Dennis Wahlman/Mainstream

Help Stop Suicide Today

By Don Gillman · The Mainstream
Published November 14, 2012

Suicide is one of the most complex, emotional and misunderstood topics a community faces. Often, when people make the profound decision to end their lives, they leave behind devastated friends, family and co-workers, but just as often that decision is misunderstood and reduced to overly-simplistic explanations that ignore the complex psychological, physical and emotional states that the deceased experienced prior to committing suicide.

Visual Communications major Jessica Mixen understands the complex life issues which can lead to strong suicide thoughts. During her junior and senior years of high school, she was hospitalized three times for strong suicidal thoughts. “My mother was really afraid of my thoughts, but knew that I wouldn’t do anything and still felt it would be good for me to have help. At the time I was really angry, but looking back it was the right thing to do.” Mixen says that moving to a new town as well as anxiety about making new friends and succeeding in school contributed to her depression.

Statistically, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, but more disturbingly, it is the third leading cause of death among 15 to 24-year-olds. Someone dies from suicide every 13.7 minutes in this country and nearly one million people each year die from suicide in the United States, according to the American Society for Suicide Prevention and the Center for Disease Control.

While many factors contribute to suicide risk, in 90 percent of all suicide cases the factors of mental disorders or substance abuse, and sometimes a combination of both, have been found. Factors such as high stress, unemployment or divorce also can contribute to suicidal thoughts and impulses.

It is rare for someone contemplating suicide to not give out warning signs, according to Help Guide, an organization founded by psychotherapist Jeanne Segal and her husband. These warning signs mean that friends, family and co-workers are often the first line of defense in preventing suicide.

The organization Stop a Suicide Today recommends that friends and family members practice a three step process they call ACT, standing for Acknowledge, Care and Treatment. The Acknowledge step requires taking any suicide warnings as serious while the Care step involves both talking to and listening to the person at risk. The organization also stresses the third step, Treatment, saying it should be sought immediately from a professional. Although many organizations offer help lines for people with suicidal thoughts, this organization also advertises a help line for friends and family members dealing with a person at risk of suicide:  1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).

The advice is to seek help and do not relent until that help is available.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is trying to help college and university students who are at risk for suicide through their online Interactive Screening Program, currently used at over 50 U.S. colleges. The AFSP program uses a brief Stress & Depression Questionnaire done online in an anonymous outreach strategy. AFSP notes that “85 percent of students who completed the online questionnaire had serious depression or other suicide risk factors.” 

A manual for the Foundation’s screening program as well as a form to request additional information is available at the Foundation’s website, afsp.org.