Plains Women's Club hosts seminar on suicide

The statistics are both shocking and alarming.

Across the country and here in Montana, death by suicides are on the rise due to a variety of factors.

But help from those who care is also on the rise as volunteers and health care professionals work to expand preventive care options for those who may feel trapped in the downward spiral toward suicide and attempted suicides.

There is also fresh emphasis on the family and friends of those who experience the loss of a loved one to this growing national problem.

In an effort to spread the word, the Plains Women’s Club hosted a seminar Saturday in the VFW Meeting Hall that was the first in a series of meetings to focus attention on the problem and inform community members about what preventive measures and options are available.

Seminar leader Angela Muse told the gathering about her own personal stake in the issue.

“I have my own story in this matter,” she said. “I was motivated to get involved because I have experienced the devastation involved. The good news in all of this is we are learning more and more about the problem and what can be done to help.”

In conjunction with research, information and preventive programs developed by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Saturday’s program focused on a very basic way to get help to those in need.

“Today is National (Suicide) Survivors Day,” Muse said. “Suicide and suicide attempts are a growing problem in our society. Right here in Sanders County there have been four known suicides so far this year. That breaks down to one in every 2,700 residents.”

No longer considered a mental health issue, suicide is being taken on as a health care problem that can be prevented, Muse said.

“As is the case with other health care matters, suicide is a complex health care issue,” she said. “It can be prevented beginning with how we talk about the issue and how we talk to those who may be contemplating taking their own lives”.

By simply knowing the appropriate and inappropriate things to say, family and friends can play a key role in preventing tragedy. A list of “do’s and don’ts” included not saying someone “committed suicide” because of the perceived negativity of such a phrase.

Instead, seminar attendees were told, it would be better to say “died by suicide” or “ended their life”, which experts say are far less damning words.

“We should try to avoid labeling suicide or attempted suicide as a failure,” Muse said. “When we open up, we loosen up when it comes to advocating ways of intervention.”

Muse said her own life has been turned on end by two family members who took their own lives by suicide.

“I’ve experienced the loss of two family members who killed themselves with guns,” she said. “This is not a Second Amendment matter, it’s a matter of being aware of signs and symptoms involving those contemplating ending their lives.”

Among those suicide warning signs are the way the person talks, changes in their general behavior and mood. Changes to any of these conditions can be a key indicator that it’s time to help.

“We all have ups and down in our lives,” Muse said. “When you notice continued, overall changes in such things as the way a person talks about themselves or sudden changes in behavior it’s time to act. Trust you gut instinct and assume you are the only one who is going to reach out.”

Suicide has become an increasing problem among military members returning home from war zones and deployment across the world, according to AFSP data. It is also a growing concern for the population in general who in many cases are coping to deal with changes in their lives such as those caused by coronavirus quarantines and rules.

National statistics show suicide has become the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S., with 48,344 people having taken their lives in 2018 alone. Worldwide, more than 800,000 people die by suicide each year.

Post-traumatic stress disorder has also played an increasing role in the matter.

Education and information about signs, prevention and intervention are all promising ways to help combat the surge, Muse said. She also noted that research is underway to identify means of detecting potential problems such as finding biomarkers in blood samples and improved medications and psychotherapy programs.

“We hope to do a lot of different classes on these programs and ideas in the coming months,” Muse said. “We hope to take this to schools and other groups as much as we can.”