WEBVTT - How Can We Help Prevent Suicide?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren Vogelbaum. Here just a heads up. Today's episode is

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<v Speaker 1>a heavy one. We speak frankly about mental health in

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<v Speaker 1>general and suicide prevention in particular. If that's not something

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<v Speaker 1>you're up for today, go ahead and skip this one.

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<v Speaker 1>And hey, take care of yourself. Okay, okay. Americans have

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<v Speaker 1>come grimly to abide, if not necessarily, accept the fact

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<v Speaker 1>that suicide is a societal problem. We understand that it's

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<v Speaker 1>a national issue, a dangerous and growing one. We whisper

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<v Speaker 1>about it, we grieve when it affects us, and often

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<v Speaker 1>we just try to move on. To be sure, there

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<v Speaker 1>are many who spend their lives trying to help those

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<v Speaker 1>who struggle with mental health. For the rest of us, though,

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<v Speaker 1>it is probably well passed time to recognize that the

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<v Speaker 1>increasing issue of suicide and America is both serious and solvable. So,

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<v Speaker 1>to borrow a phrase from the harm reduction community, let's

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<v Speaker 1>talk about it. For the article. This episode is based

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<v Speaker 1>on How Stuff Works. Spoke by email with Deb Stone,

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<v Speaker 1>a behavioral scientist in these Centers for Disease Control and

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<v Speaker 1>Preventions Division of Violence Prevention. She said Suicide prevention requires

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<v Speaker 1>a comprehensive approach that addresses risk and protective factors at

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<v Speaker 1>multiple levels, including societal, community relationship, and individual levels. There's

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<v Speaker 1>a role for everyone in the community. The CDC's latest

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<v Speaker 1>findings on that illuminates the scope of the suicide issue

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<v Speaker 1>in the US. Among those facts, the American suicide rate

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<v Speaker 1>increased thirty six percent between the year two thousand and

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty two. In twenty twenty two, forty nine thousand,

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<v Speaker 1>four hundred and seventy six Americans died by suicide, which

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<v Speaker 1>is about one death every eleven minutes. That's about twice

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<v Speaker 1>as many homicides as we had that year. Another one

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<v Speaker 1>point six million Americans attempted suicide. It is the ninth

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<v Speaker 1>leading cause of death in the US for people ages

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<v Speaker 1>ten to sixty four years of age, and the second

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<v Speaker 1>leading cause of death for people ages ten to fourteen

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<v Speaker 1>and twenty five to thirty four. Mental health experts have

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<v Speaker 1>asked the media to avoid using sensationalistic wording like skyrocketing

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<v Speaker 1>or epidemic to characterize the rise in suicides. Still, suicide

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<v Speaker 1>is a clear and increasing public health issue facing that

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<v Speaker 1>might be the first step in combating it, but facing

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<v Speaker 1>it means acknowledging something else too. A researchers found that

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<v Speaker 1>more than half of those who die by suicide don't

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<v Speaker 1>have a diagnosed mental health condition. Of course, having a

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<v Speaker 1>diagnosis of a chronic condition is not the only factor here,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's an important one that needs to be addressed.

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<v Speaker 1>How Stuff Works also spoke back in twenty eighteen with

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<v Speaker 1>Jennifer Pain, the director of the Women's Mood Disorder Center

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<v Speaker 1>and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at

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<v Speaker 1>Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore. As she said, there's a

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<v Speaker 1>stigma associated with psychiatric illness that really needs to go away.

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<v Speaker 1>It's one of the most common illnesses that people have.

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<v Speaker 1>People are reluctant to get treatment and seek out care

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<v Speaker 1>partially because of that stigma. If we got rid of

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<v Speaker 1>the stigma associated with psychiatric illness, then I think that

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<v Speaker 1>would result in people getting better mental health treatment and

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<v Speaker 1>hopefully a lowering of the suicide rate. However, our overall

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<v Speaker 1>mental health is made up of a lot of factors,

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<v Speaker 1>and there are lots of stressors that are associated with suicide,

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<v Speaker 1>like relationship problems, the loss of a loved one substance misuse,

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<v Speaker 1>physical health problems, barriers to health care access, financial woes, employment, stress, discrimination, bullying,

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<v Speaker 1>and experiences of violence, especially during childhood. Access to deadly

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<v Speaker 1>means such as opioids and firearms is another risk factor,

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<v Speaker 1>as these make it less likely to recover from a

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<v Speaker 1>suicide attempt. On a macro level, slowing the braid of

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<v Speaker 1>suicides falls largely on public health agencies, but they can't

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<v Speaker 1>turn the tide alone. A stone with the CDC was

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<v Speaker 1>the lead author of a twenty seventeen report called Preventing

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<v Speaker 1>Suicide a Technical Package of policy, programs and practices. In it,

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<v Speaker 1>the authors wrote sectors vital to implementing this package include,

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<v Speaker 1>but are not limited to, education, government, local, state, and

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<v Speaker 1>federal social services, health services, business, labor, justice, housing, media,

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<v Speaker 1>and organizations that comprise the civil society sector, such as

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<v Speaker 1>faith based organizations, youth serving organizations, foundations, and other non

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<v Speaker 1>governmental organizations. Collectively, these sectors can make a difference in

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<v Speaker 1>preventing suicide by impacting the various contexts and underlying risks

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<v Speaker 1>that contribute to suicide. So that's a lot. On a

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<v Speaker 1>micro level, we can all try to be kind to

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<v Speaker 1>ourselves and others in this fractured world and look out

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<v Speaker 1>for each other. Warning signs that a person might be

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<v Speaker 1>contemplating suicide include, perhaps obviously, things like talking about wanting

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<v Speaker 1>to die or about having no reason to live, or

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<v Speaker 1>looking for a way to kill themselves, such as searching

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<v Speaker 1>online or buying a gun. Butt signs also include talking

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<v Speaker 1>about feeling hopeless or trapped or in unbearable pain, or

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<v Speaker 1>being a burden to others, increasing the use of alcohol

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<v Speaker 1>or other drugs, acting anxious or agitated, having recklessly extreme

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<v Speaker 1>mood swings, sleeping too little or too much, withdrawing or

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<v Speaker 1>isolating themselves, showing rage, or talking about seeking revenge. If

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<v Speaker 1>a loved one is exhibiting any of those signs, experts

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<v Speaker 1>say that it's best to approach the situation head on

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<v Speaker 1>the stone said. One of the simplest ways to determine

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<v Speaker 1>this is to ask directly, are you thinking about suicide?

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<v Speaker 1>But asking the question won't put the thought in someone's

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<v Speaker 1>head who wasn't previously thinking about suicide, and it can

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<v Speaker 1>be a relief for the person to open up about

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<v Speaker 1>their struggles. Asking is the first of five steps that

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<v Speaker 1>the Suicide Prevention Lifeline suggests anyone trying to help should

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<v Speaker 1>know the other four are be there, keep them safe,

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<v Speaker 1>help them connect, and follow up. Paine said, what you

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<v Speaker 1>don't want to do is play the don't ask, don't

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<v Speaker 1>tell game. You're not going to regret getting someone the

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<v Speaker 1>appropriate care. I think that if you really care about

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<v Speaker 1>someone and you're really concerned, then you do everything that

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<v Speaker 1>you can to get them to treatment, including insisting on it.

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<v Speaker 1>Speaking personally, as someone who's been on both sides of

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<v Speaker 1>conversations like these, I can tell you that it can

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<v Speaker 1>be awkward. But the worst case scenario is that someone

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<v Speaker 1>knows you're thinking about them and hopes you're okay, and

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<v Speaker 1>that if you're not, that there is hope that you

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<v Speaker 1>will feel better, and that there are ways to achieve that.

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<v Speaker 1>The CDC Understone's Technical Package, has instituted a seven step

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<v Speaker 1>strategy to help different sectors build programs to prevent suicides.

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<v Speaker 1>These include strengthening economic supports, strengthening access to and delivery

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<v Speaker 1>of suicide care, the creation of protective environments, promotion of connectedness, teaching,

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<v Speaker 1>coping and problem solving skills, identifying and supporting people at

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<v Speaker 1>risk and lessening harms and preventing future risk in the end.

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<v Speaker 1>Solving such a complex public health issue will demand a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of work from a lot of people, and all

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<v Speaker 1>of them will have to be stubbornly unwilling to simply

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<v Speaker 1>move on. If you or someone you know is having

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<v Speaker 1>thoughts about suicide, google Suicide Prevention for resources in your area,

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<v Speaker 1>from phone to text, to chat, to fact sheets with

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<v Speaker 1>conversation points to organizations near you, and if you're in

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<v Speaker 1>the US, you can dial or text the number nine

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<v Speaker 1>eight eight and again take care of yourself. Today's episode

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<v Speaker 1>is based on the article the US needs to have

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<v Speaker 1>an Ongoing Conversation about suicide on HowStuffWorks dot com, written

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<v Speaker 1>by John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production by Heart Radio

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<v Speaker 1>in partnership with how sstuffworks dot com and is produced

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<v Speaker 1>by Tyler Klang. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the iHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts for wherever you listen

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<v Speaker 1>to your favorite shows. HMM