WEBVTT - How Can We Help Prevent Suicide?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bogelbaum here. Today's episode discusses suicide

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<v Speaker 1>and suicide prevention in the United States. If those aren't

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<v Speaker 1>topics that you're up for hearing about, go ahead and

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<v Speaker 1>skip this one, and hey, take care of yourself, okay.

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<v Speaker 1>Here in the United States, discussion around mental health, self harm,

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<v Speaker 1>and death hasn't always been a discussion as much as

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<v Speaker 1>a whisper or a glance away, but experts say it's

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<v Speaker 1>well past time to recognize that suicide in America is

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<v Speaker 1>both serious and solvable. For the article this episode is

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<v Speaker 1>based on How Stuff Works. Spoke with Jennifer Paine, the

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<v Speaker 1>director of the Women's Mood Disorders Center and an associate

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<v Speaker 1>professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins Medicine

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<v Speaker 1>in Baltimore. She said, I think we need to be

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<v Speaker 1>having a national conversation. How stuff Works. Also spoke by

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<v Speaker 1>email with Deb Stone, a behavioral scientist in the Center

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<v Speaker 1>for Disease Control and Prevention or c d c S

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<v Speaker 1>Division of Violence Prevention and the lead author on a

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<v Speaker 1>sobering study on suicide. She said, suicide prevention requires a

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<v Speaker 1>comprehensive approach that addresses risk and protective factors at multiple levels,

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>the scope of the issue. Among the facts, the American

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<v Speaker 1>suicide rate increased thirty three between and twenty nineteen. More

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<v Speaker 1>than forty seven thousand, five hundred Americans died by suicide

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<v Speaker 1>in twenty nineteen, which is about one death every eleven minutes.

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<v Speaker 1>Another one point four million Americans attempted suicide. It's the

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<v Speaker 1>tenth leading cause of death in the United States and

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<v Speaker 1>the second leading cause of death for people ages ten

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<v Speaker 1>to thirty four. Mental health officials are quick to ask

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>a clear, serious, growing public health issue, and 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. Though 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, mental illness remains a

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<v Speaker 1>huge factor in this cause of death. It's not the

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<v Speaker 1>only factor, but it's an important one that needs to

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<v Speaker 1>be addressed. Pain from Johns, Hopkins said, I think there's

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<v Speaker 1>a stigma associated with psychiatric illness that really needs to

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

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<v Speaker 1>people have. People are reluctant to get treatment and seek

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

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<v Speaker 1>rid of the stigma associated with psychiatric illness, then I

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<v Speaker 1>think that would result in people getting better mental health

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<v Speaker 1>treatment and hopefully a lowering of the suicide rate. In addition,

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<v Speaker 1>and the CDC points to a variety of other possible

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<v Speaker 1>factors in the rising rates of suicide, including relationship problems

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<v Speaker 1>or loss of a loved one, substance misuse, physical health problems,

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<v Speaker 1>money woes, and employment stress. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

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<v Speaker 1>lists warning signs that may signal a person might be

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<v Speaker 1>contemplating suicide. They include talking about wanting to die or

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<v Speaker 1>kill themselves, looking for a way to kill themselves like

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<v Speaker 1>searching online or buying a gun, talking about feeling hopeless

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<v Speaker 1>or having no reason to live, talking about feeling trapped

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<v Speaker 1>or being in unbearable pain, talking about being a burden

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<v Speaker 1>to others. Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs, acting

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<v Speaker 1>anxious or agitated, behaving recklessly, sleeping too little or too much,

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

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<v Speaker 1>and extreme mood swings. If you know someone exhibiting any

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<v Speaker 1>of those signs, experts say it's best to approach the

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<v Speaker 1>situation head on. Stone from the CDC said, one of

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<v Speaker 1>the simplest ways to determine this is to ask directly,

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<v Speaker 1>are you thinking about suicide? Asking the question won't put

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<v Speaker 1>the thought on someone's head who wasn't previously thinking about suicide,

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<v Speaker 1>and it can be a relief for the person to

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<v Speaker 1>open up about their struggles. Pain said, what you don't

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<v Speaker 1>want to do is play that don't ask, don't tell game.

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

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<v Speaker 1>I think that if you really care about someone and

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>a macro level. Slowing the rate of suicides falls largely

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<v Speaker 1>on the public health agencies, but they can't turn the tidle.

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<v Speaker 1>Loon In Stone and fellow scientists with the CDC released

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<v Speaker 1>a document called Preventing suicide a technical package of policy,

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<v Speaker 1>programs and practices. In it, they explain other sectors vital

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<v Speaker 1>to implementing this package include, but are not limited to, education, government, local, state,

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<v Speaker 1>and 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>the contribute to suicide. The CDC Understones Technical Package has

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<v Speaker 1>instituted a seven steps strategy to help the different sectors

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<v Speaker 1>build programs to prevent suicide, including strengthening economic supports, strengthening

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<v Speaker 1>access and delivery of suicide care, creating protective environments, promoting connectedness, teaching,

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

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<v Speaker 1>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 stubborn, unwilling to simply

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<v Speaker 1>glance away. If you are someone you know is having

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<v Speaker 1>thoughts about suicide in the United States. You can call

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<v Speaker 1>the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at eight hundred to seven

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<v Speaker 1>three talk that's eight hundred to seven three eight to five,

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<v Speaker 1>or you can google for resources in your area. Today's

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

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<v Speaker 1>have an Ongoing Conversation about suicide on how stuffworks dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by John Donovan. Brain Stuff is production of by

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>and it is produced by Tyler Plain. Four. More podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from my heart Radio visit the i heart Radio app,

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