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The numbers are staggering.
Every eight hours, a Hoosier dies of a suicide, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In fact, more than twice as many people die by suicide in Indiana than by homicide.
Suicide is also the second leading cause of death in the state among 15-34 year olds; the fourth leading cause for ages 35-54; and the eighth main cause for 55-64 year olds.
In Howard County, there is an average of 10 deaths per year per suicide; four per year in Miami County; and six per year in Tipton County, according to local authorities
Since the suicides of renowned personalities like designer Kate Spade and author / chef / television personality Anthony Bourdain, people are wondering why . Why do these very successful beloved people commit such an act?
What leads people to such desperation that they would take their own lives?
As humans, it is very natural for us to want to know why, explained Vanessa Enos, a community-based behavioral health health therapist at Kokomo
"It's very common for people left behind by a suicide death to want to find a rational reason or an excuse, "she said. "Humans tend to be very logical and suicide is an illogical thing for people who do not have mental illness."
"This is nonsense.We try to make sense of that, so if there is a recent event, it is a big target for our frustration, our anger, our sadness and sorrow – but the vast majority of the time is made worse by mental health and addiction. "
Mental Health
In 2015, Indiana was ranked 45 ] in the country in a study on the state of mental health in America by Mental Health America, down from 19 in 2011.
One of the major mental health problems that leads to suicide is depression.
"Have you ever been in a fog that consumes? Maybe you have a car at 5 or 15 feet in front of you and you can not see it, maybe not even because of your inability to see or feel it. "Brandi Christiansen, North American Mental Health Executive Director Indiana (19659002) "When you have depression, the chemicals in your brain, serotonin and dopamine, are exhausted. You will isolate yourself, which means that you will not be active, that you will not get the sunlight, that you are socially isolated – there is no line of life to get you out of it, "Christiansen said. . "It's kind of a self-propelling phenomenon." The big word that comes with people who are experiencing suicidal thoughts is that "hopelessness" and inability to see beyond. "
This feeling of complete desperation often leads to suicidal thoughts
"It's not just sad, it's much deeper and deeper than that," Enos said. "When a person thinks of dying, committing suicide or hurting himself or herself one way or another, in general, she is at a point where her suffering, despair and suffering have become intolerable. for her. "
Suicide in Indiana report 2011-2015, suicide death accounted for 44,193 lives lost in the United States in 2015, equivalent to 121.1 suicides per day, a 15% increase since 2010.
However, many suicides or suicide attempts are The report continued: "Of the top 10 causes of death in Indiana, suicide is the only one that is increasing," the report said. Kelsey Steuer, Indiana Area Director of the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention. "Cancer, diabetes and heart disease have all declined over the years and suicide is increasing – and it's the only one that can be avoided."
The Most Vulnerable
In 2016, Indiana ranks 10th in youth suicide rates and the first in suicidal ideation, that is, the number young people who report thinking about suicide and develop a plan to do so, according to the state report. The ideation rate has been reported at 19 percent – almost double the national average.
Nearly 30 percent of high school students in Indiana reported feeling sad or hopeless almost daily for two weeks or more, resulting in behavioral changes in the past 12 months, according to Kids Count data , an annual badessment of the welfare of children in the United States by the Annie E. Casey Foundation
Nearly 10% of Hoosiers of school age reported having attempted suicide in the past 12 months [19659002] Several factors play a role in the mental health of a young person, one of them being brain development.
"Their prefrontal cortex has not yet been developed – it's your impulse control and the part of the brain that puts the brakes on and makes rational decisions," Christiansen said, noting that the brain from one person is not fully developed until they reach their mid-20s.
Another factor that affects mental health has been the n popularity of the media social issues – something that has only become problematic over the last decade. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media have allowed people to stay connected, but can also contribute to the negative self-esteem of someone, continued Christiansen
"The Media create a cognitive dissonance, "she said. "It has always been a problem for human beings to compare their interiors with the exteriors of others, but never before have we been bombarded with these pictures and representations of each other's lives, whether an exact description of their life. 19659002] Who is at risk?
According to the Suicide in Indiana report published in 2017, men accounted for nearly 80% of all suicides, and of these, 93.4% were white men. White men aged 45 to 54 had the highest suicide rate, followed by white men aged 65 and over.
Part of these statistics could be attributed to the alarming rate of veterans who died by suicide.
According to the US Department of Veterans Affairs, 136 veterans of Hoosier and 7,388 veterans across the country were killed in 2014.
As a former veteran, Christiansen knows what some of these men and women. She meets other veterans each week at Jackson Street Commons in Kokomo as part of a group program called Vet-to-Vet, which is open to all veterans, not just those who live at the institution. According to her, many of them have mental health problems ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to depression and substance abuse.
Yet Mental Health America and other organizations are more concerned about veterans who do not come to the group. programs like Vet-to-Vet.
"Obviously, the vets we really care about are the ones we can not even reach – those who come back from the war, they do not trust the institutions that sent them to war, they are not involved with the VA and they sit in the basement of their parents or in their own home, in the dark, isolating and abusing substances, "said Christiansen.
" This they are desperately trying to reach because they are the most vulnerable.We have not yet figured out how to do that, but we have a ton of people in our community who love veterinarians and appreciate their service and their sacrifice. "
Those Who Remain
Steuer was only 11 years old
She remembers trying to protect her younger brother, then 9 years old, from suffering caused by such grief
"I thought that I kept quiet, I was strong, "she said. "We talked about my dad, but we did not talk about his death, I went all my childhood and through my last year of college until I met another survivor of the loss. of suicide. "
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Kelsey Steuer
13 years after the death of her father, Steuer even heard the words "suicide" and "prevention" in the same sentence. She was sitting in a Starbucks when she heard the director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention of Indiana
"It was one of those moments in my life where my life changed forever "said Steuer. She then began volunteering for the organization before becoming regional director of the state.
Today, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is the largest non-profit organization in the country dedicated to saving lives. To achieve this mission statement, the foundation funds scientific research, educates the public, and advocates for public policy on mental health and suicide prevention.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is also a great supporter of people who love dies by suicide. It is one of many ways to help survivors of losses by pairing them with people who have had similar experiences with the Survivor Outreach Program
"We trained volunteers who are survivors of losses. or not happened recently, "said Steuer." We help connect them to resources and we're just an ear to listen. "
As a volunteer in the Survivor Outreach Program, Steuer said she's learned how important it was to talk to people sharing these tragic experiences
"We are talking about how I went through this grief – I do not think it disappears, but you can learn to wear it differently, especially when you meet other people like you "She says," I think it's important for us to communicate with people like us, because mental illness can deprive us of our loved ones even before they take their life – she removes them, she isolates them and makes them feel that they are a burden.Having care for someone who has a mental illness – c & c Is difficult. "
Christiansen also lost somebody. a close to her.It recently learned that one of her naval comrades, a police officer, had died by suicide.
"I had no idea," she said. "I was not constantly communicating with him, but it hit me because it's one of our most vulnerable populations to suicide, veterans and police officers, because of PTSD. "
heartbreaking elements of the loss is the fact that the family chose to remain silent. Suicide is not something that should follow the old rule "out of sight, away from the heart" and talking about suicide is the only way to break that stigma of shame, she said.
"We can not do anything about the past, so whenever we live in the" should have, could, have, "we are just repeating that brain pattern and solidifying that guilt," Christiansen said. "What I've decided with the loss of my fellow and my friend, I am digging even more to honor his life because he's just an amazing person and I refuse to do seeming that it does not happen. " [19659002] Some Solutions
Mental Health America's north-central Indiana focuses on early education and intervention, Christiansen said.
"We know a number of things – we know we do not have enough mental health providers in Indiana or in the nation," she said. "We know that mental health disorders begin at the age of 8, with a median age of 11, and we know that the sooner you can intervene in these situations, the more likely you are to recover. completely." [19659002OrganizationofthedirectedKokomoMentalHealthAmericawillprovideexperiencedexperiencewiththeKokomo-Howard'sPublicLibraryofKoreanThermethicalTeachingMaintenanceoftheTeachedTherapist
In addition to teaching parents, Last month, Mental Health America trained 29 community leaders on how to help a person in life. mental health crisis situation
. on mental health so that we can break down those walls, these barriers and this stigma so that people can stand up and get the same help that they would receive if they were diabetic or had a cardiological problem ", Christiansen says:
It's there that behavioral health therapists like Enos come in. Some people need medication to help manage the weight of depression and others do not, says Enos. .
"There is no silver bullet – with depression and anxiety, there are chemical chemical changes in your body," she said.
Those who suffer from mental illness could be recommended for individual, group or family therapy. In some cases, hospitalization services are needed to stabilize the person and keep him alive, says Enos.
After witnessing the destruction of a suicide loss, Steuer also knows what to do to prevent the rise of statistics. "We need more education, training, community outreach and just the opportunity to have an honest and real conversation with others and to be OK with the answers we get", Steuer said. "I like to say that even the sweetest voices can be brave.You do not need to have a microphone or a sign in your hand to tell the difference, there is one thing I can say about it. Other ways to save lives. "
Part of this solution lies in uncomfortable conversations with loved ones who might be fighting depression, Steuer continued. It's not easy to ask someone to talk to someone else about it. A: "Do you have any thoughts about killing yourself?"
Many people are reluctant to ask this difficult question because they think it could put the idea in someone's head. "One," said Christiansen "I have to ask the question without fear, do it straight and be ready to listen," she said, "be a friend and be the only one to ask the question."
Because only one question can save a life
"I would rather have an embarrbading conversation rather than have a to another burial, "says Steuer. ] (function (d, s, id) {
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