[Counselor_Educ] FW: As youth suicides rise, how can you help your kids?

[Bhat, Christine]

Forwarded by Svea Maxwell of the Athens Suicide Prevention Coalition.
[The Columbus Dispatch]<http://www.dispatch.com/>
As youth suicides rise, how can you help your kids?
By JoAnne Viviano<mailto:jviviano at dispatch.com>
The Columbus Dispatch
@JoAnneViviano <http://www.twitter.com/JoAnneViviano>
Posted Mar 25, 2018 at 4:58 AM Updated Mar 25, 2018 at 6:03 AM

On the day she died, Claire Glass attended her classes at Columbus Academy. She talked to her friends about the things they'd be doing in the coming week.

No one suspected that the depression, anxiety and hopelessness the 16-year-old Gahanna girl had battled for at least three years was about to overwhelm her to the point that she'd take her life.

Before that March 2014 day, Bonnie and Don Glass saw their daughter's depression take a quick, downward spiral. Suffering intense pain from a worsening musculoskeletal condition, she became sleepless, had trouble focusing, became preoccupied with negative thoughts and increasingly isolated herself in her room.

The couple desperately sought a psychiatrist who would help their daughter, searching as far as the Cleveland area. But they were told it would take two to three months to get an appointment. So they waited, never thinking that the straight-A student who dreamed of studying neuroscience at Duke University would resort to suicide.

"The wait was so long that the insurance company actually told us to take her to the ER instead of trying to get an appointment," Bonnie Glass said. "I wish now that we had followed that advice."

Claire died two weeks before her appointment.

Bonnie Glass has a message for other parents.

"If you at all suspect that there's any type of mental-health issues going on with your child, get them into both a psychologist and a psychiatrist immediately," she urged during a recent interview at her home. "Depression is just as deadly as any cancer or anything else out there."

Growing problem

Claire Glass is one of at least 872 Ohioans younger than 20 who were lost to suicide in the state over the past decade, according to Ohio Department of Health figures.

And the problem appears to be growing. Although state data on the deaths of Ohioans in 2017 is still incomplete, the department has recorded 111 suicides of young Ohioans during the year. That's the most in any year since at least 2007, the earliest for which data is available in the department's online data warehouse. Eighty-nine of the victims were 15 to 19 years old, 21 were 10 to 14, and one was younger than 10.

Twelve were Franklin County residents, and one each lived in Delaware, Fairfield, Madison and Union counties.

Nationwide, 2,560 people younger than 20 were lost to suicide; that was 6 percent of all such deaths in 2016, making suicide the second-leading cause of death - after accidents - for people ages 10 to 19, according to the most recent available data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That was the most suicides recorded in a year in the online CDC data, which goes back to 1999, when there were 1,859 such deaths.

Suicide-prevention experts confirm that more children are struggling.

"Both nationally and locally, we're seeing an increase in the number of children using behavioral-health services, and among our acute services, they tend to be seeing more children struggling with suicidal thoughts and behaviors," said John Ackerman, a coordinator at the Nationwide Children's Hospital Center for Suicide Prevention and Research<https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/suicide-research>.

Although part of that might be due to better identification of children who are at risk, he said, studies show that rates of anxiety and depression among young people are increasing.

Why?

The usual suspects are bullying and the overuse of social media, Ackerman said. But there are other things to consider when trying to protect young people.

It's key to make sure that kids are socially connected with "value-driven activities" - from school organizations and clubs to spirituality groups - without being overscheduled, he said. Children also should be encouraged to play, take part in physical activities, get adequate sleep and eat a healthy diet. Screen time also should be limited.

Yet these factors do not make people immune to suicide risk, Ackerman said, and youths who have a lot going for them should not be ignored or discounted.

Take Claire, who was involved in choir, theater, Girl Scouts and a social-justice committee at her school and volunteered with Special Olympics and at Ronald McDonald House. She also was a Mensa member, attended classes at Ohio State University and was involved in a Duke program for talented youths.

"A lot people don't think that people who commit suicide are the high achievers or the people who have it together," Bonnie Glass stressed. "This can hit anyone from all aspects of society."

Also of concern is a "contagion" factor, through which people imitate suicide attempts after the death of someone they know or can identify with, Ackerman said.

Research shows that the risk of a suicide attempt increases between 2.8 and 11 percent among adolescents who see suicidal behavior by a peer. It's believed that these young people view suicide as a solution to problems, or they see community reactions to another young person's suicide as something they might want for themselves.

Young people who abuse substances or engage in self-harming behavior also are at higher risk.

>From late 2014 through 2015, 30 percent of U.S. high school students said they had felt so sad or hopeless for two or more weeks in a row that they stopped doing usual activities, according to CDC surveys. Eighteen percent had seriously considered suicide at some point in the previous year, and 9 percent had made an attempt.

OK to talk about it

Although suicidal behavior among their peers can put youths at risk, experts say that's not the case when it comes to discussing suicide with young people. It's important to address the topic, and it's a myth that doing so will put the idea into someone's head, said Hannah Thompson, coordinator of suicide-prevention services at North Central Mental Health<http://www.ncmhs.org/>.

It's not inappropriate to check in with those as young as 8 about depression and anxiety, Ackerman said. Be aware of warning signs<https://www.youthsuicidewarningsigns.org/> such as youths expressing hopelessness, withdrawing or sleeping more or less than usual. And if you see them, don't panic, judge, punish or try to "fix it," he said, but take a deep breath and listen.

"The most important thing to do is to ask the question 'Are you having thoughts of suicide?' We can't be afraid to use that word." said Denise Meine-Graham, founder and executive director of the Franklin County chapter of Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors<http://franklincountyloss.org/>.

If someone exhibits suicidal behavior, makes an attempt or appears in any way at risk, go to an emergency department.

It is important to note that not everyone who is suicidal is depressed, said Julie Cerel, a psychologist who is president of the American Association of Suicidology. At times, the thoughts come to people who are not having mental-health struggles but feel their lives are in upheaval.

Suicide-prevention groups are taking steps aimed at addressing the problem.

Nationwide Children's is building a 48-bed behavioral-health facility<http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/06/12/childrens-hospitals-158m-mental-health-center-seriously-needed.html> that will be the largest of its kind on a children's medical campus. It is set to open in 2020. Ackerman said the project sends a message that behavioral-health research and treatment is as important as physical health.

The American Association of Suicidology<http://www.suicidology.org/> also plans to team up with a national youth safety center to create a youth advisory board, Cerel said.

The association also wants better data about suicide deaths, improved access to mental health care, and suicide-specific training for mental health professionals, doctors and nurses. And it hopes to address access to guns, which are used in 43 percent of suicides by people younger than 19, according to federal data.

Thompson, of North Central Mental Health, is heartened by the wider attention suicide risk has received, including a Grammy nomination for a song by the rapper Logic titled "1-800-273-8255," the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

More suicide-attempt survivors also are speaking out, showing people who have suicidal thoughts that they are not alone, that the issue can be treated, and survivors can go on to live rewarding lives. Advocates point to LiveThroughThis.org<http://livethroughthis.org/>, a site that features portraits and stories of such survivors.

And the community is reaching out for more suicide-prevention programming, with a need to support kids at younger ages and schools sometimes requesting presentations for students in fourth grade, Ackerman said.

Bonnie Glass said that schools deserve kudos for offering more suicide-prevention events, and parents shouldn't have their children opt out of such efforts.

"You may think that this can't happen with your child. It can happen," she said. "It can happen to anybody. Don't try to protect your child from sensitive issues when what they really need to be armed with is knowledge."

For warning signs, go to www.youthsuicidewarningsigns.org<http://www.youthsuicidewarningsigns.org>. For help, contact the Franklin County Suicide Prevention Hotline at 614-221-5445; the Teen Suicide Prevention Hotline at 614-294-3300; or the national Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (or 1-888-628-9454 for Spanish speakers). For the Crisis Text Line, text HOME to 741741.

jviviano at dispatch.com<mailto:jviviano at dispatch.com>

@JoAnneViviano<http://www.twitter.com/JoAnneViviano>

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