How Can We Help Prevent Suicide?

a national issue, a dangerous and growing one. We whisper about it, we grieve when it affects us, and often we just try to move on. To be sure, there are many who spend their lives trying to help those who struggle with mental health. For the rest of us, though, it is probably well passed time to recognize that the increasing issue of suicide and America is both serious and solvable. So, to borrow a phrase from the harm reduction community, let's

talk about it. For the article. This episode is based on How Stuff Works. Spoke by email with Deb Stone, a behavioral scientist in these Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Division of Violence Prevention. She said Suicide prevention requires a comprehensive approach that addresses risk and protective factors at multiple levels, including societal, community relationship, and individual levels. There's

a role for everyone in the community. The CDC's latest findings on that illuminates the scope of the suicide issue in the US. Among those facts, the American suicide rate increased thirty six percent between the year two thousand and twenty twenty two. In twenty twenty two, forty nine thousand, four hundred and seventy six Americans died by suicide, which is about one death every eleven minutes. That's about twice as many homicides as we had that year. Another one

point six million Americans attempted suicide. It is the ninth leading cause of death in the US for people ages ten to sixty four years of age, and the second leading cause of death for people ages ten to fourteen and twenty five to thirty four. Mental health experts have asked the media to avoid using sensationalistic wording like skyrocketing

or epidemic to characterize the rise in suicides. Still, suicide is a clear and increasing public health issue facing that might be the first step in combating it, but facing it means acknowledging something else too. A researchers found that more than half of those who die by suicide don't have a diagnosed mental health condition. Of course, having a diagnosis of a chronic condition is not the only factor here, but it's an important one that needs to be addressed.

How Stuff Works also spoke back in twenty eighteen with Jennifer Pain, the director of the Women's Mood Disorder Center and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. As she said, there's a stigma associated with psychiatric illness that really needs to go away. It's one of the most common illnesses that people have. People are reluctant to get treatment and seek out care

partially because of that stigma. If we got rid of the stigma associated with psychiatric illness, then I think that would result in people getting better mental health treatment and

hopefully a lowering of the suicide rate. However, our overall mental health is made up of a lot of factors, and there are lots of stressors that are associated with suicide, like relationship problems, the loss of a loved one substance misuse, physical health problems, barriers to health care access, financial woes, employment, stress, discrimination, bullying,

and experiences of violence, especially during childhood. Access to deadly means such as opioids and firearms is another risk factor, as these make it less likely to recover from a suicide attempt. On a macro level, slowing the braid of suicides falls largely on public health agencies, but they can't turn the tide alone. A stone with the CDC was the lead author of a twenty seventeen report called Preventing

Suicide a Technical Package of policy, programs and practices. In it, the authors wrote sectors vital to implementing this package include, but are not limited to, education, government, local, state, and federal social services, health services, business, labor, justice, housing, media, and organizations that comprise the civil society sector, such as faith based organizations, youth serving organizations, foundations, and other non

governmental organizations. Collectively, these sectors can make a difference in preventing suicide by impacting the various contexts and underlying risks that contribute to suicide. So that's a lot. On a micro level, we can all try to be kind to ourselves and others in this fractured world and look out

for each other. Warning signs that a person might be contemplating suicide include, perhaps obviously, things like talking about wanting to die or about having no reason to live, or looking for a way to kill themselves, such as searching

online or buying a gun. Butt signs also include talking about feeling hopeless or trapped or in unbearable pain, or being a burden to others, increasing the use of alcohol or other drugs, acting anxious or agitated, having recklessly extreme mood swings, sleeping too little or too much, withdrawing or isolating themselves, showing rage, or talking about seeking revenge. If a loved one is exhibiting any of those signs, experts say that it's best to approach the situation head on

the stone said. One of the simplest ways to determine this is to ask directly, are you thinking about suicide? But asking the question won't put the thought in someone's head who wasn't previously thinking about suicide, and it can be a relief for the person to open up about their struggles. Asking is the first of five steps that the Suicide Prevention Lifeline suggests anyone trying to help should know the other four are be there, keep them safe,

help them connect, and follow up. Paine said, what you don't want to do is play the don't ask, don't tell game. You're not going to regret getting someone the appropriate care. I think that if you really care about someone and you're really concerned, then you do everything that you can to get them to treatment, including insisting on it. Speaking personally, as someone who's been on both sides of conversations like these, I can tell you that it can

be awkward. But the worst case scenario is that someone knows you're thinking about them and hopes you're okay, and that if you're not, that there is hope that you will feel better, and that there are ways to achieve that. The CDC Understone's Technical Package, has instituted a seven step strategy to help different sectors build programs to prevent suicides.

These include strengthening economic supports, strengthening access to and delivery of suicide care, the creation of protective environments, promotion of connectedness, teaching, coping and problem solving skills, identifying and supporting people at risk and lessening harms and preventing future risk in the end. Solving such a complex public health issue will demand a lot of work from a lot of people, and all of them will have to be stubbornly unwilling to simply

move on. If you or someone you know is having thoughts about suicide, google Suicide Prevention for resources in your area, from phone to text, to chat, to fact sheets with conversation points to organizations near you, and if you're in the US, you can dial or text the number nine eight eight and again take care of yourself. Today's episode is based on the article the US needs to have an Ongoing Conversation about suicide on HowStuffWorks dot com, written

by John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio in partnership with how sstuffworks dot com and is produced by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts for wherever you listen to your favorite shows. HMM