether they're their mindset? I always will, again, if we're talking depending on risk factors and where we're going with treatment, but I would always recommend therapy first. Therapy first, but if we're pretty low and struggling with living or dying, I'm going to go with medication first alongside treatment. So that's pretty much it. I believe that 100% medication is a tool that therapy is vital.

How do we help children that are being bullied?

At that point, that's when it needs to be addressed with the school. The prime time someone gets bullied is when teachers aren't looking and aren't aware when they are away from school authorities and whatnot. Parents have to advocate for their kids because teachers say, I'm out there all day, and I didn't see anything that's so common. Well, the reality is it probably did it. Who will pick on a kid in front of a teacher, right? If your child is being bullied, then at that point, you've got to step in and be the advocate for them because nobody else is. Nobody's going to advocate for your child. I would say go to the school. If that's not addressed, you're going to the school board.

This is to raise awareness and understanding that it's okay for somebody to experience suicidal thoughts. There's nothing wrong with somebody sharing suicidal thoughts. They don't need to stay there. I want people to know it's 100% okay to say, Hey, I need some help.