Often, they may use euphemisms, like “I can’t take this anymore,” “I’m at the end of my rope,” “I want to throw in the towel,” or “Not sure how much longer I can go on.” People may make a direct or indirect comment about suicide. Any statements that express a sense of hopelessness, helplessness, or worthlessness are evidence the individual may be becoming depressed.If you get the sense that they are lacking pleasure in life, that is an extremely important warning sign. Adolescents who used to love to engage in sports or play video games may stop doing that. They may be quieter or not enjoy things the way they used to. People at risk for suicide may isolate themselves. This can come across as either a sad mood, a feeling of disconnection, or social withdrawal. A change in someone’s mood or behavior, particularly along depressive and anxious lines, or isolating themselves.What are the warning signs that someone may be considering suicide? One person may think that’s just a part of life, but for another person it may be devastating. Some people may be very sensitive to humiliation or to being slighted. A circumstance or event that one person might regard as relatively trivial may be extremely impactful to an individual based on their experience, their interpersonal dynamics and who they are in the world. You can’t judge the meaning or impact of a loss to an individual. It’s important to note that there is no absolute scale for loss. We believe that there is a genetic component to suicide risk, and we know from studies that suicide can run in families.Īny kind of a loss is potentially a trigger for thinking about ending one’s life. Suicide is highest in people with existing mental and psychiatric disorders. For young people, possible factors include social media stress in terms of bullying, and tremendous social stress around getting into and succeeding in college and beyond. We can only speculate, but for a middle-aged man it could have something to do with financial stressors, phase of life, the prospect of losing one’s job, or actually losing one’s job, retirement without adequate resources, or interpersonal issues involving family or divorce. There are also increases among the elderly and the African American community. The rates are rising in middle-aged individuals, particularly among white men, as well as adolescents and young adults. Financial concerns are also a huge stressor for many people. Some have speculated that it could be related to the opioid crisis, social media, availability of information, bullying, or copycatting. It could have to do with more people reporting it, or societal stressors. Russ: It’s unclear why the rate is increasing. Why do you think the suicide rate is rising?ĭr. Russ to better understand what may drive someone to take their life, and potential warning signs of suicide. How do you know if someone you love is considering taking their life? And is there a way to help? Health Matters spoke with Dr. Sometimes, just letting people know that what they are feeling now is not something they’re going to need to bear forever can help - that even if they do nothing, in time, they are likely to feel better.” They don’t last forever that is just sort of the way the brain works. We know that moments of emotionally intensely painful feeling tend to come and go. “I think many people feel that what they are feeling in the moment they will always be feeling, and therefore ‘I need to end this in some way,’” he says. Stressful life events are unavoidable, but it’s important to remember that painful feelings will not last forever, Dr. “It’s critically important to continue to raise public awareness of suicide and suicide risk to try to get our arms around this, to do more research to understand the underpinnings of suicidal behavior, and educate people as best we can, including how to intervene on the level of families, schools, employers, and the medical community.” Mark Russ, vice chair for clinical programs and medical director at NewYork-Presbyterian Westchester Division. “Suicide is both a public health problem and, of course, an extremely individual one,” says Dr. In 2017, more than 47,000 Americans died by suicide, a 33% increase since 1999. Despite growing public attention and efforts to curb the country’s suicide rate, the statistics are sobering: Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |