Symposium teaches prevention of youth suicide
Published Thursday, April 24, 2008
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Stumble It!In 2005, 16.5 percent of high school students reported they had seriously considered attempting suicide in the previous year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To help educators and the community help young people in Fairbanks, the school district’s Office of Safe and Drug Free Schools is presenting a symposium about three serious problems in society. The symposium started Tuesday with a program about suicide prevention and a community forum. It continues today with programs about youth gang awareness and domestic violence.
Montean R. Jackson, safe and drug free schools coordinator, said the symposium was made possible with the assistance of the military, who brought the three guest speakers to address these same issues on base.
“The symposium is to begin the dialogue about these issues in the community,” Jackson said.
One of the experts at the symposium is Matthew Dovel, president of International Suicide Prevention, a nonprofit organization that helps educate about suicide and provides support for post-suicide families.
“It’s a community issue,” Dovel said. “It has to be addressed on an individual level.”
According to the CDC, suicide is the third-leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds. In the same age group, suicide accounts for 12.9 percent of deaths annually.
Dovel said the top two reasons why people commit suicide is the loss of a job and the loss of a relationship. Trama, other loss and depression are also other popular reasons for suicide. He advocates paying attention to friends and family’s lives and situations as 75 percent of suicides give some sign of warning.
Thinking positively is another thing Dovel promotes. He teaches positive thinking that extends beyond thinking about good things daily, imploring young people that their current situation does not determine their future.
“The things we focus on determine your life,” Dovel said.
Contact staff writer Christi Hang at 459-7590.
Community Discussion
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"Trama, other loss and depression..."
I think you mean "Trauma".
Does anybody else have the feeling that suicide is not the problem itself, but a symptom of a problem? and that "suicide prevention", while well intentioned, is only skirting the larger concerns? (I realize that, to parents who have lost a child to suicide, its prevention may feel very much like the central concern.)
I'd be interested in people's ideas of what needs young people have that aren't being met, such that suicide seems like a good option. That is, what *positive* things can we work for?
My first thoughts are (1) a strong sense of community, belonging, and mutual obligation; (2) meaningful, non-arbitrary work; and (3) responsibility for others' welfare.
Other thoughts?
The needs that aren't being met are ways to cope with these traumas involved, ie, loss of job, relationships, that are the main causes for suicides. Young people who consider suicide are more than likely alone, with no one to talk to or confide in, and have had very few strong relationships. Especially with depression, it's hard to connect with anybody. That's my guess on the situation. If we told young people/teens the community cared, and had people in the schools available and open to them to talk with, maybe that would be a step in the right direction.
Paul Adasiak - I agree, suicide a symptom of a deeper problem.
1. Bullying and discrimination.
2. Family problems, such as emotionally distant parents, poverty, loss of a parent or sibling, etc.
3. Unsupportive teachers and school administration.
4. Drugs and alcohol.
5. Depression and other mental health issues.
Just like a severe infection-induced fever, we need to deal with the symptom at the same time we are identifying and treating the underlying problem(s).
The stigma associated with mental health treatment often prevents a person from seeking treatment. Unfortunately, when people think about mental health, they think about the unconventional and antisocial behavior that, like suicide, are symptoms of the illness, rather than the illness itself. If a person suffering from mental illness gets adequate treatment, the symptoms are almost always driven into remission.
Many types of mental illness are chemical imbalances within a person's body, just as diabetes is the result of an insulin imbalance. As such, mental illness can be treated through dietary adjustments, lifestyle changes, and medication. However, like diabetes, successful treatment of mental illnesses usually requires guidance and monitoring by medical professionals. There are steps an individual can take to keep oneself mentally healthy but self-treatment of mental illness is rarely effective without expert assistance. Most importantly, ignoring the problem almost always leads to a worsening condition, just as with diabetes.
Paul, UAF Grad, & Griff!
Thank you for recognizing that suicide is not about the precipitating event. The following is information provided by the Alaska Suicide Prevention Council in its Statewide Suicide Prevention Plan.
http://www.hss.state.ak.us/suicidepreven...
Most often people who die by suicide are suffering from intense psychological pain from which they see no other way to escape. There is no one cause of suicide, no one cause of psychological pain, and thus no easy answer to the “why” question.
We do know that there are certain factors that make a person more vulnerable or less vulnerable to suicide and other risk behaviors:
PREDISPOSING FACTORS. These are things a person is born with, like temperament or genetic make-up, or born into, like family history or cultural group. These “givens” can make a person more or less vulnerable. For instance, some people are born with an easy going temperament. They can meet life’s problems with a smile and keep on
going. They are less vulnerable to psychological pain.
PRECIPITATING FACTORS. These are events that in a vulnerable person serve as the last straw. Most often they are associated with a loss of some kind, a death, the end of a relationship, loss of status or self-esteem. Sometimes people see these as the cause of a suicide, but there is never one cause, just the last in a string of factors that have created pain and vulnerability from which there seems no other escape.
ASSETS:
People who have a lot of protective factors (sometimes called ASSETS) tend to be able to be resilient, survive and bounce back from loss. Preventing suicide is related to building resiliency and competency and to treating mental disorders.
While the complexity of the factors that contribute to suicide can make suicide prevention seem very difficult, contributing factors are also all entry points to prevention. Further, they are all interrelated so that you don’t have to address every factor. If you address one, for instance poor problem solving skills, you also impact others. Teach a person good problem solving skills and you are also likely to raise his self esteem, increase ability to make good choices and you will probably reduce misuse of substances.
(more to follow)
RESILIENCE
Resilience is something that, ideally, we learn in our youth. There are a number of things that, as communities, we can do to contribute to this "resilience" today, to prevent suicide, substance abuse and other risk behavior, tomorrow:
SUPPORT:
* Family Support - Family life provides high levels of love and support.
* Other adult relationships - Youth receives support from several non-parent adults.
EMPOWERMENT:
* Community values youth
* Youth given useful roles
* Safety - Youth feels safe in home, school, and neighborhood.
BOUNDARIES AND EXPECTATIONS:
* Family boundaries - Family is clear about rules and consequences for youth.
* School boundaries - School provides clear rules and consequences.
* Neighborhood boundaries - Neighbors take responsibility for monitoring youth.
CONSTRUCTIVE USE OF TIME:
* Creative and cultural activities - Youth is involved in 3 or more hours per week in creative or cultural activities.
* Youth programs - Youth spends 1 or more hours each week in sports, clubs, religious, or other school or community organizations.
COMMITMENT TO LEARNING:
* Achievement motivation
* School engagement
* Homework
POSITIVE VALUES:
* Caring - Youth places high value on freely helping other people.
* Equality and social justice - Youth places high value on promoting equality & reducing hunger & poverty.
* Integrity - Youth acts on convictions and stands up for beliefs.
* Honesty
* Responsibility
SOCIAL SKILLS:
* Planning and decision-making - Youth has skills to plan ahead and make responsible choices.
* Interpersonal skills - Youth has empathy, sensitivity, communication and friendship skills.
* Cultural competence - Youth knows and is comfortable with people of different cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.
* Resistance skills - Youth can resist negative peer pressure.
* Peaceful conflict resolution - Youth seeks to resolve conflict without resorting to violence.
The Suicide Prevention Council http://www.hss.state.ak.us/suicidepreven...
and the Alaska Division of Behavioral Health http://www.hss.state.ak.us/dbh/ have outstanding resources on their websites, as well as engaging speakers and trainers.
Careline Crisis Intervention is Alaska's Statewide crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline. Careline is available 24/7 for those who are experiencing crisis, thoughts of suicide, isolation, mental illness, depression or addiction, or for those who are worried about someone else.
Careline can be reached in Fairbanks at 452-4357, statewide at 877-266-4357 or on the internet at myspace.com/Careline_Alaska.
what is wrong with suicide?
it's a free country isn't it?
Need to clarify that the information above, through ASSETS is excerpted from the Suicide Prevention Council. The information about resilience is adapted from the Search Institute, www.search-institute.org and the Association of Alaska School Boards 907 586.1083, www.alaskaice.org.
Don't want anyone to assume that we're the brainchild of all of this good information; we just strongly believe in the information and are happy to share it with our community.
Justasking-
People who have lost someone they love to suicide are certainly more qualified than I to answer this question.
When we look at the impact of suicide on our community, we see a tremendous loss. Not only the loss of purpose and contribution of the person who died, but the legacy they would have left that is now lost. Many great people have experienced mental illness, addiction and depression, and have chosen to live. Among them are Abraham Lincoln, Alanis Morrisette, Buzz Aldrin, Winston Churchill, Sting, Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow, and Eric Clapton.
With help, things get better.
I wanted to add a couple of additional factors that may be precursors to suicide attempts that weren't mentioned by other respondents.
Intimate partner violence and/or living in a home that has domestic violence present may be a root component of depression, isolation, and other exacerbating issues that impact suicidal thoughts. With 1 in 4 teens reporting personal experience with partner abuse before the age of 24, I would say this is a social issues that needs to be discussed while collaborating on ways to address suicide.
Suicide is also often a consequence of unaddressed sexual violence. Again, with 1 in 4 girls and women and 1 in 6 boys and men experiencing sexual violence in their life time, focusing on collaborative community efforts in preventative work, modeling healthy relationship models, and creating safe space for people to disclose trauma may in turn address some issues around suicide as well.
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