We lose too many Kentuckians to suicide. We need to end stigmas of getting help | Opinion

In the 17 years since September was established as National Suicide Prevention Month, the science of suicide prevention has made great strides. We have theories explaining suicidal thinking (ideation) and behavior. There are now multiple methods of screening for and assessing suicide risk among a broad range of child, adolescent, and adult populations. We have effective treatments for suicidal ideation and behavior. There is now a sophisticated national three-digit number – 988 — that provides 24/7 access with trained crisis counselors.

Still, people are dying at record high numbers. Every year nearly 50,000 Americans more than 800 Kentuckians die by suicide. Suicide is at its highest since 1941 and has increased more than 30 percent in the last 20 years.

To make matters worse, for every person who dies by suicide, 135 individuals are exposed to these deaths. Of these 135 individuals exposed to suicide death, 48 may be so adversely impacted that they have higher levels of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. A study in England showed higher levels of suicide attempt among college students exposed to suicide. Suicide is a behavior that seems to beget more suicide, and leave behind a legacy of despair for those who are grieving these losses.

Fifty percent or more of people who die by suicide do not seek help beforehand. Why is this? A hundred years ago, people died of cancer because their doctors refused to share their diagnosis with them. However, as treatments for cancer became more effective and advocates for screening and intervention prevailed – a la Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer — cancer was no longer perceived as a death sentence. The barrier of stigma was lifted and lives were saved. Could self-stigmatization impact help-seeking for suicide?

Even though many clinicians will encounter a suicidal patient in their career, most still do not receive adequate training in the new science around how to assess, intervene, and manage suicide risk among their patients. Standard clinical care and treatment that is research-based and effective are critical for addressing specific conditions, such as cancer and HIV/AIDS. Suicide is now viewed as a stand-alone target of treatment, not part of a constellation of symptoms in a diagnosis. Treatments are available to address suicide. Yet, clinicians are not getting broadly trained in them and patients are avoiding seeking help for their suffering.

Mental health advocates, survivors of suicide loss, survivors of suicide attempts have been critical to the fomenting of research, community, state and federal support of suicide prevention over the past 30 years. Still, stigma ravages suicide. This stigma a— lethal combination of fear and ignorance — continue to create significant barriers to proper attention, clinical training, and resource allocation, making public health campaigns and broad awareness mission-critical.

The rise in suicide is particularly concerning among young people, among whom mental health-related problems are especially prevalent. University counseling centers and clinics are seeing a higher acuity of presenting problems among their students, creating greater burden for mental health resources on campus. This may also be an opportunity to address the problem of suicide on college campuses where suicide is the second leading cause of death.

The Eastern Kentucky University’s Psychology Clinic’s Trauma and Suicide Prevention Clinic (TSPC) provides suicide-focused treatment to students and community members, as well as suicide bereavement services to those loved ones most impacted by suicide loss.

In its mission to combat stigma, the EKU Psychology Clinic also educates the public and will host the “Stigma and Suicide: Breaking the Silence to Save Lives Conference” at EKU Perkins Conference Center on Friday, Sept. 26. Dr. Thomas Joiner, leading scholar and author of Why People Die By Suicide, will keynote. Panelists from a variety of professional backgrounds will discuss the problem of stigma to help-seeking and what we can do to address it.

These include veteran jockey Mike Smith, who will be talking about the significance of stigma in the thoroughbred industry and how it threatens the lives of jockeys and trainers alike. Well-known Lexington trial lawyer Bruce Simpson will discuss how stigma kept him from getting help until his suicide attempt several years ago. University of Kentucky professor Julie Cerel will discuss how those impacted most by suicide loss, known as “suicide bereaved,” may become suicidal themselves. Effective interventions to treat these suicide bereaved will be introduced by the Kentucky Suicide Prevention Coordinator and Zero Suicide Director.

To register for Stigma and Suicide: Breaking the Silence to Save Lives conference: https://commerce.cashnet.com/cashneti/static/storefront/EKUPSYD2

Melinda Moore is a Professor of Psychology at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), the EKU Psychology Clinic Suicide Prevention Coordinator, and treats suicidal and suicide bereaved individuals in private practice in Lexington.