According to the National Institute of Mental Health, there were an estimated 43.7 million individuals 18 years or older living with mental illness in the United States in 2012, or about 18.6 percent of the adult population.
In a survey of 157 colleges and universities, the American College Health Association found that 31 percent of college students have struggled with depression that affected their collegiate performance and more than 50 percent have felt overwhelming anxiety. 7.1 percent of students surveyed reported having seriously considered suicide in the past 12 months. In a survey conducted by the Na- tional Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), college students diagnosed with a mental health condition reported that stigma was the number one barrier to accessing mental health services and supports. 40 percent of students surveyed who reported having diagnosed mental health problems did not seek help. According to NAMI, over 90 percent of people who die by suicide struggled with mental illness. There are many factors involved in treating mental illness and preventing suicide, but it begins with people getting the help they need. Reducing stigma around mental illness plays a vital role in encouraging people to get help for mental illness.
Throughout the semester, I will be profiling various mental illnesses, such as anxiety, depression, and anorexia, by giving an overview of each disorder, as well as student perspectives on what it’s like to live with a mental illness.
This week, I am going to focus on suicide prevention: how to tell if someone might be suicidal and how to help him or her get help. September 10 was World Suicide Prevention Day. The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) explains the mission of World Suicide Prevention Day as “[representing] a call for action and involvement by all governments and organizations worldwide to contribute to the cause of suicide awareness and prevention through activities, events, conferences and campaigns in their country. By collaborating together in this endeavor, we can indeed save lives.”
Suicide is not a common conversation topic because it can sometimes be uncomfortable to talk about. Unfortunately, though, it’s an all-too-common tragedy in the United States and in the world today. According to the AAS, approximately one million Americans at- tempt suicide each year and five million living Americans have attempted to kill themselves at some point. Every year in the United States, more than 19,500 men and women kill themselves with a gun, which is 66 percent more than the number who use a gun to kill another person. It is estimated that 4.8 million Americans have survived the suicide of a friend, family member or loved one.
Suicide’s prevalence in our culture requires our attention. In order to prevent suicide from continuing to take the lives of one million people per year worldwide, it is important that we know the risk factors for suicide, common behaviors before suicide and how we can help people around us get the help they need. The warning signs of suicide include hopelessness, rage, revenge-seeking, reckless or risky behavior, increased alcohol and drug use, withdrawal from friends and family, anxiety, agitation, trouble sleeping, dramatic mood changes and loss of purpose. More explicit signs include someone threatening to kill or hurt him or herself, looking for ways to get access to pills, firearms, or other weapons and talking about death or suicide when that behavior is out of the ordinary. Risk factors for suicide include prior suicide attempts, family history of suicide, family history of mental illness, physical or sexual abuse, having firearms in the home, chronic physical illness or pain and incarceration.
If you see someone exhibiting behaviors that indicate that they are po- tentially suicidal, you can help. You can call 800-SUICIDE or 800-273-TALK, as well as the Counseling Service of Addison County 24-hour hotline, 802-388-7641. If someone seems to be at risk of committing suicide and you are with them, remove all weapons from the area and seek help by calling 911 or one of the hotlines mentioned above. Do not try to handle the situation by yourself. Do not act surprised or shocked to hear that they may be considering suicide, as this may cause them to withdraw from you. Offer hope that there are alternatives and continue talking to the person.
If you see the warning signs of suicide in the behavior of another person, you can ask them if they are considering suicide — this will not “put thoughts into their head,” and it could be the question that saves their life.
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