Suicide Awareness

Every day,  94 people complete a suicide.  This is equivalent to 1 very 15 minutes.  It averages to about 34,000 per year.  For every completed suicide, there are 25 more attempts that fail.  These are national statistics we can not ignore.

   Having been on both sides of the coin, I know a lot about this from both the person who is contemplating suicide and someone who has survived a suicide.

   A suicidal person believes that they are not needed, they are not wanted, or even that they will be missed. They may feel alone, even when in a crowded room.  The suicidal person can see no other way out of their pain than to die.  This is sad, because every human being on this planet has value.  The problem is, sometimes the suicidal person does not see that value.  They have tunnel vision, where all they see is the pain they are feeling.

  By getting these people help, we reinforce their value as members of society.  When these people are given treatment, they most often are glad they are still alive.  But having been suicidal once makes it much more likely they will feel so again.  Pills alone don't work.  It requires therapy, feeling valued, and most of all, feeling loved.  Without these things, a person may continue in a downward spiral that could end up with another attempt or worse a completed suicide.

   Suicidal people do not realize the impact their death has on those around them.  But, every one who has survived a completed suicide, the effects are enormous.  The person who finds the person after suicide is completed will be traumatized severely.  That person will never forget the sight of what they found, regardless of the method.

   Those who loved the suicidal person will also be greatly affected.  They will having lingering questions about what they could have done to prevent this.  Often times, survivors have a sense of guilt that they didn't prevent this from happening.  That fight that they had with the person who complete suicide before this will feel like they caused this.  It may, in turn, cause that person to become suicidal and to also make an attempt.

   People who have survived a suicide are 10 times as likely to attempt suicide than others.  A parent who has lost a child to suicide will feel they failed the child.  A spouse will feel like they did something to cause the person to complete suicide.  The child who's parent completes suicide will scar that child, no matter the age, for the rest of their lives.  In each of these cases, the parent, the spouse, the child may feel like joining their loved one and knows the only way to do this is by completing suicide.  They are hurting and questioning themselves so much that they start that downward spiral that their lost loved one did.

   We need to watch for warning signs in others around us.

• Giving away personal items
• Talking about death or suicide
• Death preoccupies their thoughts
• Some one who has lost a loved on to suicide

  By paying attention to these warning signs, we can get that person help before they attempt suicide. If they are crying out for help, and no one sees it, or people think it's not their place to say intervene, then who's is it?  If not you, then who will?

 If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, there are numbers that you can call from anywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: 1-800-SUICIDE or 1-800-999-9999.

As with any other type of emergency, call the local emergency number (such as 911) right away if someone you know has attempted suicide. Do not leave the person alone, even after you have called for help.