Stand To Live: Occupational Suicide Prevention Life

Have you lost a person close to you to Suicide? The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) wants to help find better ways to help prevent the terrible last resort that is suicide, and the grief it can induce on people around the person ending his or her life. The AFSP hopes to create an environment that understands mental health by encouraging school districts, businesses, and communities to put mental health first. Most of all, it desires to bring hope to those affected by suicide.

"More people in the general population die from suicide than homicide in North America. There are almost 11 suicide deaths each year for every 100,000 people living in the United States, and for every suicide, there are between 8 and 25 attempts" (Brent 4203). Based on this research, the great effect of suicide is displayed. According to dictionary.com, suicide can be defined as "the intentional taking of one's own life." Suicide is a major issue for all people, but it most obviously affects those ranging from ten to twenty-four. People need to understand the tremendous ramifications caused from suicide everyday; when people take their lives, others lose their loved ones. Suicide, one of the leading causes of death of numerous people each day, has reached a crisis point for adolescents and young adults, and it needs to be prevented.

There are different therapies that are used to help treat those who have suicidal ideation, behaviors, and attempts. For individuals to be successful in recovery one or more treatments may be necessary. Succession of recovery is a group effort and wiliness between individuals, family, friends, psychiatrists, and therapists. A traditional anti-depressive medication treatment is started to help reduce negative thoughts (Rovick, 2016). These medications increase serotonin levels in the brain to increase happier thoughts. However; depending on the individual, multiple medications are prescribed to target each symptom displayed. In some cases mood stabilizers or anti-psychotics are needed in correlation with the anti-depressants. Individuals with depression and PTSD are prescribed a SSRI and a medication to target the PTSD. Medications do not work quickly, the average time for depressive

Suicide has been rising at alarming rates; the overall suicide rate for children and adolescents has increased over 300% since the 1950s. (Miller, 2009) Adolescent children are screaming out for our help, are we just ignoring the signs or do we not care? For young people, an average 1,800 take their own lives and 85,000 are hospitalized for attempts nationally (CDC, 2008). With this kind of statistics we need to step in and take some action.

“Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.” - Phil Donahue. As a complex, tragic public health issue, suicide occurs in men significantly more often than in women. Suicide is simply defined as the act of intentionally ending one’s own life, however, the factors that play into a person making that decision are anything but simple. The most evident and severe effect of suicide is the loss of a valuable, meaningful human life. According to Harvard School of Public Health (n.d.), suicide affects parents, children, siblings, friends, lovers, and spouses; the loss to society is psychological, spiritual, and financial. People who lose a loved one to suicide often experience devastating effects and deal with a complex grief. These

In general hospitals and psychiatric hospitals assessment of the patient at risk for suicide will be done by the treating physician and the nurse. Collaboration will be done with other treating

There is at least 113 suicides each day or 1 every 13 minutes. Suicide among males is the seventh leading cause of death and the fourteenth leading cause in females. Most suicides are with a firearm and are carried out with a “ Saturday night special”. (Dilaura,Cynthia DiLaura) “More than 90 percent of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal. “ (Brady Campaign) There are a number of reasons why suicide occurs. Stress is the number one cause among our youth, bullies, peer pressure, depression, and abuse. 41,100 people committed suicide in the United States in 2013. Our young teens today does not take time to look deeper into there problem and to seek out a better solution. They are looking for a quick fix but not realizing once the trigger is pulled the result is final with no turning back. Most people who has attempted suicide is more likely to try a second attempt and most have an underlying mental illness. There is many warming that someone may be in a suicide crisis. We most learn how to see things through their eyes. No matter what one is facing in life or the difficult that lie ahead of them Nothing is worth taken your own

In order to be able to help, one must first be able to recognize the above signs and symptoms, as well as what threat they pose to themselves. Suicide is a very hard issue to discuss. When bringing up concerns about someone, many worry that the person in question might become offended. Talking is never a bad thing, in fact, it might be just the thing someone needs to know that they are not alone and that others do care (Smith, Segal & Robinson). The best thing for many is to know that they have someone’s undivided attention and to know that there are others who are dealing with the same problems that they are. I am a big believer in counseling groups, because they remind you that you are not alone in your problems; There are others that are

Depression takes a toll on 20-25% of U.S. citizens that are ages 18 and older (http://www.save.org/). Unfortunately, a lot of these citizens don’t know how to ask for help and ultimately end their lives. However, the AFSP wants to be the solution to not only preventing suicide from occurring, but also to helping those dealing with mental illness. On top of that, AFSP cares about those who have experienced a loss of a loved one from suicide and consistently helps them if needed. Have you ever known someone who continues to de-emphasize the severity of suicide and mental illness? Well, AFSP wants to be able to help those people too so they can recognize that suicide and mental illness is a legitimate problem. As you can see, we don’t have to live in a world where someone feels like taking their own life would solve all

In 2004 Congress enacted the Campus Suicide Prevention initiative which provides funds through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Center for Mental Health Services, to college campuses nationwide (Smulson, 2016). The Campus Suicide Prevention initiative supports program activities, mental health screening services, and prevention strategies to form a foundation for mental health promotion, suicide prevention, and substance abuse prevention (Smulson, 2016). While research shows that mental and behavioral health supports can improve student life and functioning, the program falls short in some areas.

Maine has many programs in place to help. There is a specific hotline to call for each county in Maine. If the general 1-800 number is called, it will be rerouted to the local center for the client. They are opened 24/7 with trained staff standing by. In Franklin County, Evergreen Behavioral Services, a part of the Franklin Community Health Network, is the center. Each one of these centers offer a phone intervention, support, face to face with professionals, and treatment recommendations in the most comfortable and safe environment possible to be given to the client. (“Maine Suicide Prevention Program”) All of these services are helpful, but reactive.

The American Foundation of Suicide Prevention is a non-profit organization acknowledges that suicide and mental health problems are part of our society and by understanding this we can better support those in need, and suicide affects a tremendous amount of people and proper education and treatment can prevent people from committing suicide. “Each year in the United States, suicide claims over 40,000 lives - more than war, murder, and natural disasters combined…Suicide is not just a faceless health issue for our society - it affects real people.” (1.) The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) which was founded in 1987, is one of the leaders in fighting against suicide by offers research, education to those in need, and supports those people and their families that are affected by suicide.

And of course if the situation is too advance that it attempts to the child well being, 911 or there are always local and national suicide hotlines, that can help people with suicide thoughts.

     The three main things you can do when you have an inkling or know someone is considering suicide are: talk, listen, and look for warning signs. Asking a person and having them talk about how they feel greatly reduces their feelings of isolation and distress, which in turn greatly reduces the immediate risk of suicide. Some issues may never be completely resolved by talking or counseling, but a good counselor should be able to help a person deal with those issues constructively, and teach them better coping skills/better methods of dealing with problems in the future. Just being there for someone in their time of need shows them that someone does care, and sometimes that can make the difference.

There are many organizations and resources that can help during a crisis. What is a crisis? The CYCL (California Youth Crisis Line) defines it as “anytime you feel misunderstood or over whelmed and are needing to talk to some one” this would include suicide, depression, or other health or social problems. So a teenager is never without options. Two organizations are the NCPL (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) and the CYCL. The NCPL is not just for suicide they help with any type of crisis. They provide a listening ear and connect you with medical treatment if necessary. The CYCL provides support, assistance, and encouragement to youths when they just need to talk to someone. Both the CYCL and the NCPL are open twenty-four hours a day seven