PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Winter 2020 - 16

OFFERING HOPE: CHANGING THE TREND IN SUICIDE

continued from page 15

Make a difference
Verbal histories from survivors of suicide attempts frequently
identify the protective factors that made a difference between
life and death. One individual shared how he had driven to an
isolated location with lethal means. He walked into the woods,
planning to end his life, but stopped to write a final text to a
close family member. As he was typing his goodbye on his cell
phone, several text messages from his friends kept interrupting
his progress. Those short messages of support and concern
made a profound difference at a key moment. He changed his
plans. He chose to live and face the difficult circumstances with
the support of his trusted family member and caring friends.
This individual now shares his experience to emphasize how
the supportive actions of peers may mean the difference
between life and death.

Be prepared
Many individuals have been trained in cardiopulmonary
resuscitation (CPR) and the use of an Automated External
Defibrillator (AED). Members of the general public have been
taught the basic skills they need to assess a person in a cardiac
emergency and perform the required steps to continue life
until professional help is available. Those basic skills have
saved many lives. It is time to expand public training to include
life-saving first aid guidelines for mental health crises.
Several suicide first-aid and prevention programs are available,
and they share key characteristics. The programs teach
individuals how to identify a person who is at risk for suicide.
The individuals are trained in the warning signs for suicide
and given printed materials to reinforce their retention of the
information. Members of the public are taught what to say to
the person at risk for self-harm and what steps they can take
Warning Signs of Suicide:

* Talking about wanting to die
* Looking for a way to kill oneself
* Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose
* Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain
* Talking about being a burden to others
* Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs
* Acting anxious, agitated or recklessly
* Sleeping too little or too much
* Withdrawing or feeling isolated
* Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge
* Displaying extreme mood swings
The more of these signs a person shows, the greater the risk. Warning signs
are associated with suicide but may not be what causes a suicide.

What To Do:

If someone you know exhibits warning signs of suicide:
* Do not leave the person alone
* Remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs or sharp objects that could be
used in a suicide attempt
* Call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255)
* Take the person to an emergency room or seek help from a medical
or mental health professional
A free, 24/7 service that can provide suicidal persons or those around them
with support, information and local resources. You can download a suicide
prevention wallet card at
bit.ly/suicide-wallet-card.
16 | Keystone Veterinarian

to keep the person safe until the person can get the care they
need. PreventSuicidePA.org lists information on the training
programs available in our state.6

Know community mental health resources
Part of a suicide first aid response is to have an action plan to
keep the person safe and connect them to available resources.
A key resource is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
This Lifeline can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at
1.800.273.8255. A chat option is also available through the
website at bit.ly/TalkToSomeoneNow.
In the first six months of 2019, the Lifeline received 29,852 calls
from people in Pennsylvania.7 Ten crisis centers in Pennsylvania
answered 36% of those calls. The other 18,702 callers were
answered by out-of-state centers.

Develop a plan for survivors
The American Association of Suicidology (AAS) reports that at
least 130 individuals know each person who dies by suicide and
a third of those 130 individuals identify themselves as being
very close to the deceased person.8 Knowing someone who
died by suicide (particularly a family member) is a suicide risk
factor. Close friends and family members who are grieving the
loss of someone who died by suicide may need suicide-specific
grief support and other services to learn how to navigate life
without their loved one.

An action plan
The first step that we can take to counter the rise in suicides is
to endorse the fact that seeking professional help for mental
well-being is a sign of strength, not weakness. The other steps
we can take are to know the facts about suicide and share
messages of hope. We can learn about suicide risk factors and
protective factors. We can support protective factors in the
lives of the people we know. We can learn suicide warning signs
and be prepared to use suicide first-aid skills to safely convey
a person to professional, life-saving help. Each one of us can
make a positive difference in the lives of our peers and our
family members. We can offer hope!
Karen Mojecki works at the PVMA office in Hummelstown,
PA. Her oldest son died by suicide in 2011, while deployed
in Baghdad, Iraq. Karen has a Bachelor of Science in
Organizational Behavior and Applied Psychology (2014),
has completed Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training
(ASIST) (bit.ly/living-works-asist), and serves as a trained
Peer Mentor to other survivors who have lost a family member to
suicide. Karen frequently shares about suicide loss with military and
civilian audiences.
https://nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/September-2018/5-Common-Myths-About-Suicide-Debunked
http://reportingonsuicide.org/recommendations/#important
3
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/suicideTechnicalPackage.pdf
4
https://www.sprc.org/about-suicide/risk-protective-factors
5
https://www.sprc.org/about-suicide/warning-signs
6
https://www.preventsuicidepa.org/pspa-trainings/
7
https://www.sprc.org/file/5749/download?token=RvP9a9bt
8
https://suicidology.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Resources-for-Survivors-of-Suicide.pdf
1
2
http://www.PreventSuicidePA.org http://www.bit.ly/TalkToSomeoneNow http://www.bit.ly/suicide-wallet-card
PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Winter 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PVMA Keystone Veterinarian Winter 2020
