Tag Archive for: suicide awareness

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month

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Call, text, or chat the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or 988lifeline.org if you or a loved one are experiencing thoughts of suicide.

According to the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), one in five individuals in the United States suffers from mental illness.  Yet, despite how common it is to suffer from this illness, many people feel uncomfortable reaching out for help. Medical providers see many patients struggling to deal with depression, anxiety, and mood disorders. It is important to see this topic more openly discussed in families and communities.

Mental Health Background

There is no shame around being diagnosed or treated for a mental health condition. There are more than 51 million U.S. adults living with a mental illness, so these individuals are not alone.

Our brains are an important part of our body, and we often forget that it plays a key role in our everyday health. Our brain controls our emotions, and those emotions can impact physical health. People with a serious mental illness are at an increased risk for chronic diseases, metabolic, and cardiac conditions.

Suicide Awareness – Signs and Symptoms

Our emotions can be so strong that they disrupt our daily lives. Sometimes this makes life seem very overwhelming. Someone struggling with their emotions might start to have feelings of worthlessness or start to wish they didn’t exist. When these overwhelming emotions snowball, the person can feel so trapped that they think there is no way out. This can lead to thoughts of ending their own life.

It is important for both the individual experiencing these thoughts and feelings, and those around them to know the warning signs of suicide and act on ways to help. Learn about suicide awareness now to save a life.

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call, text or chat the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

For non-urgent needs, consider scheduling an appointment with a NOAH counselor. You can also visit our Mental Health Matters website for additional tools and information to help you or a loved one through challenging times. 

Suicide Prevention: Supporting a Loved One

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Who is at Risk?

Suicidal thoughts can impact anyone regardless of age, gender, or cultural background. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 4.9% of all adults have experienced serious thought of suicide. That number increases to 11.3% in young adults ages 18-25, 18.8% in high school students, and 45% in LGBTQ+ youth. Suicide is the 12th leading cause of death overall in the United States, second leading cause of death among people 10-14, and the third leading cause of death among people 15-24. We can impact these numbers by spreading the word about suicide awareness and prevention.

What to Look For and When to Act?

Everyone has a bad day from time to time, but when that bad day turns into multiple days, or difficulty with routine daily tasks, it’s important to take notice. Some might notice increased isolation from friends or family or decreased interest in social, work, or academic activities. Others may notice a change in anxiety, depression, substance use, performance at work or school, prolonged stress, or difficulty adjusting to situations. Regardless of the change, there is hope and ways to take action and offer support.

What to Do?

It can be extremely difficult and scary when a loved one, child, friend, or family member is experiencing mental health symptoms, especially suicidal thoughts. Have frequent conversations with your children and family about mental health and complete “emotion check-ins”. If you make this a part of your daily routine, you begin to normalize mental health and make it comfortable to have conversations when your loved ones when they are struggling, especially with suicidal thoughts.

Another way to offer support is to listen and validate their experience. You might not understand what they are going through, but you are able to offer support and create a safe place for active listening. Get feedback and support from others: siblings, family members, friends, community members, teachers. Noticing how behaviors change in multiple settings can help assess the severity of the problem and determine what the next steps should be.

The best way to prevent a suicide-related crisis is to seek help and support before the crisis occurs. If someone you love feels worried, but does not feel they are in imminent danger, encourage them to talk to their medical provider or mental health professional. It’s also important to get friends and family involved, we all need support. If you think your child or loved one is in immediate danger, call a crisis line, take them to the nearest hospital, or call 911.

  • National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255)
  • Crisis Text Line (“NAMI” to 741-741)
  • Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988

Suicide Prevention Month

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By Cody Randel, PA-C

September is suicide prevention month, an important time to share resources and experiences to try and bring attention to a highly stigmatized topic. This month is when we reach out to those affected by suicide, raise awareness, and connect people with suicidal ideation to treatment and other services. It is also necessary to involve friends and family in the conversation and to make sure everyone has access to the resources they need to talk about suicide prevention.

When people seek professional help for depression, anxiety, and/or helplessness, they are far too often met with challenges like affordability, geographical access, privacy and safety, and not knowing what resources are available to them.

Most people who die by suicide had a diagnosable mental health condition.

Suicide Warning Signs

  1. Talking about – experiencing unbearable pain, feeling trapped, killing themselves, having no reason to live, being a burden to others.
  2. Behavior – Withdrawing from activities, acting recklessly, visiting or calling people to say goodbye, increased use of drugs and/or alcohol, isolating from friends and family, aggression, giving away possessions, researching suicide methods.
  3. Mood – Depression, rage, irritability, anxiety, lack of interest, humiliation.

Suicide Prevention Resources

Find a Mental Health Provider:
– findtreatment.samhsa.gov
– mentalhealthamerica.net/finding-help
– Text TALK to 741741; text with a trained crisis counselor from the Crisis Text Line 24/7

Visit:
– Your Primary Care Provider. If you don’t have one, NOAH can help.
– Your Mental Health Professional
– Walk-in Clinic
– Emergency Department
– Urgent Care Center

Call:
– National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
– 911 for Emergencies
– National Suicide Helpline: 800-273-8255
– Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
– The Trevor Project: 866-488-7386
– RAINN: 800-656-4673

Suicide prevention is a critical issue every day of the year. If you or someone you know is struggling, this is not something to face alone. Reach out to the NOAH team to learn more about our services.

*sources: NAMI, afsp.org/respources, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, TWLOHA