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By Emily Oosterhouse, LPC
We don’t like to talk about suicide. However, more than 40,000 Americans die each year due to suicide, which currently is the 10th leading cause of death in our nation. Locally, there were 71 completed suicides in Adams County.
You’d think we would be more open to talking about something that is affecting our nation, our local communities and our families and friends in such a big way.
The good news? Suicide often is preventable. But to begin to address the issue, we need to decrease stigma and encourage conversations about suicide. We also need to ensure that people are connected with appropriate resources to get the support they need.
Stigmatizing suicide makes the problem worse. Some of the stigma around suicide includes, “Thinking about taking your own life is selfish,” “Think of your family and friends” or “You are just looking for attention.” These are wrong and hurtful comments. Individuals’ religious beliefs sometimes place added stigma around suicide. Such beliefs and comments create an unsafe environment for talking about suicide. And when people don’t talk about their feelings of suicide, they’re often unable to get the resources and support they need.
One of the most common misnomers about suicide that encourages silence around the issue is “If I ask someone if they are thinking about suicide, it will cause them to be suicidal, or even commit suicide.” This could not be more untrue – in fact copious research supports the importance of asking the question.
Most often when someone is feeling suicidal and another person broaches the issue in a supportive manner, the person feels a sense of relief at being able to talk about his or her thoughts of suicide. It’s hard for a person to be in such a dark place – they’re so miserable that they’re contemplating suicide — and also feel silenced.
One of the most important things we can do as a community is to ask the question. That question looks like this: “Are you thinking about killing yourself?” or “Are you thinking about suicide?”
If the answer to the question is “Yes, I’ve been thinking about suicide,” there are two important follow-up questions: “Do you have a plan in place to do that?” and “Do you have the means already collected to carry out your plan?” If the answer is “Yes,” then the safest thing to do is to get the individual to an emergency room or call 911. If the answer to the follow-up questions is, “No, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot,” then the most supportive thing you can do is to be a bridge to appropriate professional help. At Community Reach Center, we offer walk-in intakes to set up services. This means that people in the community can come to our Thornton office any time between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, to set up supportive services. No appointment is necessary.
Additionally, Community Reach Center offers a weekend clinic where anyone – inside or outside of Adams County – who is feeling overwhelmed, anxious or depressed can meet with a licensed professional counselor. This new service is available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at 8931 Huron St., Thornton. The weekend clinic is not recommended for an individual who is feeling suicidal. Individuals in crisis should call Community Reach Center’s Crisis Line at 303-853-3500 and ask for Emergency Services or go to their nearest hospital. If facing a life-threatening crisis, they should call 911.
Taking a Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training is an excellent way for you to become a change agent for suicide awareness. The training is geared for the general public and teaches an evidence-based, five-step action plan for coming to the aid of someone in the throes of a mental-health crisis. Certified trainers from Community Reach Center will provide the MHFA training at Metro North Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Sept. 19. To reserve your spot, email MHFA@CommunityReachCenter.org.
Please, be courageous and ask the question. Start talking about suicide and its prevention. Be an agent of change in our community.
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Emily Oosterhouse, LPC, is the supervisor of Jail Services at Community Reach Center, a non-profit mental-health provider with five outpatient offices in Adams County (www.CommunityReachCenter.org; 303-853-3500.)