Suicide is a public health crisis and is approached as such by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every age group and community is impacted by suicide; fatalities are highest among middle-aged and older white men. Dr. Christine Moutier, Chief Medical Officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, “gleans hope from recent discoveries that have led to a deeper understanding of the risk factors that may lead people to consider suicide. Suicide has multiple risk factors that converge and those are things that relate to impulsivity, aggression, past adversity/trauma/abuse. Mental health conditions such as depression or substance abuse disorder make a person more vulnerable to other risk factors and can increase the impact of stressors or difficult life experiences. It’s not really ever going to be one issue that causes suicide.”
Experts agree that each of us can play an important role in helping to prevent suicide:
1. Question Ask, support, listen
2. Persuade Convince to seek help
3. Respond Get professional help – 988, 911, Ramsey/Hennepin Cty crisis centers, hospitals
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) provides excellent training in QPR, as well as support for those in crisis. Links below for QPR and NAMI’s Suicide Prevention Partner Guide:
Question, Persuade, Refer (QPR) – NAMI Minnesota (namimn.org) https://www.nami.org/NAMI/media/NAMI-Media/PDFs/2022-SPAM-Partner-Guide.pdf
