September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and in an effort to bring awareness to mental health and offer tools to prevent suicide, the Howell County Suicide Prevention Network and Community Partnership of the Ozarks (CPO) recently came together to sponsor an event to that end.
Organizations on hand to offer information and support during the event held Sept. 6 at the West Plains Civic Center included the Howell County Sheriff's Office and West Plains Pride.
Some of the information focused on suicide by youth and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and the higher incidence of death when suicide is attempted with a firearm compared to other methods. According to statistics provided by CPO and researched by organizations that collect such data, for example, nationally, over 60% of all firearm deaths are suicides, and about half of all suicides are completed with the use of a firearm. Those numbers were provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and is a compilation of data collected regarding all causes of death, including disease.
In 1981, the CDC reports, suicide was the fifth leading cause of death for Americans ages 1 through 44, behind unintentional injury at number one, followed by malignant cancer, homicide and heart disease. Suicide dropped to the sixth leading cause of death in 1991, as deaths from HIV peaked, but in 1997 was the fourth behind injury, cancer and heart disease as HIV deaths began to decline.
Suicide remained fourth until 2008, when it overtook heart disease as a leading cause of death and entered the top three, according to the CDC, and in 2012 rose to second, more than cancer and less than injury.
Since then, it has remained second, behind injury, through 2022 when the latest data was entered into the study.
For some perspective, reported deaths from COVID entered the top 10 causes in 2020 at sixth, peaked at third behind suicide in 2021 with nearly the same numbers, but dropped to seventh in 2022. In 2022, about 23,400 deaths in that age group were the result of suicide, according to the CDC.
Part of suicide prevention is identifying statistically vulnerable populations and access to the methods used to complete suicide. According to information provided to CPO by the Missouri Institute of Mental Health (MIMH), it is the second leading cause of death for Missourians ages 18 through 44, third for youth ages 10 through 17, and the 10th leading cause of death overall.
The MIMH also notes 57% of Missouri suicides involved firearms, and 90% of attempts using firearms result in death, compared to 66% of attempts by asphyxiation and 3% to 4% of attempts by overdose.
According to the latest Missouri Student Survey, conducted among students in the sixth through twelfth grades by the Missouri Department of Mental Health (DMH), 15% of Howell County students reported seriously considering suicide in the past year, down from about 18% in 2022. However, Howell County students reportedly had a slightly higher rate of attempting suicide, compared to other Missouri students taking the same survey, at 6% versus 5.5%; even so, the number is a reduction from the 9.3% reported in 2022.
The number of students who reported planning suicide in the past year is also down from the previous year, at 9.6% in the latest survey, compared to 14.4% in 2022. The results were based on the responses of about 430 students, according to the DMH.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) reports suicidal thoughts occur to about 20% of high school students and about 11% of young adults between 18 and 25 years old have had such thoughts.
Although about 1 in 10 young adults has had serious thoughts of suicide, NAMI points out the suicide rate of 1 in 10,000 shows a gap between suicidal thoughts and carrying it out, suggesting there are about 1,000 chances for intervention before the act is carried out.
Suicide rates are also higher within racial minorities like indigenous communities and are growing within the Black community particularly among its youth. Adolescents who are members of the LGBTQIA+ population (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and plus), are at higher risk as well, but NAMI says in states that have passed laws supporting same-sex marriage, the rate of adolescent suicide is 7% lower, showing an association between laws supporting the LGBTQIA+ community and youth suicide prevention.
The Howell County Suicide Prevention Network reports its populations of focus are youth ages 2 through 20 and veterans.
Other risk factors listed are a history of prior suicide attempts and a family history of suicide; a history of mental health conditions; substance abuse, impulsivity or aggressiveness; adverse life events like the end of a romantic or other close relationship; access to a means of self-harm including firearms, medications and poisons; social isolation; a personal history of traumatic experiences such as sexual assault, racial prejudice or violence and bullying; lack of access to mental health services; and multiple exposures to suicide in the community or inappropriate coverage of suicide in the media.
NAMI says indicators that a person’s thoughts of suicide are escalating or that there is a more serious risk include talking, joking or posting online about dying or life not being worth living; feelings of hopelessness, shame or of being a burden to others; extreme sadness, anger or irritability; extreme feelings of emotional pain; planning or researching ways to die; withdrawal from others, saying or posting “goodbye” messages and giving away possessions; erratic or disorganized behavior; changes in substance use; and seeking means to self-harm.
The NAMI recommends guiding those individuals in crisis to mental health professionals, offering support through religious or social connections and fostering strong family and social connections and removing methods of self-harm. That may include using gun locks to prevent firearms from being loaded, and locking guns, ammunition or other means of self-harm like knives or medications in a secure location.
The organization reminds everyone that having a sincere private conversation and offering a sympathetic ear to those in danger of experiencing a crisis goes a long way, but encourages all to contact law enforcement or mental health professionals if an individual seems to be at immediate risk of harming themselves.
Additionally, the 988 Suicide and Crisis hotline may be reached by calling or texting "988," and the chat line is available at 988lifeline.org.
