A SILENT EPIDEMIC OF DEATH BY SADNESS
Eighteen years after I wrote, Let's Stop The Suicide Epidemic, I wrote this article in February 2018 and it was published in the Cape Cod Times on March 8, 2018
"We need to change the culture of this topic and make it OK to speak about mental health and suicide."
New York Islanders assistant coach Luke Richardson, whose 14 year old daughter took her own life in 2010.
Epidemics that can last for weeks or even months are always newsworthy, generating major stories in newspapers and on TV. Recent epidemics have included the Zika virus, Ebola, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, otherwise known as MERS virus, and avian and the swine flu.
Today there is a widespread opioid epidemic throughout the country. Next to President Trump, there have probably been more stories on opioids than any other subject - and rightly so.
There is also another epidemic occurring throughout the country, one that is not only under reported but rarely reported, and that is suicide, the silent epidemic. But suicide is not so silent to those who have lost a loved one to this epidemic.
For loved ones, suicide is so unexpectedly final - yet has no ending. It steals life from the living as they struggle to make sense of the loss and to overcome feelings of guilt and anguish and the tormenting thoughts of how the tragedy could have been prevented.
In 2012 the surgeon general, Dr. Regina Benjamin, and Health and Human Services Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius issued a joint report finding suicide to be epidemic. But not much was done to prevent it, nor bring more awareness to this issue, probably because there is a stigma attached to suicide; it's a taboo subject, and it is uncomfortable to talk about.
Since 2000 suicides have increased by 50%, from 30,000 to 45,000, and is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. The latest figures from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention show there are more suicides than murders, more suicides by gun than homicides by gun, more suicides than automobile fatalities. Almost four times as many people commit suicide as are killed in alcohol-related accidents.
The Samaritans and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention do extraordinary work. And the 22 Push-Up Challenge has done a remarkable job of bringing attention to the number of military veterans who kill themselves daily. But much more is needed.
Suicide has become a public health crisis and must be confronted as such - openly, loudly and continually - just as the opioid crisis is, on the federal, state and local levels. It should also be addressed in our schools, colleges and churches - and by health care professionals and providers, including insurance companies. Suicide will not be reduced by everyone looking the other way. It will be reduced only when everyone takes up the challenge of making it a priority to do so.
Last year when there were mass shootings, Republicans said that these killings were the results of mental health issues, not gun laws. That is ironic when one considers that if Washington is successful in repealing Obamcare in its entirety and replacing it with whatever, in all probability mental health coverage will be greatly reduced or eliminated. And suicides will continue to increase, even on Cape Cod, where suicides are one and a half higher than the state average.
I have lost loved ones, friends and neighbors to suicide. I have attempted suicide three times and know that suicide is difficult to prevent. People keep their thoughts and plans to themselves, and a determined mind is difficult to change. But we must try.
From my experience, many people who attempt suicide and survive still think about suicide. I know I do.
Albert Camus wrote, "There is only one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide." So., what's being done about it?
Suicide is death by sadness and it is silent - but leaves loved ones with wounds that never heal.
Contact:fortheheartcries@gmail.com
"We need to change the culture of this topic and make it OK to speak about mental health and suicide."
New York Islanders assistant coach Luke Richardson, whose 14 year old daughter took her own life in 2010.
Epidemics that can last for weeks or even months are always newsworthy, generating major stories in newspapers and on TV. Recent epidemics have included the Zika virus, Ebola, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, otherwise known as MERS virus, and avian and the swine flu.
Today there is a widespread opioid epidemic throughout the country. Next to President Trump, there have probably been more stories on opioids than any other subject - and rightly so.
There is also another epidemic occurring throughout the country, one that is not only under reported but rarely reported, and that is suicide, the silent epidemic. But suicide is not so silent to those who have lost a loved one to this epidemic.
For loved ones, suicide is so unexpectedly final - yet has no ending. It steals life from the living as they struggle to make sense of the loss and to overcome feelings of guilt and anguish and the tormenting thoughts of how the tragedy could have been prevented.
In 2012 the surgeon general, Dr. Regina Benjamin, and Health and Human Services Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius issued a joint report finding suicide to be epidemic. But not much was done to prevent it, nor bring more awareness to this issue, probably because there is a stigma attached to suicide; it's a taboo subject, and it is uncomfortable to talk about.
Since 2000 suicides have increased by 50%, from 30,000 to 45,000, and is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. The latest figures from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention show there are more suicides than murders, more suicides by gun than homicides by gun, more suicides than automobile fatalities. Almost four times as many people commit suicide as are killed in alcohol-related accidents.
The Samaritans and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention do extraordinary work. And the 22 Push-Up Challenge has done a remarkable job of bringing attention to the number of military veterans who kill themselves daily. But much more is needed.
Suicide has become a public health crisis and must be confronted as such - openly, loudly and continually - just as the opioid crisis is, on the federal, state and local levels. It should also be addressed in our schools, colleges and churches - and by health care professionals and providers, including insurance companies. Suicide will not be reduced by everyone looking the other way. It will be reduced only when everyone takes up the challenge of making it a priority to do so.
Last year when there were mass shootings, Republicans said that these killings were the results of mental health issues, not gun laws. That is ironic when one considers that if Washington is successful in repealing Obamcare in its entirety and replacing it with whatever, in all probability mental health coverage will be greatly reduced or eliminated. And suicides will continue to increase, even on Cape Cod, where suicides are one and a half higher than the state average.
I have lost loved ones, friends and neighbors to suicide. I have attempted suicide three times and know that suicide is difficult to prevent. People keep their thoughts and plans to themselves, and a determined mind is difficult to change. But we must try.
From my experience, many people who attempt suicide and survive still think about suicide. I know I do.
Albert Camus wrote, "There is only one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide." So., what's being done about it?
Suicide is death by sadness and it is silent - but leaves loved ones with wounds that never heal.
Contact:fortheheartcries@gmail.com
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