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Concern over suicide rate
By Francesca Olsen
HUDSON - It was clear that conclusions needed to be drawn in 2008 when the numbers came out: 20 deaths as a result of suicide for that year. This month, a new step will be taken to implement a prevention program, and attempt to clear the confusion.
An $8,000 donation from the estate of Kurt Almer was marked for developing a contract with a consultant to study the 2008 deaths and develop a suicide prevention program for the county June 15.
This is in addition to an existing task force, assembled last fall, with Mental Health Department Director Dr. Michael O’Leary, Nancy Winch, director of the Public Health Department, two county coroners, a representative from Columbia Memorial Hospital, and two epidemiologists. Bradley White at the Human Services Department is also on the task force.
“The reason we’re puzzled is there was no identifiable pattern,” said White. What stands out from the data is that 40 percent of the 2008 suicides were women. “Women are taking on more lethal attempts,” said White.
O’Leary said a typical year would have about seven deaths by suicide. “We’ve as much as possible tried to gather information on who the 20 victims were and tried to find any similarities or threads,” he said. “We haven’t come up with anything yet. I contacted contiguous counties, and they did not experience the same jump in numbers that we did.”
In 2009, numbers have been down. O’Leary declined to give a number because the year’s not over, but he said “it’s nowhere close to what we had in 2008.”
The $8,000 will allow O’Leary to hire a consultant for a one-year project “to really do more than what I can do in regard to analyzing the 2008 losses and squarely develop an across-the-board prevention program in this county.”
O’Leary said the first step in suicide prevention is awareness — and a change of public consciousness. “The major objective that we have is to decrease the negative stigma attached to these conditions in our community,” he said. “Primarily, the emphasis has to be person-to-person.”
If people were educated about warning signs of severe depression and behavior that might indicate someone is at risk for suicide in the same way they were educated about the Heimlich maneuver or CPR, this might normalize severe depression as another aspect of public health.
“It’s not an issue of willpower or character,” he said. “This is brain chemistry, and there are certain signs you would look for.”
The worst thing to do, according to O’Leary, is to ignore someone who shows warning signs.
According to a report from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, more than 90 percent of suicide victims have a significant psychiatric illness at the time of their death. These are often undiagnosed, untreated, or both.
Warning signs can include giving away prized possessions, sudden or impulsive purchase of a firearm, expressing a strong wish to die, recent impulsiveness or taking unnecessary risks, unexpected rage or anger and increased alcohol or drug use.
“I’m sending out a letter to town supervisors asking them to please consider inviting me to present to town boards regarding the need to treat depression and other thought and emotion-based disorders,” O’Leary said. “These conditions are very treatable through medication and verbal therapy.”
O’Leary said that the majority of the county’s 2008 suicide victims were not involved in mental health treatment.
The task force is currently looking at records about the amount of antidepressants being prescribed in the county in the last three years. “We’re going to see if there was a dip for the year prior,” said White, who explained that research shows that when groups of people don’t get access to antidepressants the suicide rate goes up.
“It’s the only proxy we have,” said White. “It’s easier to count prescriptions than to count psychotherapy sessions.” White said that pharmaceutical retail data is more comprehensive than doctor-collected data.
O’Leary will also be reaching out locally to the families of suicide victims, asking if he can talk about what happened to get some more information regarding the reason for such a large year-to-year increase. “I should learn more as a result of that,” he said.
Another problem to consider in the future is the issue of returning veterans who “have, in general, a much higher suicide risk rate than the general population,” according to O’Leary.
“While it doesn’t appear we are experiencing that yet, I think we need to prepare ourselves for the consequences of the experiences those vets have had,” he said. O’Leary has sent a proposal to the Veteran’s Affairs Center in Albany. “This proposal would invite the VA in Albany to outpost some of their resources,” he said.
This way, veterans would use the Mental Health facility in the county. “It makes sense that people get their mental health services the same place where they work, where their families live, where the rest of their lives are,” said O’Leary.
Mental health services are provided regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. The county mental health service takes all forms of insurance, and charges on a sliding scale for the uninsured. There is also a 24-hour crisis hotline at 518-828-9446.
The Department of Mental Health is already making plans for its second annual “Out of the Darkness” walk Sept. 26, sponsored by the local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In November, the department will host the national Webcast from the foundation, which features thousands of family members of victims of suicide and a panel discussion.
“I’m hopeful that during this year, we’re going to continue our efforts to educate the public. That’s the most effective intervention,” said O’Leary.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
An $8,000 donation from the estate of Kurt Almer was marked for developing a contract with a consultant to study the 2008 deaths and develop a suicide prevention program for the county June 15.
This is in addition to an existing task force, assembled last fall, with Mental Health Department Director Dr. Michael O’Leary, Nancy Winch, director of the Public Health Department, two county coroners, a representative from Columbia Memorial Hospital, and two epidemiologists. Bradley White at the Human Services Department is also on the task force.
“The reason we’re puzzled is there was no identifiable pattern,” said White. What stands out from the data is that 40 percent of the 2008 suicides were women. “Women are taking on more lethal attempts,” said White.
O’Leary said a typical year would have about seven deaths by suicide. “We’ve as much as possible tried to gather information on who the 20 victims were and tried to find any similarities or threads,” he said. “We haven’t come up with anything yet. I contacted contiguous counties, and they did not experience the same jump in numbers that we did.”
In 2009, numbers have been down. O’Leary declined to give a number because the year’s not over, but he said “it’s nowhere close to what we had in 2008.”
The $8,000 will allow O’Leary to hire a consultant for a one-year project “to really do more than what I can do in regard to analyzing the 2008 losses and squarely develop an across-the-board prevention program in this county.”
O’Leary said the first step in suicide prevention is awareness — and a change of public consciousness. “The major objective that we have is to decrease the negative stigma attached to these conditions in our community,” he said. “Primarily, the emphasis has to be person-to-person.”
If people were educated about warning signs of severe depression and behavior that might indicate someone is at risk for suicide in the same way they were educated about the Heimlich maneuver or CPR, this might normalize severe depression as another aspect of public health.
“It’s not an issue of willpower or character,” he said. “This is brain chemistry, and there are certain signs you would look for.”
The worst thing to do, according to O’Leary, is to ignore someone who shows warning signs.
According to a report from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, more than 90 percent of suicide victims have a significant psychiatric illness at the time of their death. These are often undiagnosed, untreated, or both.
Warning signs can include giving away prized possessions, sudden or impulsive purchase of a firearm, expressing a strong wish to die, recent impulsiveness or taking unnecessary risks, unexpected rage or anger and increased alcohol or drug use.
“I’m sending out a letter to town supervisors asking them to please consider inviting me to present to town boards regarding the need to treat depression and other thought and emotion-based disorders,” O’Leary said. “These conditions are very treatable through medication and verbal therapy.”
O’Leary said that the majority of the county’s 2008 suicide victims were not involved in mental health treatment.
The task force is currently looking at records about the amount of antidepressants being prescribed in the county in the last three years. “We’re going to see if there was a dip for the year prior,” said White, who explained that research shows that when groups of people don’t get access to antidepressants the suicide rate goes up.
“It’s the only proxy we have,” said White. “It’s easier to count prescriptions than to count psychotherapy sessions.” White said that pharmaceutical retail data is more comprehensive than doctor-collected data.
O’Leary will also be reaching out locally to the families of suicide victims, asking if he can talk about what happened to get some more information regarding the reason for such a large year-to-year increase. “I should learn more as a result of that,” he said.
Another problem to consider in the future is the issue of returning veterans who “have, in general, a much higher suicide risk rate than the general population,” according to O’Leary.
“While it doesn’t appear we are experiencing that yet, I think we need to prepare ourselves for the consequences of the experiences those vets have had,” he said. O’Leary has sent a proposal to the Veteran’s Affairs Center in Albany. “This proposal would invite the VA in Albany to outpost some of their resources,” he said.
This way, veterans would use the Mental Health facility in the county. “It makes sense that people get their mental health services the same place where they work, where their families live, where the rest of their lives are,” said O’Leary.
Mental health services are provided regardless of an individual’s ability to pay. The county mental health service takes all forms of insurance, and charges on a sliding scale for the uninsured. There is also a 24-hour crisis hotline at 518-828-9446.
The Department of Mental Health is already making plans for its second annual “Out of the Darkness” walk Sept. 26, sponsored by the local chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In November, the department will host the national Webcast from the foundation, which features thousands of family members of victims of suicide and a panel discussion.
“I’m hopeful that during this year, we’re going to continue our efforts to educate the public. That’s the most effective intervention,” said O’Leary.
To reach reporter Francesca Olsen, call 518-828-1616, ext. 2272, or e-mail folsen@registerstar.com.
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