Jordan Binion Project on Suicide
The community conversation that is to take place on Wednesday, November 14 in the Enumclaw High School Commons should be of interest to all citizens, no matter the age. Suicide can touch every demographic and family. Discussing the symptoms and how to seek assistance, not only with professionals, but with family, your clergy and friends, whom ever you are comfortable approaching. The key is to recognize it and act. How does one identify someone in need? How do I start a conversation with that person to guide them towards assistance without driving them away? Many other questions can be formulated on the topic of suicide.
The hearts and lives of those left behind deal with thoughts and questions many times unanswered. Steps need to be made in reducing and eliminating this issue in our community. Talk, exchange ideas, identify causes and signs of one in need. Stop the heart break in our community, among friends and within our own families.
There’s no single cause for suicide. Suicide most often occurs when stressors and health issues converge to create an experience of hopelessness and despair that can exceed current coping abilities of someone suffering from a mental health condition. Depression is the most common condition associated with suicide, and it is often undiagnosed or untreated. Conditions like depression, anxiety and substance problems, especially when unaddressed, increase risk for suicide. Yet it’s important to note that most people who actively manage their mental health conditions go on to engage in life.
Something to look out for when concerned that a person may be suicidal is a change in behavior or the presence of entirely new behaviors. This is of sharpest concern if the new or changed behavior is related to a painful event, loss, or change. Most people who take their lives exhibit one or more warning signs, either through what they say or what they do.
Some warning signs, when someone talks about doing harm to themselves could be a change in behavior, mood of a person may change or exhibit s shift. A person’s health change can influence suicidal thoughts, personal events in one’s life. Even historical factors should be considered.
Let us have this community conversation on the 14th, but let it be the beginning of a longer discussion to improve the health and lives of all citizens.