How Can We Help Prevent Suicide?

Suidice is a serious public health issue in the U.S., but there are lots of things we can do about it. Learn how communities and individuals can help in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/mental-disorders/us-needs-to-have-ongoing-conversation-about-suicide.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Lauren Vogelbaum. Here just a heads up. Today's episode is
a heavy one. We speak frankly about mental health in
general and suicide prevention in particular. If that's not something
you're up for today, go ahead and skip this one.

(00:22):
And hey, take care of yourself. Okay, okay. Americans have
come grimly to abide, if not necessarily, accept the fact
that suicide is a societal problem. We understand that it's
a national issue, a dangerous and growing one. We whisper

(00:43):
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,

(01:09):
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

(01:33):
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

(01:53):
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

(02:14):
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

(02:36):
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

(02:58):
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

(03:20):
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

(03:40):
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,

(04:07):
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

(04:28):
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

(04:50):
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

(05:10):
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

(05:33):
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

(05:56):
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

(06:19):
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

(06:39):
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

(07:02):
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

(07:24):
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

(07:46):
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

(08:07):
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

(08:31):
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

(08:51):
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