With September being “Suicide Prevention Month,” mental health experts are doing their part to educate parents and others about risk factors and warning signs.
On average, one person in Stanislaus County kills themselves each week. Most of them are male.
According to the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP), youth who are contemplating suicide frequently give warning signs and parents should not be afraid to ask about suicidal thoughts. NASP also advises parents and others to never take warning signs lightly or promise to keep them secret.
Risk factors for suicide include feelings of hopelessness, non-suicidal self-injury such as cutting one’s self, mental illness and substance abuse, a history of suicidal thinking and behavior, a prior suicide among peers or family members, interpersonal conflict, family stress/dysfunction and the presence of a firearm in the home.
Some of the warning signs to be aware are:
• Suicidal threats in the form of direct (such as statements like “I want to die”) and indirect (“I wish I could go to sleep and not wake up”) ;
• Suicide notes, plans and online postings;
• Making final arrangements;
• Preoccupation with death;
• Giving away prized possessions;
• Talking about death;
• A sudden unexplained happiness;
• Increased risk taking;
• Heavy drug/alcohol use.
What should parents do if they suspect their child is contemplating suicide? Professionals offer these points:
• Remain calm and nonjudgmental; listen;
• Ask directly about suicide (such as, “Are you thinking about suicide?”). Asking and talking about suicide may in fact reduce rather than increase suicidal ideation.
• Avoid being accusatory and don’t say, “You aren’t going to do anything stupid are you?”)
• Reassure them that there is help; they will not feel like this forever.
• Provide constant supervision. Do not leave the youth alone.
• Remove means for self harm, especially firearms. (Firearms are used in more than half of all suicides, followed by suffocation and poisoning and other methods).
• Help them connect to support. Never agree to keep suicidal thoughts a secret. After you’ve connected a person experiencing thoughts of suicide with the immediate support systems that they need, following up with them to see how they’re doing can help increase their feelings of connectedness and support. There’s evidence that even a simple form of reaching out can potentially reduce that person’s risk for suicide.
Support is available to anyone through any emotional need – not just thoughts of suicide – by calling or texting 988 where a trained crisis counselor is ready to provide support at any time.
Locally, the Turlock Unified School District also has mental health resources available to support students at all Turlock schools.
According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), suicide increased 2.6 percent from 2021 to 2022. In 2020, 45,979 Americans committed suicide and 1.2 million attempted suicide. Last year 49,449 Americans committed suicide in 2022. Males are four times more likely to commit suicide than females. The suicide rate among white Americans dwarfs that of any other race.
The upcoming 14th annual “Out of the Darkness Community Walk” will be hosted by the local chapter of the American Federation for Suicide Prevention on Sept. 30 at Graceada Park in Modesto. Check in is at 9 a.m. with the walk to start at 10 a.m.
