Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward MageeNews.com a small commission – at no extra cost to you.
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month
A month for remembering those who have committed suicide and those who consider suicide.
September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide was the tenth leading cause of death for all ages in 2014 and the second leading cause of death for those ages 10-24. Suicide is a global phenomenon that affects all regions of the world.
- Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for more than 1% of all deaths
- More years of life are lost to suicide than to any other single cause except heart disease and cancer
- 30,000 Americans die by suicide each year; an additional 500,000 Americans attempt suicide annually
- The actual ratio of attempts to completed suicides is probably at least 10 to 1
- 30% to 40% of persons who complete suicide have made a previous attempt
- The risk of completed suicide is more than 100 times greater than average in the first year after an attempt – 80 times greater for women, 200 times greater for men, 200 times greater for people over 45, and 300 times greater for white men over 65
- Suicide rates are highest in old age: 20% of the population and 40% of suicide victims are over 60. After age 75, the rate is three times higher than average, and among white men over 80, it is six times higher than average
- Substance abuse is another great instigator of suicide; it may be involved in half of all cases. About 20% of suicides involve people with alcohol problems, and the lifetime rate of suicide among people with alcohol-use problems is at least three or four times the average. Completed suicides are more likely to be men over 45 who are depressed or alcoholic.
- If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, call 1-800-SUICIDE(1-800-784-2433) or 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255).
- 1-800-784-2433
hopeline.com
This will connect you with a crisis center in your area.
As most of you know, I have “walked” the suicide path with two people very close to me. As this month becomes a reality, I thought perhaps it would be interesting for “those left behind” and those who survived an attempted suicide to share their feelings.
If you are interested in sharing your story, contact Sue@mageenews.com You may write or video your story.
Let’s never forget…
I am sharing a paper I wrote upon request a few weeks ago…If I can do it…you can do it. You don’t have to be the parent…there are siblings…friends…anyone who was touched by the death of a loved one through suicide.
Are You Well Yet?
These words may seem to be an unusual way to begin a writing about suicide…but these were some of the most striking and unbelievable words ever spoken to me following the suicide of my son.
“Are you well yet”….no, I tried to explain…and I would never be well. …but then again, what is well. Am I well from the pain? No. Am I well from the shock? No. Am I well from the questions? No.
But as I learned and studied all my growing up years in the church…”it is well with my soul.” Even in the deepest and darkest times of our lives with God as our Savior we can always say it is well with my soul.
When Kathy first asked me to write about suicide…immediately, I began with the suicide story…the life my son had lived…the life he took from me…but I realized everyone has a story…and this is not a contest about whose pain is the worse. People suffer pain in a different way…there is no wrong or right…there is no more than…my pain and your pain are different but we are bonded by this pain.
Being bonded by pain is not something I really wanted to experience or live….I didn’t want to almost fall apart every time I was told of a child’s death (accidental or suicide)…I wanted to just hear the news and move forward. But living with suicide pain causes one to be so acutely aware of what pain really is…and how difficult the hill to climb is…I often crumble with other’s pain.
Learning how to live after suicide is tough…there is no way I can “color” this experience to make the feelings pretty. The darkness…the depth…the change…all of these feelings cannot be reversed. I will never be the person I was before my child committed suicide….but through this pain and heartache a new person is born…and we choose who we are going to be.
So many times in our lives…there are no choices…but following suicide…you are given a choice. One can collapse and see nothing but darkness. One can fight…fight the world…fight the people who lived…fight the people who love you…or one can make the decision to use the brokenness of your heart to help others.
I was blessed with very strong parents…..a mother and father who had empathy for others…who helped others…who cared for others. I feel the traits of my parents brought to them through Jesus our Savior kept me from living in the pit of pity.
Now, don’t think I don’t feel the pity…nor give myself the pity,…but I was taught the importance of rising above any situation.
Suicide in young people is becoming more and more common…and this is scary…because there is almost a parallel to older adults falling into the same dark hole that a young person finds himself experiencing. They see no future…old or young…they feel no one cares…old or young…they see no way they can exists in the world that lies before them…young or old.
Not until my 86-year-old uncle took his own life did I realize what a senior adult must be feeling. I just thought because one had lived that many years making it a few more was really no big deal…..boy, was I wrong and dumb. The needs of the young and old are very real….just are the needs of all ages.
We as a society and especially Christians must commit ourselves to looking out for others. My favorite saying is “Be ye kind one to another”…bests Bible verse ever. Kindness comes in many forms…and sometimes that form is just observing. When we see someone struggling, we must not look the other way because we feel our “plate” is full. We must not ignore the silent cries of our people.
The damage of suicide is everlasting to the one’s left behind. We are left to question our self the rest of our lives…we are left with the stares, the questions, the criticisms.
Hold tightly to the rope Jesus has extended…let that rope of His love wrap you tightly…and always keep your eyes upon the One who loves us most.
Sue Honea
Mother of Larkin Honea who committed suicide at the age of 22…niece of Tommy Everett who committed suicide at the age of 86….the mother of two beautiful living sons, daughter-in-laws, 5 grandchildren…..and a host of family and friends who have helped me go the distance…and keep me going…because there are days we question if life is worth living…but life is…because He lives.
