I am a part-time mental health professional, that is when I’m not talking “pokemon” with my 8 year old, going to pet stores with my 6 year old, reading about princesses with my 4 year old, or going to eat yummy Thai food with my hubby.  Last week, as part of a new initiative to work harder and do a better job of saving the lives of those who are suicidally depressed, our entire staff participated in a day-long seminar about the prevention of suicide.  The information is so crucial I want to pass it along.

Although the topic is not a fun one to talk about, knowing the signs of a person who is at high risk to attempt to take his or her own life, can go a long way in preventing that tragedy.  Over the past year, in the small community in which I live, one teenage girl shot and killed herself, my neighbor’s son hung himself, and another neighbor down the street unsuccessfully attempted to kill himself by gunwound.  Undoubtedly and tragically, the same is true nearly everywhere.

The following facts are reported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.  More than 32,000 suicides occurred in the United States in 2005.  This equals 89 suicides per day; one suicide every 16 minutes, or 11.01 suicides per 100,000 population.  Worldwide the facts are even more startling.  Every year 1 million people worldwide purposefully take their own lives.  To bring this closer to home, within the county in which I live, 35 people take their lives each year.  That is one person in my county every 10 days. 

The Surgeon General has called on all health workers to make a concerted effort to lower these numbers.  One of the things you can do, even if you are not in the health field, is the increase your own understanding of the signs and risk factors of a person who is considering suicide.  You will be better equipped to notice these signs and take them seriously when you see them in a neighbor, friend, co-worker, or family member.  Of course, if you do find yourself as part of a support system for someone who is suicidal, be sure that person is under the care of a qualified psychiatrist or other mental health professional.

Here are the strong predictors of suicide or risk factors, as agreed upon by many experts in the field:  psychiatric disorders, past history of attempted suicide, genetic predisposition, impulsivity, intense hopelessness, loss of pleasure, loss of ability to react to positive events, mood cycling (this cycling is from dark to darker to darkest and back again), depressive turmoil (likened to a motor running inside turning over the thoughts of death constantly), unusual or pyschotic thinking (believing things that are not true, such as “this will never change.”), immediate triggers, such as anything causing public humiliation, increased alcohol or drug use, and making a plan (including an impulsive purchase of a firearm or other means of killing oneself or giving away prized possessions.)

Clearly, depression is the mother of suicide, whether that depression takes the form of a depressive disorder, bi-polar disorder, borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, or any other psychiatric illness.

Horrifically, 75% of patients deny any suicidality immediately before they take their own life.  This means that just because a person tells you they will not take their life does not mean they are safe.  Therefore, it is not good enough for a person to deny suicidality. 

Here are a few more simple things you can understand if you are faced with helping a person through the risk of self-harm. (And please remember, it is absolutely imperative that the person receive professional mental health treatment. Over 90% of people with complete suicides have a diagnosable, treatable psychiatric illness.) With that said, the goal of the professional and the person’s support system should be to increase supports and lower risk factors. In other words, there are very measurable things that can be done to lessen the risk for a completed suicide, such as, among others, making sure lethal means are inaccessible, increasing emotional support and the individual’s sense of being needed within a community, treatment for alcoholism or drug use, and effective and correct dosages of medications.

God forbid that anyone would be reading this while contemplating taking his or her precious life.  But if you are, I urge you to call 1-800-SUICIDE.  This is a crisis hotline that is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and you will be connected to a hotline nearest you.  There is hope.  There is help, no matter how black it may seem at this time.  I am a living testament.  I was at a hopeless place in my life 18 years ago, where I truly thought nothing good would ever come to me again.  I truly wanted to die, to be erased from the earth.  Not only have I found help and hope, but I also lead a full, rich, challenging life.  God truly deliverd my soul from death.  There is a thief, and his name is Satan.  He loves nothing more than to steal, kill, and destroy.  I pray for you now that God’s mighty hand will deliver you as he has me.

And if you are suffering from the loss of someone you love to suicide, my heart goes out deeply to you.  I am so very sorry for your loss.  You are not alone in your grief, and although time may not heal your wound, it will certainly make it more bearable.  You may find this website called Survivors of Suicide to have some helpful resources or stories.

Finally, if you want to learn more or find out a way you can be active in raising awareness and saving lives, check out the website of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

One of the high school kids I counsel recently told me about a deeply inspiring story.  It is the story of the life of a boy, who was the victim of one of the worst documented cases of child abuse in the state of California.  The events took place in the late 60’s and early 70’s beforeDavid Pelzer, the survivor wrote a trilogy of his life events.  The first is pictured above, A Child Called It.  The second and third books are The Lost Boy and A Man Called Dave.  You can find the books here.

It is hard to read about such cruelty to children, but the statistics tell us that these things happen everyday.  One therapist has gathered a list of online resources that look at the different aspects and occurrences of abuse.  If you are interested in learning more, check out the findings of C.J. Newton, MA, on this site.

If you work with or are around children, it is crucial to understand and recognize the signs of child abuse and neglect.  You can also get more information about this survivor’s current work with abuse prevention and inspiration here.  Dave has appeared on Oprah, and he has a weekly radio broadcast.

A mole, digging in a hole, digging up my soul, now, going down - EXCAVATION. . .

The words blared on my car stereo yesterday on the way home from my day of counseling high school students, words from a U2 song entitled Elevation.  It’s sometimes what I feel like I do when I meet with kids, kids hurting from their past or present stories.  So, there I am, in their presence, being a mole, digging around in their souls.

And you know what?  That ground in their souls is holy.  Holy ground.  And I am an honored guest, to be allowed the privelege of digging in it.  It’s true I get dirty.  It’s true it can be dark down there.  Sometimes the sadness is almost unbearable.  But it is holy ground nonetheless.  And there are treasures waiting to be found.   

You know, sometimes it feels as if it doesn’t make a hill of beans difference that someone listened, someone cared, because their world, their life is so broken.  But yesterday, an 18 year old young lady I meet with weekly was describing the difference it makes.  She looks forward to the time when someone is present, really present in her life and listens to her story. 

I wish there were more I could do.  I often wish I had a magic wand and could make everything better for them.  But I don’t.  I’m just a mole, digging in their souls.  I’m just present with them in the dirt.  And maybe, just maybe that is more than it seems.  Maybe it is what we were meant to be for each other.