The pandemic has increased general awareness and promotion of mental health. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 46,000 Americans die each year from suicide. This translates to approximately one death every 11 minutes. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among people aged 10 to 14 and 25 to 34.
Suicide: knowing how to read the warning signs
During Prevention Awareness Month, K. Pierre Eklou, assistant professor in the Department of Nursing, sheds light on this often stigmatized topic and promotes suicide prevention.
“Suicide doesn't happen in a vacuum. There are always warning signs; knowing them can help prevent them,” said Eklou, who is a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP) and runs Mason's PMHNP program.
“Suicidal thoughts can manifest differently in each person, so there is a range of behaviors to watch out for. If you are worried about someone, seek help. If you are worried about yourself, seek help. You are not alone.”
Warning signs of suicide may include:
Thoughts or discussions about wanting to die or having no reason to live;
- Thoughts of being a burden to others;
- Feeling isolated or withdrawn;
- Adopt risky or reckless behavior;
- Showing mood swings;
- Lack of interest in future projects;
- Increased use of alcohol or other illicit substances;
- Acting anxious or agitated;
- Sleeping too much or too little;
- Give away possessions;
- Saying “goodbye” to family, friends or loved ones;
- Searching for ways to kill yourself.
If you are having suicidal thoughts, know that you are not alone and that help is available. If you know someone who is showing warning signs of suicide, seek help from them and a professional.
Anyone in the United States can call or text 988, the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, to be connected to trained counselors who will listen, understand how someone's problems affect them, provide support and connect them to resources if needed.
The National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is working to change the conversation from “suicide” to “prevention” to promote help and healing and to provide hope.
Suicide is preventable, but only if conversations about this taboo topic become more common, according to Rheeda Walker, a University of Houston psychology professor and mental health and prevention expert.
Walker says that despite an increase across the country in recent years, and more suicides than homicide deaths each year, there appears to be little intention to prevent suicide attempts and deaths.
“Perhaps if those who died by suicide had been able to openly discuss their mental health issues and intentions without shame or judgment before taking action, the outcome would have been different,” said Walker, who is also the director of Culture, Risk, and Resilience Laboratory at UH. “Prevention only works if we have knowledge, courage and intuition before someone enters a crisis.”
National Suicide Prevention Month is an annual campaign observed by the Centers for Disease Control to raise awareness of suicide as a major public health problem and to highlight the role everyone plays in suicide prevention.
“In our society, we tend to be more reactive to suicide, surprised by the deaths of those who seem to 'have it all.' When a loved one dies by suicide, the common refrain is “I never thought they could do something like that,” even if you knew the person was struggling with job loss, a difficult relationship breakup, or isolation. . from the strain of long COVID,” Walker said.
When someone you know appears excessively upset, depressed, or even suicidal, you may not know what to do and wonder whether you should just ignore them.
Starting with an honest conversation is always the answer.
“Asking someone about their life and possible suicidal thoughts is not going to push them over the edge into action,” Walker said. “You will not force someone to act in a self-destructive way. You can reduce the risk of him acting on his feelings by showing him that you are concerned and that you care about him.”
There are some common warning signs that someone is at risk, including actual threats of suicide, social withdrawal, excessive worry, mood swings, and worry about death, dying, or violence.
The increasing number of suicides in the black community led Walker to conduct research revealing that black people are at even greater risk due to the discrimination they face.
“You and your loved ones have to deal with someone else's madness. You need much more than mental health or “wellness” in this age of discrimination, invisibility and psychological warfare. You need an impermeable safety net for your mind, what I call psychological strength,” said Walker, author of the best-selling book, “The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 8.3 million adults in the United States reported thinking about suicide last year. While thoughts and actions are clearly different, University of Houston psychology professor Rheeda Walker examined both and found that current approaches to suicide prevention are troubling because they usually consist of a “one-size-fits-all approach.”
“It's important to realize that twice as many people in the United States die from suicide as from homicide, and as we talk more and more about suicide,
I want us to resist assuming that the risk of suicide is the same for everyone,” he said. said Walker, who reported her. Findings on sociodemographic and mental health predictors of suicidal thoughts and attempts in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
Walker and colleagues analyzed data collected for 336,482 adults who participated in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health from 2008 to 2013, dividing the list along ethnic lines to include white, black, Latino, Asian, or Pacific Islander (A/ PI), American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN), and those who identify as multiracial.
Among the highlights of Walker's findings:
Depression at 12 months was associated with suicide attempts in that time period for A/PI, AI/AN, Latino, and White adults, but not for Black or multiracial adults.
Alcohol abuse and dependence were associated with suicide attempts for AI/AN, Black, and White respondents, but not for other racial/ethnic groups
Marijuana use was a factor in suicide attempts among both white and multiracial adult groups, but not other groups
Low-income A/PIs were three times more likely to attempt suicide than A/PIs reporting higher income.
“Risk factors are not universal across ethnic groups,” said Walker, who admits that it is very common for mental health professionals to point to depression as an immediate reason for death by suicide. “Depression was not a significant predictor of suicidal attempts or thoughts for all groups.” Walker's previous work identified protective factors among Black adults as the reason why depression may not manifest as a precursor.
“Consistently across all studies we see that African Americans are very religious compared to other groups and this may attenuate the impact of depression in those groups,” Walker said.
Walker also reports that the predictive factors for suicide attempts and suicide ideation, or thinking about the act, are different.
“Overall, only psychological distress was consistently associated with suicide ideation and attempts. Other predictors were associated with suicide ideation or attempts and for some racial or ethnic groups, but not others,” Walker said.
His research provides a window into the new suicide risk profiles needed for a rapidly changing America, he said. U.S. Census Bureau projections reflect a racial and ethnic composition that is rapidly changing. These projections suggest that the majority of the American population will be made up of “minority” individuals by 2044.
“When we ask people whether they have thought about suicide in the past, but do not take their race into account, or overemphasize depression and underreport their marijuana use, for example, we miss important opportunities to generate a risk profile that can lead to better prediction.”
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