{"id":39871,"date":"2021-05-24T14:26:29","date_gmt":"2021-05-24T20:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=39871"},"modified":"2024-03-07T10:47:23","modified_gmt":"2024-03-07T17:47:23","slug":"suicidal-ideation-and-how-to-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/suicidal-ideation-and-how-to-help\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding suicidal ideation and how to help"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Behavior and mental health always have been an issue but with the pandemic, it’s exacerbated. Understand suicidal ideation and how you can help yourself or those around you. Source: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The pandemic has wreaked havoc on our mental health. Even the most resilient people are being challenged, but for those already suffering from mental illnesses, it has pushed them to their limits.<\/p>\n

Symptoms of anxiety and depressive disorders increased considerably in the United States from April through June of 2020, compared with the same period in 2019, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n

“Certainly behavior and mental health always has been an issue but with COVID, it’s exacerbated,” said Josie Rosenberg, a behavioral health counselor at UCHealth Mountain Crest Behavioral Health Center<\/a> in Fort Collins and UCHealth\u2019s coordinator for Zero Suicide in northern Colorado. “For adolescents, it’s been hard doing online school and not having access to their social circles and extracurricular activities. They are burned out and parents are burned out by having to support their kids and do their work at home. Everyone knows it’s been an incredibly difficult year. Substance abuse is more prevalent, and we know financial struggles and problems can be a real risk factor for suicide.”<\/p>\n

One CDC study showed<\/a> that during June 2020, 31% of U.S. adults reported anxiety or depression<\/a> symptoms, 26% reported trauma or stressor-related disorder symptoms, and 11% seriously considered suicide.<\/p>\n

Nationally, suicide by those ages 10-24 has been steadily increasing over the past decades \u2014 57% between 2007 and 2018, according to the National Vital Statistics Report<\/a> released in September 2020.<\/p>\n

In January 2021, the Surgeon General released a call to action to implement the national strategy for suicide prevention.<\/p>\n

UCHealth Today looked at what UCHealth and Colorado are doing to improve mental health services, and we asked our behavioral health care experts what you can do to keep loved ones safe when their options in life seem so narrow that they believe there is no other way out.<\/p>\n

Understanding suicidal ideation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hopelessness \u2014 that\u2019s the main link with suicide,\u201d Rosenberg said. \u201cWhen someone considers suicide, they have no cognitive flexibility \u2014 they are unable to see other options or possibilities. They are stuck and believe this is the only solution for problems, problems that could very likely be solved if they get help. But mentally, they are unable to see that.<\/p>\n

\u201cTreatment works with the patient collaboratively to solve those problems that are the drivers of that suicidal ideation so the person can see there are other options.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a community, Rosenberg said we need to talk about suicide, bringing awareness to the problem and acceptance for those in need of services. May \u2014 Mental Health Awareness Month<\/a> \u2014 is as good of time as any to start.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important that our communities are involved and understand this is an issue,\u201d she said. \u201cThese people already feel isolated, and not talking about this stuff, they will feel even more alone when they do have these thoughts, and that\u2019s a dangerous thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Suicide in Colorado<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Even before the pandemic<\/a> began, a record number \u2014 1,287 \u2014 of Coloradans lost their lives to suicide in 2019. Historically, Colorado is in the top 10 states for death by suicide.<\/p>\n

While mental health is a major risk factor, suicide is complex. Physical health challenges, lack of social support, access to lethal methods and situational causes like job loss also contribute to the risk, according to the Colorado Health Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In September 2019, UCHealth announced it would dedicate more than $100 million for behavioral health care. Last year, UCHealth integrated behavioral health specialists into many of primary care offices so mental and behavioral health challenges could be addressed along with physical health. Patients may also consult with a psychiatrist via video through UCHealth\u2019s Virtual Health Center. UCHealth has also committed to adding a new inpatient behavioral health unit at University of Colorado Hospital.<\/p>\n

Four years ago, UCHealth Memorial Hospital participated in a study for Youth Suicide and Lethal Means Counseling<\/a>. As a result, Memorial\u2019s emergency room staff give trigger locks, gun safes and medication lock boxes to patients or family members as part of their \u201csafety planning and lethal means counseling\u201d during regular behavioral health evaluations in the ER or during hospital admission.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany suicidal crises last just 10 minutes and if someone has quick access to a weapon \u2026 with guns there is very little room to save their life,\u201d said Andrea Wood, behavioral health manager for UCHealth in southern Colorado. \u201cIf we can get them or a family member to lock up that weapon, they gain that 10 minutes back. It slows down their process to give them time to think about their crisis.<\/p>\n

“We are not talking about taking away guns, but reducing access until they are out of the crisis \u2014 that’s what this is about,” Wood said.<\/p>\n

Another step UCHealth has taken recently is to agree to become a Zero Suicide Organization. In early 2021, UCHealth began training and educating employees about suicide prevention to help caregivers recognize suicidal ideology in patients, loved ones and coworkers.<\/p>\n

What is a Zero Suicide Organization?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe main piece and most important about being a Zero Suicide Organization is that it will close the gaps in the system,\u201d said Wood, who has now passed on her Zero Suicide coordinator role to Robin Schawe. \u201cWe use to not ask about brain health but now we ask everyone and talk to everyone about it in hopes we open the door for those people who need help to walk through.”<\/p>\n

This is done by using the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale<\/a>. C-SSRS is an evidence-supported questionnaire used for suicide assessment. It asks straightforward questions, like, “Have you wished you were dead or that you\u2019d go to sleep and never wake up?”

90% of people who attempt suicide and live, don\u2019t later die from suicide.<\/div>\n

\u201cWe might all feel like not getting up sometimes in the morning, but when you get to the point of thinking vs. planning vs. taking actual steps to carry it out, the Columbia walks our nursing staff through those questions and then what steps they should take based on the patient\u2019s risk level,\u201d Wood said.<\/p>\n

There are seven elements to the Zero Suicide program, from working on culture change at the leadership level to staff training and evaluating monthly progress for improvements to how care is transitioned to qualified people within the community.<\/p>\n

The initiative already is producing promising results.<\/p>\n

“Forensic and emergency nurses have shared stories where they’ve been able to identify and help someone with a plan and intent to commit suicide,” Wood said. “And we hear many, many times that if we hadn’t asked and they had left, they probably would have tried to end their life by suicide.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we started this, we thought patients would be frustrated by us asking, but instead, we are finding they appreciate us caring for their brain care along with their medical care.”<\/p>\n

So, what can I do to help lessen suicide rates?<\/strong><\/h2>\n