Blog Posts

Hello friends, welcome back to the blog.  Today I wanted to talk about suicide prevention – as September is suicide prevention awareness month.  Suicide prevention allows us an opportunity to explore warning signs and discuss tips to manage suicide prevention.  Suicide is considered a major public health concern and has impacted everyone to some degree whether from losing a loved one, acquaintance, or struggling with thoughts yourself.  Loss of life is a tragedy and this means can often be preventable.  

Sometimes suicidal thoughts, depression, and other mental health issues scare people who don’t experience them.  Sometimes people can’t understand how a person can get to a point of taking their own life.  Those who have attempted or completed suicide do so because their suffering gets to a point they feel is unbearable and they see no other option.  In some cases people give warnings signs that they are feeling this way.  

In our clinic, we are always on the lookout for major depression and symptoms of suicidal plans or thoughts of self-harm.  Here are some things we look for.

Symptoms of Suicide or Self-Harm

1.  Hopelessness: this is a common symptom of major depression.  Hopelessness can be a more subtle warning sign of suicidal thinking.  Hopelessness often involves not feeling hope that things will improve or an overall despair.  People may talk about the future negatively and express not having anything to look forward to.

2.  Plans for Self-Harm: if someone is expressing suicidal thoughts things to assess include is there a plan, a means, a time frame, and an intent.  Assessing risk of potential suicide can help determine level of intervention needed.  

3.  History of Self-Harm: in our clinic we assess if a person has a history of self harm, hospitalizations, suicide attempts, or previous plans.  People with a history of self-harm are at greater risk for self harm or attempts in the future.  

4.  Isolation: behavior changes such as withdrawing from social situations, missing work, and isolating from loved ones can be warnings signs of someone who is experiencing major depression, hopelessness, and potentially suicidal thinking.                                                                                                        

Tips for Suicide Prevention                                                

Speak up if you are worried:  The best thing you can do if you have a concern is ask the person.  Often people feel uncomfortable or scared to ask questions about how people are really doing.  It can show you care by being willing to ask how a person is doing.  It can even be questions like I wanted to check in with you, I have noticed these things recently,  how can I best support you through a hard time?                                                        

Offer support or help:  If you are in a position to help, sometimes empathy and a listening ear go a long way.  Letting them know they are not alone and that you care can help.  However, it is not loved ones responsibility to try and heal a person struggling.  You can offer support but you can’t help them get better. They have to choose to make the effort to get better.                                                                                                                                                    

Respond quickly in a crisis:   Whether you yourself or in crisis or a loved one, knowing when to reach out for help can be crucial.  If a person is expressing suicidal thinking they may need professional help like therapy or medication.  If a person had a plan or intent they may need a crisis center, hospital stay, or immediate response like providing immediate safety.       

Safety planning:  This can be done with a loved one, medical professional, or as the person in crisis.  This may include writing down protective factors, people to call for support, reducing risks like eliminating potential threats, coping skills to practice during moments of despair, and additional resources.                                                                                        

Be aware of resources:  Suicide and crisis hotlines such as calling or texting 988 or using the SafeUT app.  There are also other call and text hotlines available.
Some hospitals offer crisis evaluations through the ER, access centers, and inpatient units as needed.  

Conclusion 

Check on your loved ones, reach out for help if you are suffering, be aware of common warning signs regarding suicide, and ask the hard questions.  It could save a life.  

Thank you for reading, until next time.                                            

Emilie Barragan, LCSW            

“Tackling physical and emotional pain” – Therapeuo Health