Awareness is the key to suicide prevention

In the early part of January, with school back in session and holidays behind us, a seminar on suicide prevention was offered to parents and high school students at Temple B’nai Torah of Wantagh through a chapter of Hadassah and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

I learned about the proposed presentation and cleared my plans so I could attend the evening’s event with my teenage son. Throughout that day I kept considering how I cherish evenings at home – trying to avoid chauffeuring duties or attending meetings. But, I thought this would be different. I would simply have to sit and listen.  What I didn’t count on was how much I was going to think and learn.

If you go to the website, www.afsp.org, there is an extraordinary amount of information and statistics on the issues surrounding suicide and suicide prevention - the kind of details that range from risk factors to warning signs and most importantly, what to do.  So much of this information was the basis of this evening – a discussion among the audience’s ninth to 12th grade students and their loved ones. The numbers are staggering: suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S. and the second leading cause of death among young people (car accidents being number one).

But what was surreal about this straightforward exchange is that it was an exchange – remarkable students spoke candidly about their personal or their peers’ experiences. A room filled with people who either knew of someone with depression or another psychiatric illness or had experienced a loss or near loss due to suicide. 

When it was revealed that studies indicate that the best way to prevent suicide is through early recognition and treatment of depression and other psychiatric illnesses, treatable illnesses that account for a majority of suicides, the talk turned to trusting that there is real help readily available no matter your age or situation. All one must do is ask.

I returned home and didn’t have a chance to talk extensively with my son, daughter or husband until two nights later – a testament to the busy lives we choose to live. My son and I explained how the program was designed, with films applicable for a younger student or college-aged audience, as well as the facts explored. I realized how heavy these issues weighed in my mind and how this presentation gave us the “how to” to broach this subject in the context of the stresses of school and peers; the problems of family and friends.  In the end, I discovered that suicide prevention is all about understanding and empowerment - not to be afraid, but to be aware.