The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) reports that, in the United States alone, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death.
Someone, somewhere across the nation takes his or her own life every 12 minutes. Furthermore, and perhaps even more alarming, the AFSP also indicates that, for every suicide that occurs, 25 more people have attempted to take their lives, a majority of which go unreported.
It is these types of statistics that make National Suicide Prevention Week—which is September 5th through the 11th in 2016—a great time for healthcare professionals to not only realize the prevalence of suicide in our society, but also to learn the signs of someone who is thinking of taking that route, potentially preventing a patient from ending their way too soon.
Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE) shares on its website that additional behaviors indicative of someone thinking of ending his or her life include: appearing anxious or agitated, increased use of drugs or alcohol, severe mood swings, and displaying rage or talking about revenge.
However, someone who is “suddenly happier, calmer” may be thinking of suicide too, according to SAVE. And someone who is taking steps to get affairs in order or say their final goodbyes is a warning sign as well.
To find out for sure if this applies to you, she suggests checking your individual state’s licensing requirements to determine whether you’re required to take this step.
“An earlier option may be to make a written safety contract including a commitment to not act on any plan and who they should call in event of emergency if they cannot uphold this commitment like 911 or a crisis safety number,” says Krawiec.
One to consider providing your clients is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline which can be reached by calling 800-273-TALK (8255).
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