SUICIDE

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SUICIDE

• Dr. Kayj Nash Okine

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Important Statistics

• Gender differences females are 3x more likely to
  attempt suicide males are 4-5x more likely to
  commit suicide
• Age factors dramatic increase in suicide rates
  among adolescents and the elderly highest rates
  for older-age men middle-age women
• Ethnic/racial factors white native American

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General Warning Signs for Suicide

• Verbal suicide threats talk of wanting to die
• Previous suicide attempt
• Risk-taking or reckless behavior
• Final arrangements making peace, giving away
  possessions
• Neglect of academics, work, or personal
  appearance
• Separation from loved ones or significant others
• Themes of death, depression, or suicide in
  writing or art
• Unusual purchases gun, rope, medications,
  poisons
• Increased sadness, discouragement, or loneliness
• Sudden happiness following prolonged depression
• Hyperactivity, substance abuse, aggression

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Warning Signs for Suicide in Adolescents

• Social withdrawal
• Increased irritability, moodiness
• Writing goodbye letters to friends
• Giving away possessions
• Decline in school performance
• Loss of appetite
• Fatigue
• Loss of sleep, changes in sleep patterns

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Risk Factors For Suicide

• Stressful life events loss of, or abandonment
  by, significant others abuse social alienation
  lack of social support financial hardship
• Social contagion or clustering
• Serious physical illness
• Mental illness mood disorders, alcohol other
  substance abuse, borderline personality disorder
• Genetic factors 6-fold increase if family
  member attempted suicide
• Biochemistry low levels of serotonin
• Personality factors impulsivity, instability,
  emotional reactivity, risk-taking
• Access to lethal means

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Suicide Prevention

• Raise the subject directly
• Express care and concern
• Be willing to talk to the person and listen
• Dont try to fix the problem or be their
  therapist
• Strongly encourage the person to seek
  professional help
• Contact a family member or significant other to
  share your concerns
• Maintain contact with the person
• Dont leave the person alone if in immediate
  crisis or danger

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Treatment and Prevention

• Community-Based Prevention crisis intervention
  programs suicide hotlines school programs
  awareness-raising programs
• Drug Treatments lithium SSRIs
• Psychological Treatments suicide assessment
  cognitive behavioral therapy dialectical
  behavior therapy no-suicide contract