CHARLESTON, W.Va. — September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, and the West Virginia chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is using this week — which has been designated as Suicide Prevention Week — to reach out and raise awareness of the resources available to people.
According to chapter chair Michelle Toman, one person a day in West Virginia takes their own life. More than 44,000 people in the United States died by suicide in 2016.
“That breaks down in the United States to every 13 minutes,” she said. “When you think about it that way — how many people could potentially take their lives — that’s really staggering.”
Toman said most people who attempt suicide are also dealing with mental illness that may be undiagnosed.
“We can tell sometimes through their environment, through their talk,” she added. “There are different ways that we can tell that may warn the rest of us that may not know what that looks, sounds or feels like.”
The warning signs include a person talking about being a burden to others; increased use of alcohol or drugs; withdrawing from activities; sleeping too much or too little; feeling depressed; and having a loss of interest. A person may also be affected by factors such as family history of suicide attempts and stressful life events.
Toman said by raising awareness and increasing resources, it is also tearing down the stigma of suicide.
“Our brain is an organ of our body, and any of our organs of our body can become sick at any time,” she said. “Our brains can become ill just like our liver or our kidneys or our heart and we can’t function without our brain, plain and simple.”
Toman said how the country has addressed suicide has improved, noting her experience as a loss survivor following the death of her brother.
“Our newspaper didn’t want to put his obituary in the paper, even though I don’t think my parents had any intention of mentioning it was a suicide,” she said.
“So many people didn’t know how to help us because they were afraid to even say the word out loud. Our closest friends didn’t know how to help us. Our own family didn’t know how to help us. There were very few resources available. For me, as a loss survivor, it’s been incredible for me to be part of this movement and see not only my state, but my nation and the world around me, change about having these conversations.”
If you are or know someone who is thinking about suicide, the following resources are available:
— Help for West Virginia; 1-844-HELP-4-WV (1-844-435-74980);
— National Suicide Prevention Lifeline; 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255);
— Vets 4 Warriors for veterans; 1-855-838-8255; and
— Crisis Text Line for text messaging; text “TALK” or “HELLO” 741741.
Today begins National Suicide Prevention Week. Show your support by taking action right from AFSP’s website #NSPW https://t.co/IoegByzYbM pic.twitter.com/01O4ksh7gE
— Suicide Prevention (@afspnational) September 10, 2017