Suicide rates increasing

By Tanya Connor
The Catholic Free Press
“Are you thinking of killing yourself?”
If you suspect someone is suicidal, ask that question. Show you care.
Watch for risk factors. Solicit the help of other people, and, most of all, God.
This advice was given at a workshop called “Addressing Suicide and Self-Harm,” held last month at St. George Parish in Worcester.
The diocesan Office of Religious Education offered the workshop, which drew a couple dozen catechetical leaders from around the diocese.
Presenting the workshop was Father Stephen E. Lundrigan, pastor of Annunciation Parish in Gardner, who has a master’s in counseling psychology from Assumption College, and a master of religious education from Loyola University in New Orleans. Before becoming a priest, he helped troubled youth and adults in various programs and through a private counseling practice he opened.
Suicide rates, including adolescent suicide, are increasing, he said. He gave some statistics, one of which was that suicide is the third leading cause of adolescent death, after unintended injuries (which sometimes might be suicide attempts) and homicide.
A significant number of suicidal people do not have a known mental health condition, he said. Life events can also push people toward suicide.
The holiday season is not “the most wonderful time of the year” for some people. So suicide is still a risk at this time, according to Evelyn Hill, senior divisional director of The Jason Foundation Inc., a national non-profit organization that works to prevent youth suicide.
Assessment of the potential for suicide is best left to mental health professionals, Father Lundrigan said. But he and a workshop handout listed factors which suggest who might be at risk.
Demographic factors include gender, race, age and history: More at risk are males, caucasians and native Americans, persons aged 15-24 or over 65, and persons with a family history of suicide or a history of prior suicide attempts.
Personal factors, which can change and alter the risk level, include poor health, depression, impulsivity, rigid thinking, and lack of a religious tradition. (Catholics are less at risk than some other religious groups.)
Dynamic factors (current life events) include intoxication, stress, hopelessness, abuse, various types of loss and indirect statements about not being around anymore.
Acute factors, which indicate a potential immediate risk, include saying one is going to commit suicide, being able to vocalize a plan for doing so and having access to weapons.
The more of these factors are present, the more concerned those trying to help the suicidal person should be, Father Lundrigan said. And if things seem to be going well, that doesn’t mean they are, or that they can’t change quickly.
Ms. Hill said that if you or someone you know is in emotional distress, you can access resources (see box) 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for free help from a trained professional.
A behavior which often doesn’t progress to suicide, but can indicate a person is contemplating suicide, is cutting, Father Lundrigan said. Some people cut themselves for emotional release and/or to get attention.
Research doesn’t show that discussing suicide increases the risk of someone committing it, Father Lundrigan said. He told listeners they wouldn’t be presenting it as a great thing by raising the issue. Instead, addressing it might lead a troubled teenager to approach them privately later.
In a video he played, youth told adults to ask their children outright if they are considering suicide.
If they say, “No,” ask again, someone said.
Father Lundrigan said adults sometimes accept that “no” because it makes them feel better. But the teenager might be testing them to see if they care; sometimes teenagers are suicidal because they feel that no one cares.
“If you are genuine and they know you are genuine, your words are going to have an impact,” he said. “Assure them of your support,” saying things like, “I know you’re hurting.” Tell their parents and counselors and form a team of people prepared to help.
Suicidal people won’t always access supports, and outpatient treatment not covered by insurance is expensive, Father Lundrigan said. Getting them admitted to a psychiatric hospital is much harder than one might think; clinical criteria for admission involves hospital personnel judging that they pose an immediate threat. One factor for making that judgment is what the suicidal person says about his or her intentions.
Father Lundrigan said expanded access to mental health care and improved education about coping strategies are needed. The biggest tool is our faith, he said; “it’s God who’s going to do more than we can do.” Pray and “keep yourself open and God can use you as an instrument.”
Prevalent beliefs that people have the right to do what they want with their lives and that everybody goes to heaven can give people the idea that suicide is acceptable, even desirable, to escape pain and enter a happier life.
But, Father Lundrigan said, suicide is a grave sin which jeopardizes one’s eternal salvation. For a sin to be mortal it must be a grave matter and the person committing it must have an informed intellect (know it’s wrong) and full consent of the will (intend to do it). Sometimes suicidal persons lack the latter two; teenagers especially are impulsive and tend not to see all their options, he said.
Judgement is left to God, he said. But religious educators need to present church teaching and help students internalize it.
Workshop participants suggested starting this education when children are young, teaching them that God created and loves them.
Each person is made in God’s image and likeness, so life is sacred, Father Lundrigan said. Preserving one’s body and soul is obligatory. It is possible to lose your salvation if you commit suicide.
“It never occurred to me that my kid wouldn’t go to heaven,” that suicide could prevent that, a religious education coordinator told The Catholic Free Press. She said the workshop was personal as well as helpful for her ministry; her daughter had cut herself and attempted suicide. She said she was grateful her daughter didn’t succeed and that they talk about things now.
“If I had this kind of workshop sooner … I might have recognized things sooner,” she said. She expressed hope that others who attended will recognize signs of suicide potential more quickly.