{"id":33811,"date":"2021-09-29T09:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T13:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/?p=33811"},"modified":"2021-09-29T09:34:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-29T13:34:02","slug":"know-the-warning-signs-of-suicide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/know-the-warning-signs-of-suicide\/","title":{"rendered":"Know the warning signs of suicide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By: Jennifer Dempsey, Prevention Specialist, PASS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

September is National Suicide Awareness Month. In 2018, 1,836 Ohioans died by suicide and in 2019 suicide was the second leading cause of death in Ohio residents aged 10-34. These statistics prove how important it is to be educated about the characteristics and warning signs of suicide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So many people are reached by the hands of suicide, but yet it\u2019s not something we talk about with each other very much. Even though we have made progress with reducing the stigma of mental health, we still have a long way to go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 People who die by suicide don\u2019t really want to die, but they feel like they can\u2019t handle whatever is going on in their lives. It\u2019s important to know the warning signs of suicide and to be willing to have those tough conversations with our friends and family members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When someone dies by suicide, most people around them are in shock because they didn\u2019t realize the person was feeling that way. While some people are very good at hiding their emotions, chances are they did show signs of being at risk for suicide and those around them didn\u2019t realize it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Characteristics that make it more likely for someone to consider or attempt suicide are called risk factors. Not everyone who encounters situations like this are at risk, but it is always something to be aware of. Some risk factors associated with suicide include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Substance use disorders or alcohol use<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Feelings of hopelessness or helplessness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 History of abuse or trauma<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Previous suicide attempts<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Loss of employment or financial loss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Loss of relationships<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Access to lethal means (firearms or prescription medications)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Impulsive or aggressive tendencies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Inability to ask for mental health help due to stigma or beliefs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Major physical illness or injury<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Lack of access to mental health or substance abuse care<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Loss of someone close to them<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These characteristics can affect how someone behaves and they can show warning signs of suicide. Especially be on the lookout if these behaviors are new, have increased in severity or are linked to a characteristic mentioned previously. Warning signs include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Talking about wanting to hurt themselves or wanting to die<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Trying to access lethal means such as purchasing a firearm<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Talking about having no reason to live or feeling hopeless<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Increased use of alcohol or drugs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Changing of sleeping patterns; sleeping more or less than normal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Engaging in reckless behavior<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Acting anxious or agitated<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Withdrawing from friends and family<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Giving away prized possessions<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Not doing activities they previously enjoyed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Inability to concentrate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Change in eating habits: weight gain or weight loss<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Sudden improvement after a period of sadness<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you notice any of these characteristics or warnings, it\u2019s important to have a conversation with the person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, show that you care about the person. Tell them that you have noticed changes in their behavior and that you are worried about their wellbeing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Secondly, ask them about suicide. It\u2019s important to be direct when you ask. Ask them, \u201cAre you thinking about killing yourself?\u201d or \u201cAre you thinking about suicide?\u201d I know that it\u2019s very hard to ask questions like that, but it\u2019s very important to get straight to the point. Before you have this conversation with someone, you can practice saying the question out loud to make it easier to say. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, assist the person in getting help if they express thoughts of suicide. Stay with them until they find a professional to talk with. Ask them if it\u2019s alright if you sit with them while they talk with someone on the phone or offer to drive them to a hospital or clinic that can help. After the crisis, please remember to follow up with them to see how things are going and to offer further support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great resource to direct someone to is the 24-hour crisis line. Anyone who is struggling can call 1-800-456-HOPE (4673) and someone will be able to help them. They can also text 4HOPE to 741-741 and be connected with resources. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to look out for those around us. So many people struggle with mental health issues or are down-trodden from life, but they put on a happy face for the world to see. It\u2019s okay to need help and it\u2019s okay to ask for help. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you see characteristics or warning signs of suicide in someone, please talk with them and assist them with getting the help they need. Suicide is preventable if people are aware of others around them and are willing to have those tough conversations with them. Every life matters and is valuable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By: Jennifer Dempsey, Prevention Specialist, PASS September is National Suicide Awareness Month. In 2018, 1,836 Ohioans died by suicide and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":33812,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","nf_dc_page":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2301,499],"tags":[13184,12,2768],"class_list":["post-33811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-news","category-health","tag-jennifer-dempsey","tag-ohio","tag-suicide"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Crisis-Text-Line.jpg?fit=318%2C308&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2YQd9-8Nl","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-27 01:48:46","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33811"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33811\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.westbendnews.net\/autonews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}