[NYAPRS Enews] MTHR: One Teen Death By Suicide Is Too Many

[Harvey Rosenthal]

NYAPRS Note: The following comes from OMH News Editor Jill Daniels, who
writes that "the New York State Office of Mental Health has posted a
special edition of the OMH News: Teenage Suicide:  Prevention, Risk
Factors and Waning Signs
<http://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/resources/newsltr/2011/apr_special/>  (see
below).  Reprinted with permission of the Middletown Times
Herald-Record, the issue illustrates proactive suicide prevention
activities being taken by residents and communities in Orange County. As
stated by OMH Commissioner Hogan in his introduction to the special
edition
<http://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/resources/newsltr/2011/apr_special/> :
'Suicide is a leading, tragic and preventable cause of death....  We
hope this article informs and encourages you to take action.  Please
take a minute to read it, learn to recognize when someone needs help,
and know what steps we can all take to prevent the human tragedy of
suicide.' Please reach out and share this information with friends,
family members and neighbors.  For more information on preventing
suicide, please visit the OMH Suicide Prevention webpage
<http://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/suicide_prevention/> ."

 

Friends and colleagues:

Suicide is a leading, tragic, and preventable cause of death. More
Americans died from suicide last year than from auto accidents and from
murder.

In New York, although we have only begun to do what is necessary to save
lives, we have begun to take strong action. Thousands of people have
been trained in how to recognize and respond proactively to signs of
suicide. The OMH SPEAK initiative (Suicide Prevention Education and
Awareness Kits) informed people about the risks and about practical
steps that can be taken for safety and wellness. The nation's suicide
prevention hotline is operated by the Mental Health Association of New
York City at 1-800-273-TALK and many of the nation's best researchers on
suicide prevention are in New York, especially at the University of
Rochester and Columbia University.

Much more must be done and we are working on it. However, in this
special edition of OMH News, we share an outstanding article from the
Middletown Times Herald-Record about suicide prevention activities in
Orange County that illustrate the proactive steps being taken in that
community. We hope the article informs and encourages you to take
action. The Times Herald-Record has granted the Office of Mental Health
permission to reprint Ms. Swanwick's article for use in our suicide
prevention efforts. Please take a minute to read it, learn to recognize
when someone needs helps, and know what steps we all can take to prevent
the human tragedy of suicide.

OMH Commissioner Mike Hogan

 

One Teen Death By Suicide Is Too Many
Parents:  Watch For Symptoms Of Distress, Get Your Kids Treatment

by Kathy Swanwick  Middletown Times-Herald Record  March 23, 2011

 

Bullying by another girl at school was the catalyst that led an Orange
County high school sophomore to want to end her life, but the underlying
causes were much more complicated.

The girl, whose name is not being revealed to protect her anonymity, has
a psychiatric disorder. She is on medication, has an individualized
education program (IEP) at school, a therapist and a case manager. Both
of her parents are mental health professionals, so her condition is well
monitored.

And yet, no one - including her mother and father - had any idea of the
depth of the pain and distress caused by her illness until the
escalation of the trouble at school.

On a particularly upsetting day, the girl told the school nurse that she
was going home to take an overdose of her medication.

The school immediately called her family, who took her to a local
emergency department. From there, she was evaluated and admitted to a
mental health hospital that treats adolescents and teens. The girl
stayed in the hospital for several weeks and was able to open up with
staff about her despair.

"I was told she had wanted to die for quite a while," her mother said
recently. "She would have gone through with her plans. I had no clue
whatsoever that she was so sad and felt this way."

Her daughter is now "better, but not 100 percent," she said. "I have my
moments when I wonder. It's very scary to realize your child doesn't
want to be alive."

The family shared their story in hope of reaching out to other
adolescents and teens who might think that death by suicide is the only
way out of whatever pain or troubles they may be experiencing.

She said she thinks her child may not have truly comprehended the
finality of her plan.

"They're so young," she said. "I don't think they understand that. I
don't think she really thought it through, that she'd be dead. Dead."

It's a timely message for our area. In Orange County alone this year,
two Monroe-Woodbury high school students have died by suicide, within
days of each other. Another student in that district attempted suicide
around the same time.

Add to that the fact that death by suicide sometimes goes unreported as
the official cause of death, said Maria Idoni, director of the Hudson
Valley chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).

"It could be listed as a drug overdose, or a single-car accident," she
said, "but we don't know if it was intentional."

 

Teenagers facing challenges

Several mental health professionals recently weighed in to discuss this
topic and the community wide efforts under way to help prevent teen
suicide.

Today's youth face myriad challenges, acknowledged Chris Ashman,
commissioner of the Orange County Department of Mental Health.

Many return to empty homes after school as most parents work, especially
in these difficult economic times. There is relatively easy access to
drugs and alcohol, increased bullying in schools and abuse in some homes
and relationships. Add to that the isolation brought on by the overuse
of so much social media.

Even so, Ashman was careful to point out that these stressors will not
cause most kids to even consider death by suicide.

"The sky is not falling," he said. "Most kids are fine."

In fact, 90 percent of all people who die by suicide have a diagnosed
psychiatric disorder at the time of their death, according to the AFSP.

 

Third leading cause of death

But for American youths age 15-24, according to the organization, death
by suicide is the third leading cause of death.

"One teen death by suicide is too many," said Carol Chichester,
executive director of the Orange County Youth Bureau.

Nationally, 1 out of 14 high school students has had thoughts of
suicide, said Angela Turk, director of Children Services at the Orange
County Department of Mental Health.

"Every two hours and 15 minutes," she said, "someone under the age of 25
dies of suicide." Risk factors for death by suicide by youth, according
to the AFSP, include suicidal thoughts, psychiatric disorders
(depression, impulsive aggressive behavior, bipolar disorder and certain
anxiety disorders), drugs and/or alcohol abuse, and previous suicide
attempts.

The risk increases, according to the organization, with situational
stress and access to firearms. Compounding the problem, said Darcie
Miller, the Orange County Department of Mental Health's deputy
commissioner, is the fact that the underlying mental illness often
responsible for these deaths is still somewhat shrouded in shame and
embarrassment.

"Get kids treated for their symptoms," she advised parents. "It's OK to
acknowledge that you need some extra help."

Education on prevention is being spread, said Ashman, throughout local
communities, in schools, places of worship, on sports fields and youth
organizations - wherever kids "touch down."

"Do we know who they are?" he asked. "What are we doing to help them?"

 

Resources are essential

It is crucial, the professionals said, that adolescents and teens know
where to turn for help if they're in crisis.

One useful resource, called Text 4 Teens - funded by the Orange County
Youth Bureau and Orange County United Way - is run by the Mental Health
Association in Orange County Inc., which also offers a 24-hour crisis
hotline.

Two years ago, Anna Lemmerman, the association's community relations
manager, noticed that the hotline was not getting many calls from teens.
Texting, she realized, was the way to enable kids to reach out for help.

"Their principal means of communicating is through cell phones and
texting," she said. "We have to speak their language. We're equipped to
help these kids. Text our line and we'll point you in the right
direction."

The text line, which is manned by a local high school teacher, operates
on weekend evenings and nights, when, as Lemmerman said, "a lot of
things go down."

The teens may be at a party where there's a lot of drinking or bullying.
They may be home alone. Or they may have just broken up with a boyfriend
or girlfriend or suffered a sexual assault. They may just have the
anxiety that Sunday night brings for some kids, worried about returning
to school the next day.

"They want to understand that someone understands them," said Lemmerman.
"And that they're not alone. We hear you. We are not here to judge. Just
talk to us."

Peer-to-peer groups, Ashman noted, can also be effective.

Safe School Ambassadors, for example, is a nationwide program that
teaches kids skills on how to de-escalate problems within school groups
before they spiral out of control. It's in place in several local
schools.

But anyone in contact with youth can help, Ashman stressed.

"They don't have to be an interventionist," he said. "It could be the
ladies in the cafeteria, or the bus driver. That's the message we're
trying to get across: Who can see the changes in children?"

"We have to not close our eyes when we see someone in distress," said
Turk.

 

Don't romanticize deaths

The experts also said it is important not to romanticize these deaths.
Even well-intentioned gestures, such as creating memorials to the
deceased, are harmful, as a youth at risk of suicide might think he or
she would like to be remembered this way. And a number of suicide
prevention websites ask the media not to focus on the details of a
particular death by suicide, or the family's angst, to discourage the
possibility of "contagion" or copycat deaths by suicide.

Awareness even extends to having "relevant and real" information
available when teens see a production of Shakespeare's "Romeo and
Juliet," said Miller.

The professionals talked about the importance of building 40 "internal
and external assets" to protect kids. Some of these include self-esteem,
courtesy, community service, setting boundaries, constructive use of
time and being a positive role model.

The experts also urged peers to tell a responsible adult if they feel
their friend might be in danger of harming himself.

"We believe that suicide is preventable," said Ashman. "But you have to
have an active plan."

Months after her crisis, the high school sophomore's mother tries not to
hover, but certainly takes notice when the girl seems sadder or moodier.
And she prays, a lot.

"I'm just so thankful she said something," she said.

"When people are reaching out, they want help," said Lemmerman. "There's
always hope. You are not alone."

 

Risk Factors

According to experts, teens are more likely to consider death by suicide
if they have some of these factors:

*	Previous suicide attempt or gesture.
*	Family history of suicidal behavior.
*	Feelings of hopelessness or isolation.
*	Psychiatric disorders or mental illness.
*	Substance use or abuse.
*	Life stressors such as interpersonal losses, and legal or
disciplinary problems.
*	Physical abuse.
*	Sexual abuse.
*	Sexual orientation (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered,
questioning).
*	Juvenile delinquency.
*	School or work problems.
*	Contagion or imitation (the suicide of a friend or exposure to
media reports of suicide).
*	Chronic physical illness.
*	Living in isolation.
*	Access to lethal means such as firearms or medication.
*	Impulsive behaviors.
*	Homelessness.

Some youths in minority or marginalized groups have an increased risk of
suicide.

Source: Centre for Suicide Prevention

 

Teen Suicide Warning Signs

Although some do not, most suicidal teens will show signs that they are
in distress. Your child or friend may be at risk if they:

*	Talk about suicide or a plan for suicide.
*	Say things like, "I'm going to kill myself," "I wish I were
dead," "I shouldn't have been born," "I won't be a problem for you much
longer," "Nothing matters," or "It's no use."
*	Make statements about hopelessness, helplessness or
worthlessness.
*	Complain of being a bad person or feeling "rotten inside,"
refuse help or feel beyond help; do not tolerate praise or rewards.
*	Give away favorite possessions or make a will.
*	Are preoccupied with death.
*	Show a loss of interest in pleasurable activities or things they
used to care about; always feel bored.
*	Show marked personality changes and serious mood changes, and
withdraw from family and friends.
*	Have trouble concentrating or increased difficulties with
schoolwork.
*	Complain frequently about physical symptoms often related to
emotions, such as stomachaches, headaches or fatigue.
*	Display a change in their eating and sleeping habits.
*	Show impulsive behaviors, such as violent actions, rebellious
behavior or running away.
*	Become suddenly cheerful after a period of depression - which
may mean the teen has already made the decision to escape their problems
through suicide.

Experts advise that you trust your instincts about your child's or
friend's behavior. Seek the advice and aid of family, friends, clergy,
teachers, counselors, doctors, crisis lines, mental health services or
hospital emergency departments.

Source: Centre for Suicide Prevention

 

Help Is Available

If you (or someone you know) are feeling depressed, hopeless, sad,
lonely, or considering death by suicide, help is available:

*	Call 911 if you are in imminent danger.
*	National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-TALK (bilingual)
*	Helpline: (800) 832-1200. A 24/7 hotline offered by the Mental
Health Association in Orange County Inc. that offers crisis
intervention, information, emotional support and referrals. Use (845)
346-HELP if calling from outside Orange County.
*	Adolescent Suicide/Crisis: (800) 621-4000
*	Text 4 Teens: (845) 391-1000; available Fri., Sat., and Sun.
from 5 p.m. to midnight
*	800-SUICIDE (784-2433)
*	Dial 211: A free, confidential, multilingual, health and human
services information and referral telephone service that covers seven
local counties.

Access more information about preventing death from suicide at:

*	American Foundation for Suicide Prevention:www.afsp.org
<http://www.afsp.org/>   . Contact the Hudson Valley chapter at (914)
417-7993.
*	Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:www.cdc.gov
<http://www.cdc.gov/>  
*	American Association of Suicidology:
http://www.suicidology.org/web/guest/home 
*	National Institute of Mental Health: (301) 443-4513; 
www.nimh.nih.gov <http://www.nimh.nih.gov/>  
*	Office of the Surgeon General, National Strategy for Suicide
Prevention:www.mentalhealth.org/suicideprevention 

 

Reprinted with permission of the Middletown Times Herald-Record.

 

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