Seminar raises startling facts
By KEVIN CHIRI
Slidell news bureau
COVINGTON – Year-after-year in St. Tammany Parish there has been more suicides than homicides.
Yet far less attention is given to providing suicide prevention training than the opportunity to receive CPR training.
It’s something the community needs to address, said Dr. Bill Schmitz, a self-named suicidologist who was among the key speakers at the St. Tammany Coroner’s Office Suicide Symposium that was held last week.
Dr. Charles Preston’s office sponsored the day-long seminar that brought together outstanding speakers on the subject of suicide, all who agreed there still needs to be more attention on suicide prevention in St. Tammany—even in a parish that has clearly tackled the subject at a greater level of urgency than most others in the state.
St. Tammany Parish has averaged 42 suicides a year for the past decade, more than double the number of homicides each year. And while the parish has made excellent strides to offer mental illness care to prevent suicides, Schmitz said that more has to be done.
The symposium was an excellent first step with over 50 first responders and mental health clinicians attending.
“You think about how many people train in CPR, then you wonder why so many are not trained in suicide prevention,” Schmitz said. “Why are we not more prepared for this?”
Schmitz presented a condensed version of the key factors someone should look for in friends or family members who indicate they might be a candidate to commit suicide.
“Three key points need to be considered—does the individual feel alone, do they believe they are a burden to others, and are they capable to commit suicide in some way?” he asked. “Do you know someone who frequently says, ‘people would be better off if I was not here.’
“If you are hearing anything that indicates the individual can’t take life anymore, you have to help,” he added.
Schmitz said there needs to be a Crisis Response Plan for those who may be at risk.
“This is for the individual who has shown warning signs,” he said. “It is a written plan that helps them consider what can make them feel better. You need to know who you can call and talk to at any time. What can you do to distract your mind—watch a good movie or listen to uplifting music. You have to be pro-active with your safety and a Crisis Response Plan can do that.”
Schmitz specifically addressed several of the main ways suicide is committed as things that need to be controlled. He pointed to gun locks being utilized on any firearms in the home, you should dump all old medicines out of your drug cabinet every six months, and make sure drugs and alcohol are not accessible,” he said.
“If I get in a suicidal zone mentally then I am not going to be thinking very well, and that’s when I make bad decisions,” he said. “That is why you have to do anything you can to put distance between the potential victim and suicide. You must make it harder for anything bad to happen, and sometimes the difficulty to access a method is all that is needed to have them change their mind.”
While Schmitz and other speakers were very straight-forward in their commentary about the need for more to be done in the arena of suicide prevention, he also said there are statistics of encouragement.
“For the first time in 22 years we saw the national suicide rate decrease slightly in the past two years,” he said. “That means we are getting it out there enough that things are changing. But we have to talk about it more to help those at-risk get the help they need.”
Schmitz said if you know someone who may be contemplating suicide it frequently takes the actions of a friend or loved one to make the difference.
“When we’re in that suicidal zone we’re not good at asking for help. That’s why a loved one needs to make a phone call for help or do whatever they can to lead the individual to help,” he noted.
There are now several ways to get help if you are feeling suicidal. A national suicide hotline can be accessed by calling 800-273-8255. in St. Tammany starting July 16, you can call 988, or you can text “Home” to 741-741 since he said there are more people who will talk by texting.
“We’ve had people working the text line who said they have had many cases already of students texting from the bathroom at school if they were in a bad place mentally,” he said.
He even suggested you may do a practice call or text with someone you are concerned about, so they hear who is on the other line and become more comfortable doing it.
“All of this is helping us get to people before something bad happens,” he said. “And that’s not just important for the individual who may want to commit suicide, but also the friends and family. We all know that suicide impacts many more than the victim, and that’s why you need to be willing to help if you see someone who is at risk.”