Archive for Support
Lethal Means
Posted by: | CommentsA number of means are used in the act of suicide in Montana. Of these, firearms (66%) and hanging (13%) are the most common. Other lethal means include: carbon monoxide (7%), overdose (10%), motor vehicle crashes, jumping from heights, etc.
Source: http://www.sprc.org/stateinformation/PDF/stateplans/plan_mt.pdf
If you are contemplating any of these means, or know someone who is, call for help immediately. If you feel that someone (including yourself) is in immediate danger go to your local hospital’s Emergency Room NOW.
If less urgent then call your local Help Center, Suicide Line or check out http://211.org/, enter your zip code and see what resources they may have to offer in your community.
Suicide prevention: Push back the darkness, let in the light
Posted by: | Comments“No one is sure why Alaska’s suicide rate has risen for four straight years and is the nation’s highest. Alaska can round up the usual suspects — alcohol and drug abuse, hopelessness, isolation, poverty, wretched family lives, lack of opportunity, sexual abuse, biological factors, culture, history, racism — but we still won’t have all the answers. We do have some answers, however. And as Susan Soule, mental health consultant and former director of the state’s suicide prevention program, points out, we know the important questions.”
“Soule quoted the late Edwin Schneidman, the father of suicide prevention, who said the work boiled down to two questions:
‘Where do you hurt? How may I help you?’ ”
Getting Out and Getting Involved – Special Olympics
Posted by: | Comments
When I heard that Bozeman, Montana was hosting the state Special Olympics 2009 – 2011, I called Vicki Dunham, COO of the Special Olympics Montana (http://www.somt.org), to see if including Intermountain Therapy Animal teams (www.therapyanimals.org) might be a good collaboration. Although my dog and I have only been involved for a year and a half the opportunities for us to get out and volunteer as a team have been delightful. I felt strongly that other teams would feel the same, and they did. The ITA volunteers were delighted to learn that we had been invited and 18 teams quickly signed up for six 2-hour sessions.
What a magical experience to share our Registered Therapy Animals with this group of athletes, coaches and volunteers. All 18 dogs responded well to the love and attention they received from the many athletes, coaches and other volunteers. We had the privilege of meeting so many people who, each in their own way added to the wonderment of the Special Olympics.
The experience worked so well that ITA has been invited to participate in future Special Olympic events in Montana.
On a personal note, it is so helpful for me to be able to get out with Hunka and to bring joy to other people. As someone who lives with depression anything I can do to “get out of myself” is a bonus.
Pictured from left to right are Vicki Dunham, COO Special Olympics Montana, Carlye & Ginger, Alicia & Hunka, Jena & Lucy Liu.
Protective Factors
Posted by: | CommentsSome individuals and communities are more resistant to suicide than others. Little is known about these protective factors. However they might include genetic and neurobiological makeup, attitudinal and behavioral characteristics, and environmental attributes. According to the Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent Suicide6, protective factors include:
• Effective and appropriate clinical care for mental, physical and substance abuse disorders,
• Easy access to a variety of clinical interventions and support for help seeking,
• Restricted access to highly lethal methods of suicide,
• Family and community support,
• Support from ongoing medical and mental health care relationships,
• Learned skills in problem solving, conflict resolution, and nonviolent handling of disputes, and
• Cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-preservation instincts, including American Indians practice of non-separation of culture, spirituality, and/or religion.
As with prevention and intervention activities, when programs to enhance protective factors are introduced, they must build on individual and community assets. They must also be culturally appropriate. As an example protective factors enhancement in any one of Montana’s American Indian communities must capitalize on the native customs and spiritual beliefs of that nation, tribe or band.
Source: http://www.sprc.org/stateinformation/PDF/stateplans/plan_mt.pdf
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for adolescents and young adults in our state (Montana), second only to motor vehicle accidents.
A third reason listed by State of Montana Suicide Prevention Plan at http://www.sprc.org/stateinformation/PDF/stateplans/plan_mt.pdf is:
Lack of mental health providers and treatment facilities
• There is a shortage of inpatient mental health treatment facilities. The availability of this vital resource is diminishing with the closure of inpatient psychiatric beds.
• There is a severe lack of appropriate comprehensive outpatient services.
• There is insufficient integration of traditional and culturally specific interventions
• Montana has a severe shortage of psychiatrists, especially child and adolescent psychiatrists
• There is a lack of physicians capable of providing appropriate psychiatric medication treatments
• There is a lack of post intervention services
This is the third of 4 posts. To see the other’s please visit the archives.
What to Do if You Think a Person is Having Suicidal Thoughts
Posted by: | CommentsWhat do you do if you think a person is having suicidal thoughts?
(Information provided by the National Suicide Prevention LifeLine)
http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
You cannot predict death by suicide, but you can identify people who are at increased risk for suicidal behavior, take precautions, and refer them for effective treatment.
ASK – Ask the person directly if he or she is having suicidal thoughts/ideas, has a plan to do so, and has access to lethal means:
- “Are you thinking about killing yourself?”
- “Have you ever tried to hurt yourself before?”
- “Do you think you might try to hurt yourself today?”
- “Have you thought of ways that you might hurt yourself?”
- “Do you have pills/weapons in the house?”
Ø This won’t increase the person’s suicidal thoughts. It will give you information that indicates how strongly the person has thought about killing him or herself.
Ø Take seriously all suicide threats and all suicide attempts. A past history of suicide attempts is one of the strongest risk factors for death by suicide.
Ø There is no evidence that “no-suicide contracts” prevent suicide. In fact, they may give counselors a false sense of reassurance.
LISTEN AND LOOK – Listen and look for red flags for suicidal behavior, indicated by the mnemonic:
IS THE PATH WARM?
Ideation – Threatened or communicated
Substance abuse – Excessive or increased
Purposeless – No reasons for living
Anxiety – Agitation/Insomnia
Trapped – Felling there is no way out
Hopelessness
Withdrawing – From friends, family, society
Anger (uncontrolled) – Rage, seeking revenge
Recklessness – Risky acts, unthinking
Mood changes (dramatic)
ACT –
- If you think the person might harm him or herself, do not leave the person alone.
- Say, “I’m going to get you some help.”
- Call the National Suicide Prevention LifeLine, 1-800-273-TALK. You will be connected to the nearest available crisis center. OR…
- Got to SAMHSA’s Mental Health Services Locator (www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/databases/) or Substance Abuse Treatment Facility Locator (http://dasis3.samhsa.gov/).
Opportunities for Prevention Activities
Posted by: | CommentsThe variations in suicide rates by age groups and gender provide a wide array of opportunities for prevention and intervention activities.
Prevention strategies can cover a wide variety of target groups (e.g., population at large, those who have ever thought of suicide as an option, those who have made previous attempts at suicide, and those in immediate crisis who are contemplating suicide as well as those who have experienced the death of a family member or close friend).
Such activities can also range from a broad focus such as addressing risk and protective factors to a more narrow focus such as preventing imminent self-harm or death.
Although the data on effectiveness of various programs and interventions is limited, certain strategies are beginning to emerge as more effective than others. Clearly, a singularly focused intervention strategy such as a crisis line or gatekeeper training program will not have a lasting impact in isolation. Each program needs to be tightly integrated and interlinked with other strategies to reach the broadest possible range of persons at risk.
The groups are futher detailed in these groups:
Youth – Ages 15 – 21
Older Adults – Ages 20 – 44
Senior Caucasian Males, Over Age 55 (this group has one of the highest rates of suicide)
Source: http://www.sprc.org/stateinformation/PDF/stateplans/plan_mt.pdf
