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Hello Friends.
Perhaps the most difficult of all topics to discuss with regard to mental illness is suicide and yet, it is definately a topic that needs to be discussed. Suicide is so commonplace in our society that we have become complacent. The statistics are staggering and yet we treat suicide as something that only happens to someone else.
We think it couldn't happen to us or someone in our family. Well, there are many people who are involved with suicide prevention programs and that is because there are many people left behind who now understand that suicide can happen to anyone. Here is a story about a life lost,some lives being saved and the people who know both sides of the the story.
By GERI NIKOLAI, Rockford Register Star
>> Click here for more about Geri
Police officers, coroners, chaplains, EMTs — all can tell wrenching stories of dealing with suicide victims.
Sally Cantwell of Rockford has experienced it even more painfully. Her son, Michael, took his own life on Valentine’s Day 2004. He was 30 and had been fighting drug addiction for 10 years.
Sally and her husband, Ray, got a call from police at 4:45 that morning: Come to your son’s home right away.
When they arrived and learned that Michael had hung himself, Sally screamed and slumped to the ground.
“You go numb, it’s such a shock,” she said.
To Ray, it “hurt so bad it was almost physical.”
Dozens of Rock River Valley families feel that pain each year. In 2005, there have been 26 suicides in Winnebago County. Over the past 12 years, the county has recorded 20 to 39 suicides each year. In Boone County, the numbers have ranged from zero to five; in Ogle, three to 10.
Families of suicide victims will meet Saturday at SwedishAmerican Hospital in Rockford to take comfort from one another in the Survivors of Suicide Day of Conferences. Around the nation, more than 30 similar gatherings will take place, including a national telecast and local panels to shed light on the problem, help families and answer questions.
Nationally, about 30,000 suicides are reported each year. Experts say the real number is higher because sometimes no one knows whether the death is accidental or intentional, and some cases are unreported because of family pressure.
The local numbers reflect these national trends:
Males are four times more likely to kill themselves than females.
Females are three times more likely to attempt suicide than men.
Whites are more likely to commit suicide than other races.
The national rate of suicide among youth has declined slowly in the past 12 years, but it remains the third or fourth leading cause of death among males and females ages 15 to 30.
Suicide rates increase with age and are highest for people 65 and older.
The most common method suicide for men is a gun; for women, poison.
Local deaths ‘alarming’
As facilitator for the local Ray of Hope suicide survivors group, Karon Pfile gets a report on suicides from the Winnebago County coroner’s office every six months. The reports this year, with 26 suicides as of Nov. 15, are “alarming,” Pfile said.
“Nationally, elderly suicide is on the rise, but here, it’s more young people, from their late teens on up,” she said.
Pfile puts some of the blame on the disease of depression and the way society views it.
“Clinical depression is a mental health need with a known physiological cause as much as diabetes,” Pfile said. But insurers don’t see it that way. Many don’t cover mental health to nearly the extent they cover physical health.
Depression, bi-polar disorders, drug/alcohol abuse and psychosocial stresses like isolation all contribute to the approximately 30,000 suicides reported in the U.S. every year, said Dr. Raymond Garcia, a psychiatrist at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford and medical director of Singer Mental Health Center.
Garcia believes suicide is on the rise, partly because in today’s mobile society, some people lose their social support system. That’s especially true of older folks.
“Telecommunications is a double-edged sword,” Garcia said. “It separates us from one-on-one contact.”
The depression that leads to suicide is a feeling not understood by most people who have not experienced it, said Dr. Charles Smith of Rockford, a retired internist whose 28-year-old daughter, Carrie, took her life three years ago.
Carrie showed signs of depression in high school and college, but her parents didn’t suspect a serious problem. That surfaced years later, seemingly out of the blue.
Carrie, a college grad, lived in Chicago, where she was doing research on Parkinson’s disease at the University of Illinois. She was, said her dad, “a stunning woman and so personable I admired her social skills.”
One reason the Smiths had not worried about Carrie during her teen bouts of minor depression was because of how well she took care of herself. That continued into adulthood. Carrie, in fact, ran 26-mile marathons, including one in Ireland she dedicated to her mother because it was a fundraiser for arthritis, which Bobbi Smith has.
But late in 2001, depression hit hard.
“All of a sudden she was so sick,” Charles said.
Carrie withdrew from family and friends. She sought help, got medicine and treatment. It was an uphill battle, but by spring, Carrie seemed improved.
“We now know this is a common experience,” her father said. “She got better, had a burst of energy. Three days later, she took her life.”
Reaching out
That was May 7, 2002. Charles and Bobbi Smith have dedicated their lives since then to preventing suicides. Among their efforts are eight support groups for people with depression or bi-polar disorder that meet weekly in Rockford, Belvidere, Oregon and Freeport.
The groups are vital, said Charles Smith, because most of us are woefully inadequate at understanding the pain of someone with clinical depression.
“As a doctor, I knew the clinical stuff,” he said, “but as to the personal side of depression, I had no idea.”
He has learned that being depressed is like being in a “black hole and believing there is no way out. And they feel ashamed because they can’t get past it.”
Even when they approach medical professionals for help, some patients with depression feel they are bothering caregivers who have more important medical cases to tend, Smith said. The depressed or suicidal patient gets the “oh, it’s you again” treatment.
That’s why Smith started the local meetings, which he calls Group Hope.
“These patients are so sick of feeling isolated. Here is a place they can talk safely with others who understand,” he said. “They talk about suicidal thinking, things they won’t tell their doctor or family, and they help and encourage each other.”
Families who lose someone to suicide go through many emotions, including grief, guilt and anger. The pain seems unbearable.
“They say nothing is more painful than to lose a child to suicide,” said Dr. Smith. But there is a worse pain, he believes — the pain Carrie and those like her felt as they sunk into a depression so deep that death seemed the only way out.
The role of drugs
The Cantwells know their son, Michael, took his own life. But drugs were the real killer, they believe.
Michael, said his mother, Sally, was a most unlikely candidate for suicide.
“If God handed you an order form and said order a baby boy, he was what you would have ordered,” she said. “He was a perfect kid growing up. He never had a mental or emotional illness until he got into drugs.”
He was the kind of kid who, while vacationing in London, noticed a market vendor who was making no sales. Michael took the money he’d saved for souvenirs and bought two velvet wall hangings.
After graduating from Rockford Lutheran in 1991, Michael did his first two years of college at DePaul in Chicago and Rockford College here. Then he transferred to Northern Illinois University, where his parents discovered his drug use.
They pulled him out for a semester, and he seemed to be over it. But back at school, the problem rose up again.
That became the pattern for Michael for 10 years. He managed to graduate from NIU and land a job. Then he'd lose it.
The cycle continued. During his sober, employed stints, he seemed fine, enjoying family, friends and pets and, occasionally, baking “monster” cookies for his niece and nephew.
Michael wanted to get off drugs. He asked his parents for help. He tried several programs. Sally recalls sitting on a park bench with a sobbing Michael one afternoon when he told her:
“I can’t expect you to understand this. I don’t understand it myself. But I can tell you one thing. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”
In late 2003, the Cantwells could tell their son was slipping. He was seeing a psychiatrist and taking medication, but his mood was dark.
If they hadn’t lived it, the Cantwells might still believe that drug addiction and suicide don’t occur in families like theirs: a middle class, Christian, two-parent home.
Now, Sally is on a mission to make sure Michael’s death makes a difference. She talks to groups about Michael’s charm, potential and fall to addiction.
“See these baby shoes,” she said. “I expected his feet to learn to walk in these, and someday to walk in a graduation ceremony ... and maybe down a hospital corridor to see his own baby.
“I didn’t expect these feet to take him up a sidewalk to a crack house.”
You can help
Suicide can be prevented, experts say. It will take a change of attitude in society, the acceptance of the view mental illness is not shameful and that no one is immune.
“It can happen to anyone,” said Garcia. “The majority of us have some type of mental illness.”
Because isolation can lead to depression, Smith encourages church groups and others to take note of people who are alone much of the time and involve them in personal contact activities.
Experts say to watch for signs of serious depression and get help if the person is a minor or urge the adult to seek help. Some people who would resist going to a counselor or psychiatrist might be willing to talk to their family doctor, suggested Smith.
If you have a friend or family member who is suffering depression, don’t discount the sadness they feel, Smith said. If you simply urge them to cheer up, you’re not helping. In fact, they may feel like you’re judging them and finding them a failure because they can’t shake off the blues.
You can validate the person’s feelings by saying “I am so sorry you experience that” or “I can’t imagine what it’s like.”
If you worry someone is suicidal, don’t avoid the subject, said both doctors.
“It’s a common misperception that if you bring it up, you give them the idea,” said Garcia. “But that’s not the case. If that’s part of their plan, it’s already in their mind.”
Be especially concerned if you notice behavioral changes like withdrawal from society; giving away possessions; and, in some way, saying goodbye, Garcia said.
“Definitely talk to that person and let them know help is available,” he said.
Bringing the topic into the open, added Smith, immediately provides some small relief.
“These people are so sick,” he said, “they need every ounce of support we can give them.”
Contact: gnikolai@rrstar.com; 815-987-1337
Where to call for help
CONTACT, 24-hour hot line: 815-636-5001
National Suicide Prevention Hot line: 800-273-TALK (8255); calls go to Janet Wattles Center emergency services
Wattles weekday hot line: 815-720-5028
Wattles after hours/weekend hot line: 815-968-9300
Ray of Hope suicide survivors group: 815-636-4750
Your family doctor or hospital
Mental Health Association of Rock River Valley: 815-226-4770
Information about support groups for people with depression or bipolar disorder: 815-398-9628
Information about presentation on drug abuse/suicide from mother of victim: 815-229-1707
National Hopeline Network: 800-SUICIDE
Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance: 800-826-3632
Risk factors
Previous suicide attempt
History of mental disorders, especially depression
History of alcohol and substance abuse
Family history of suicide
Family history of child maltreatment
Feelings of hopelessness
Impulsive or aggressive tendencies
Barriers to getting mental health treatment
Loss (relational, social, work, financial)
Easy access to lethal methods
Unwillingness to seek help because of the stigma attached to mental health problems
Local epidemics of suicide
Isolation or a feeling of being cut off from people
Source: CDC
On the Web
Suicide Awareness Voices of Education: www.save.org
National Strategy for Suicide Prevention: www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/suicideprevention
American Association of Suicidology: www.suicidology.org
National Institute of Mental Health: www.nimh.nih.gov
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control: www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/suifacts.htm
Trends
Males are four times more likely to die from suicide than females.
Women report attempting suicide during their lifetimes three times as often as men.
White suicide rates are more than twice as high as nonwhites.
In 2002, 132,353 people were hospitalized after suicide attempts
A suicide death happens once every 16.6 minutes in the U.S.
It is the 11th ranking cause of death for all Americans; eighth for men; third for young people.
Youth suicide rates increased more than 200 percent from the 1950s to the late 1970s. From the late ’70s to mid-1990s, rates remained stable and, more recently, have slightly declined.
Diagnosis groups at particular risk include depression, schizophrenia, drug dependency and adolescent conduct disorders.
The risk of suicide rises to more than 50 percent in clinically depressed individuals.
60 percent of suicides were by people with depression.
The risk of suicide in alcoholics is up to 70 percent higher.
There are 790,000 attempts in the U.S. each year and about 30,000 reported suicides.
There are 5 million living Americans who have attempted suicide.
There are 25 attempts for every death by suicide; the ratio is 100-200:1 for the young and 4:1 for the elderly.
Suicide rates are highest in the Mountain states.
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control
National numbers
U.S. suicide data from 2002, the most recent year for which statistics are available:
Overall:
Total deaths: 31,655 (86.7 per day)
Males: 25,409
Females: 6,246
Whites: 28,731
Nonwhites: 2,924
Ages 15 to 24: 4,010
Ages 65 or older: 5,548
Methods
Firearms: 54 percent
Suffocation/hanging: 20 percent
Poisoning: 17 percent
Falls: 2.3 percent
Cut/pierce: 1.8 percent
Drowning: 1.2 percent
Fire/flame: .5 percent
Age rates per 100,000 population:
Ages 5 to 14: .6
Ages 15 to 24: 9.9
Ages 25 to 34: 12.6
Ages 35 to 44: 15.3
Ages 45 to 54: 15.7
Ages 55 to 64: 13.6
Ages 65 to 74: 13.5
Ages 75 to 84: 17.7
Ages 85+: 18
Source: American Association of Suicidology
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