Showing posts with label Suicide. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suicide. Show all posts

Monday, March 6, 2023

Donna's Law would voluntarily block a person with suicidal thoughts from buying a gun.

 From YouTube:

In any given year, suicide accounts for between 60-65% of all gun deaths in the United States (approximately 25,000). So far, three states have passed legislation called Donna's Law, which would allow people who fear that they may become suicidal to place themselves (voluntarily and confidentially) on a "do not sell" list, to block their purchase of a gun. Correspondent Susan Spencer looks at an innovative way to save lives. [If you or someone you know is in crisis, get help from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.]


As a Psychiatric Social Worker I have done over 15,000 suicide evaluations in my career. One of the questions asked as part of an assessment is "If you were to attempt to end your life, how would you do it.?"

If the person responds they would do it with a gun, the next question is "do you have one?"

If the person responds that they do, this is a very high risk situation and steps must be taken to block the person's access to guns until the suicidal thoughts are diminished or eliminated.

Donna's Law is one way that a person can take to block such access. Passing Donna's law would be a wonderful idea that could save lives.

Monday, July 18, 2022

Suicide rates by country


The suicide rates by country in 2019 per 100K were 

Jamaica = 2.3
Italy = 4.3
Israel = 5.2
UK = 6.9
Germany = 8.3
Ireland = 8.9
France = 9,7
Canada = 10.3
Australia = 11.3
Japan = 12.2
U.S. = 14.5
Russia = 21.6

The US has twice the rate of suicide as the UK and 3 times the rate of Italy.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Suicide rate by state. New York has lowest, Montana has the highest.

It is very interesting to compare the quality of life in blue states as compared to red states. I am using this descriptor not in a political way but as indicators of existing social policies in those states. A simple example are suicide rates. They are double in red states and even three times higher than in blue states. 

New York, my state, has the lowest suicide rate in the Nation at 8.1/100,00 as compared to Montana with the highest rate at over three times higher with 29.9/100,00. 

If you would like to see the suicide rate in your state click here. The average rate in the U.S, in 2017 was 14.0/100,00 

Why do you suppose the quality of life is so much higher in New York than in Montana? Just for starters we have the best University system in the World, and the best gun laws in the nation and the best minimum wage laws, and the best health care coverage and some of the most enjoyable arts and recreational areas and plenty of fresh water.

Click on image to enlarge

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Suicide rates vary widely by state in the United States with twice the rate in red states as in blue states.

From the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on suicide rates by state in the United States in 2017.



In 2017, the U.S. age-adjusted suicide rate was 14.0 per 100,000 population, but rates varied by state. The five states with the highest rates were Montana (28.9 deaths per 100,000 population), Alaska (27.0), Wyoming (26.9), New Mexico (23.3), and Idaho (23.2). The five with the lowest rates were the District of Columbia (6.6), New York (8.1), New Jersey (8.3), Massachusetts (9.5), and Maryland (9.8).

Editor's note: Suicide rates are twice the rate in red states the five highest as compared the the suicide rates in the lowest which are blue states. Makes one speculate how political ideology is correlated with suicide.

The states with high suicide rates also tend to be big gun states has compared to states with low rates that have lower gun ownership rates and tougher gun control laws.

Friday, March 1, 2019

Physicians have the highest sucide rate of any profession.


From "Remembering Ricky: Losing a friend to suicide by Andrews Wilner

"During my reading, I also learned that physicians have the highest suicide rate of any profession, with one completed suicide every day.[3,4] That's twice the suicide rate of the general public. I don't have any intention of joining my friend, but I don't like being in a high-risk group!"

For more click here.

Saturday, February 23, 2019

Care plan for child after a suicide attempt

From Social Justice Solutions on 02/11/19

During the last decade, the number of emergency room and hospital visits linked to suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts among children nearly doubled, according to a study in Pediatrics. This was especially true among youth 15 to 17 years of age. Experts say that bullying, trauma, and abuse are often underlying factors.
Fortunately, with the right type of support from health care providers and others, children and their parents can find the resources they need to heal and prevent mental health crises in the future. If you are a parent whose child has attempted suicide, hope and help are available—and creating a plan to move forward is an important place to start.
For more click here.
Editor's note:
Over the course of my career I have done over 15,000 suicide evaluations. It is a myth that if you talk about it the suicidal person will be triggered to engage in suicidal behavior. Just the opposite is the case. Talking with a caring, concerned, trusted person decreases the liklihood of suicidal behavior.
Evaluation by a trained professional is always appropriate. This is best done in person. Calling a "crisis hot line" or "support line" can be helpful but is no substitute for personal clinical evaluation and care.

Friday, February 8, 2019

Availability of guns increases the risk of suicide


From Psychiatric Services, December, 2018

"The national attention currently focused on reducing gun violence provides an opportunity to consider how to use this momentum to make significant headway in preventing suicide. Year after year, about two-thirds of all firearm deaths are suicides (1). 

Evidence indicates that the availability of firearms is related to suicide rates.

 In regions that experience changes in levels of gun availability, suicide rates change in the same direction; people who buy firearms are more likely than otherwise similar peers to die by suicide; and people who die by suicide are more likely to live in homes with firearms compared with seemingly similar people who did not die, as well as those who died from other causes (1). 

There is evidence and a broad consensus among experts who favor both restrictive and permissive gun policies that not all individuals who are prevented from firearm suicide will die by another method of suicide (2).

For more click here.

Editor's note:

The great myth in American society is that the possession of guns makes people safer. The public health data leads to the opposite conclusion. The possession of guns makes it more likely that the gun owner and immediate others will die by a gun than not.

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Veterinary social work opens outlet for grief, emotional stress

From the Pittsburg Post-Gazette on July 3, 2017


...........

The veterinarian side
Every day, five to 12 euthanasias are performed at PVSEC, the region’s largest specialty and emergency veterinary center, seeing several hundred cases a day. The number of euthanasias is high because many pet owners cannot afford the complex medical intervention needed to save a pet’s life.
“It’s hard when they know the animal can be fixed but the process can’t be paid for by the family,” Ms. Harbert said.
The American Veterinary Medical Association, based in Illinois, reports that 1 in 6 vets struggle with thoughts of suicide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that veterinarians have a four times higher suicide rate than the general public and are two times more likely to commit suicide than dentists and medical doctors.
“We see the sickest cases, so its hard for us as doctors and nurses everyday to see deaths. We are sad every time,” said Christine Guenther, a PVSEC veterinarian.
As a result, some PVSEC veterinarians suffer from compassion fatigue, burnout and ethical exhaustion when trying to come up with an alternative way to save a pet, given an owner’s financial constraints.
“You empathize so much with patients that you take on the burden and it takes a toll on you,” said Michael San Filippo, spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Ms. Harbert works with the veterinarian staff to emotionally process the cause of a pet’s death and help staff members cope with their own grief. She assesses how individuals are acting and then helps them reach a stable emotional state.
Training for this counseling is not typically taught in vet school.
...................................................

For the whole article click here.

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Copy cat suicide

From Science Daily 
Heightened newspaper coverage after a suicide might have a significant impact on the initiation of some teenage suicide clusters, according to new research published in The Lancet Psychiatry journal. The study reveals that the content of media reports is also important, with more prominent stories (ie, published on the front page) and those that describe the suicide in considerable detail more likely to be associated with so-called copycat suicides.

"Our findings indicate that the more sensational the coverage of the suicides, and the more details the story provides, then the more likely there are to be more suicides," explains lead author Dr Madelyn Gould from the New York State Psychiatric Institute in the USA.

Editor's note: 
When I do a risk assessment on a client who is suicidal I always ask if they know someone, or is there someone in their family who has committed suicide. If the answer is "yes" this increases the risk.

Because of the phenomenon of copy cat suicide there has been a lot of controversy over Netflix TV series, 13 reasons why, which some people say make teenage suicide justifiable. For more information click here.