Recent suicides highlight need for awareness, prevention

Unsettling headlines have spotlighted several recent cases of suicide. Within the past two weeks, the key witness in the Southern Utah artifact case killed himself as did two others associated with the case. The man in Austin, Texas, who flew his airplane into the IRS building and Marie Osmond’s son both committed suicide. Since the beginning of the year, three employees at the Hill Air Force Base have killed themselves.

Because these deaths should be preventable, suicide statistics in the country are startling. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, suicide was the seventh leading cause of death for males and the 16th leading cause of death for females in 2006. They also report that suicide was the third leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24.

Most concerning is the statistic that an estimated 12 to 25 non-fatal suicide attempts occur per every suicide death, according to the NIMH. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides a 24-hour hotline that offers confidential suicide prevention services to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. Like many other agencies, Lifeline encourages individuals to prevent suicide by looking for the warning signs.

These signs include threatening to hurt or kill oneself or even talking about it. Another sign is to talk often or write about death, dying or suicide when these actions are out of the ordinary for the person. These signs also sometimes accompany a feeling of hopelessness, rage or uncontrolled anger.

“We encourage any faculty, staff member or student to use our crisis walk-in service when they need help,” said Frances Harris, a psychologist with the U’s Counseling Center. “As a preventative service, we offer gatekeeper training and provide information to faculty and student leadership groups to recognize the signs, take them seriously, and decrease any risks as they step in to assist.”

Although no one can fairly judge someone who kills himself, it can be one of the most selfish acts a person can commit. Family and friends are left behind with no answers to the question: “What more could I have done?”

SAVE, a suicide awareness organization, says on its website that suicide survivors not only have to face the grieving process of losing a loved one, but they have additional challenges to face because of the stigma that accompanies suicide.

Perhaps the most important point to consider regarding this issue is that we have an obligation to help each other. The responsibility falls to each one of us. Suicide hurts too much and eliminates our God-given right to offer our best effort. We all bump into different challenges during our journey and we overcome those challenges with a lot of patience, an optimistic outlook and lending a hand to one another along the way.