AN HONEST CONVERSATION ON SUICIDE PREVENTION

Dan Mucci • Feb 28, 2023

The word SUICIDE conjures up many feelings for individuals – anger, fear, sadness, taboo (saying the word) and often survivor’s guilt for those left behind. The stigma around mental health is softening, yet as a society, suicide still holds a different stigma.


On Feb. 8, Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) moderated a Suicide Prevention Panel discussion with area Stark County college students, which included participation from students, faculty and community members. C&A’s Trauma Specialist Mary Kreitz moderated the discussion.


Mary started the discussion with some startling figures:


Suicide is the second leading cause of death between the ages of 15-34

One in five people affected by suicide report having thoughts of self-harm

For every one person who dies by suicide, 147 people who know someone personally who has died by suicide.

Six people will experience high levels of stress for a considerable length of time afterward.

The death of a close friend or loved one, especially if that death is due to suicide, can be a risk factor for suicide.

Kreitz said, “Most people, at some point in their life, will experience distress and have thoughts that they don’t want to go on living, or that they wouldn’t mind going to bed and never waking up again.”

Challenges facing today’s students

University of Mount Union senior student and panelist Gretchen Koken and Aultman College panelist Lauren Wilson both indicated social media is a huge stressor, including the new platform Yik Yak, where students can post negative comments about other students for no reason and there is no way to respond to the anonymous posted comments. In addition, seeing posts on social media and comparing your situation to someone else’s is challenging and difficult to handle when people appear happy in the moment.


Koken, a student-athlete, indicated her coach has not had conversations with the team regarding mental health. The expectations her coach or other coaches at the university place on athletes, in her opinion, are unrealistic. The attitude is you get better and toughen up.

Depression is a factor in suicide

Koken said, “A person needs to accept their own feelings. It is not a choice. To help a person (with depression or suicide thoughts), you need to have hard conversations. Let people know they can talk to you; you won’t go anywhere. People who are depressed lose their perception of normal. Depression is a real disease similar to heart disease, diabetes or anxiety. It is a real condition and people need to educate themselves more on mental health.”


Koken mentioned that the year before she helped two friends who were considering suicide. Koken, a psychology major, provided examples of how she tried to help her friends.

“I am close to my parents,” she said. “I encouraged my friend to speak with her parents. There is still stigma about mental health. Parents need to let their kids know it is ok to have these conversations.”


However, parents are not always a source of comfort. Koken shared the story of a situation in which the reactions of the person’s parents made them feel worse. In that situation, she found it helpful to assist her friend to write down all the reasons she had for living and what to look forward to.  “You have to be there for them. Be present in the same room – cook something together, color, be in that space. Validate their feelings. The person needs to feel valued.”


Kreitz spoke to the fact parents want to do the right thing and be there for their children but it can be hard for a parent to hear their child is suffering. “Before a child is born, parents have dreams, hopes and expectations for their child and it is painful to hear the child wants to end their life. It can often be more than parents can handle.”


Aultman College’s Lauren Wilson, a non-traditional student and a mother of two kids, said, “We need to have normalized conversations around mental health. Mental health days are needed and should be available for people.”


Wilson shared that she knew someone who died by suicide. “It is getting better than where it was,” said Wilson. “In the ‘90s, no one would reach out to you. A doctor did not suggest you go to support group for help. You felt alone. I felt such shame and guilt from surviving. Today, there are better resources.”

I should’ve….

Kreitz indicated many people feel survivor’s guilt following a suicide. A common phrase friends and family will use is “I should have..”


“I should have seen the signs,” said Kreitz. “After the fact, people will look back and see signs they missed. And that is a horrible feeling. And to make things worse, people will pass judgment and say the person was selfish, bad, it was cop out.

“What we really should be doing is being more supportive. Showing compassion and love for that person. What if it were me? How would I want people to treat me?”


Protective factors -help reduce the risks of suicide


One of the ways Koken suggested providing help to someone is taking time with an individual who is considering suicide. Help them make a list of important things in their life and what they have to look forward too. “Remind the person, these feelings are temporary.”


Wilson has a unique perspective as a parent, and a non-traditional student changing career paths.


“It can be two-fold,” said Wilson. “You see your kids growing up. That brings stressors to parents, even having discussions on mental health regularly. You need to have connectability and stability. If you say something, do it. I will be there for you. Even if the timing is not great, I will be there and drop everything and give 100% to the person, and then hopefully someone is there for you.”


Kreitz added, resiliency is important and finding a solid connection with someone is important, whether that is a spouse, significant other, friend or partner. “If you are busy, and a person asks for help, and you don’t have time, the person will see themselves as a burden. ‘I don’t really matter. They have other things more important to do.’ I have to be there for someone who needs me today.”


A mindset of gratitude can be extremely helpful because it shifts the focus from the ways one is dissatisfied with life to recognizing things that make life worth living. An easy way to cultivate a mindset of gratitude is to every day write down three things you feel grateful for or appreciate.

How can teachers/professors be more helpful?

Kreitz said one way professors could be more helpful is to take a trauma-informed perspective, which means considering what is happening in a student’s life, rather than focusing on what the student is doing wrong. For example, is student is frequently asking for extension on assignments, the prof can say, “What is going on in your life? What is getting in the way of getting these assignments done? I will hold your confidence and what you tell me will remain private.”


Wilson added, “Be approachable. Be open to considering something different than how you taught the class the past five years. Be willing to make some schedule adjustments. Have good conversations with your students and develop a rapport.”


A final tip, “Be understanding and show grace on assignments,” said Koken. “If you see a student feeling overwhelmed, be willing to give him/her a mental health day.”


The panel concluded by saying professors also need to be aware of when to recommend a student see a counselor and provide mental health resources that are available for the student.


If you or someone you know is experiencing suicide ideation, please call/text 988 and locally call Coleman Crisis Mobile Youth at 330.452.6000 or C&A at 330.433.6075.


The Suicide Prevention Panel received a grant from the Ohio Program for College Mental Health & Safety. C&A’s Mary Kreitz has more than 20-years of experience in the field of mental health and is a leading trauma specialist in Stark County.


Dan Mucci is the author of this blog post. Mucci, C&A’s Mission Advancement Director for the past four years, has more than 20 years of writing experience. To learn more about the services the agency offers, visit www.childandadolescent.org , call 330.433.6075 or email dmucci@childandadolescent.org.

RECENT POSTS

STARK COUNTY SCHOOLS MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS

By Dan Mucci • 16 Apr, 2024
The sixth annual Stark County Schools Mental Health Awareness Week is May 6-10 Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A), CommQuest Services and Pathway Caring for Children will partner to bring positive mental health awareness to more than 53,000 students and 7,000 support and administrative staff in all 18 Stark County School districts.

UNDERSTANDING RACE IN SOCIETY AND THERAPY: CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS’ EXPERIENCES

By Chris Alpert • 16 Nov, 2023
In the film, I’m Not Racist… Am I? as introduced and explored in first of this three-part blog post series, the participants engaged in multiple workshops that address race and racism. Interpersonally, the group of students grapple with their own differences and similarities, which impact the content and emotions they share with each other. There are several moments in the film that demonstrate the clear differences in the participants’ understanding of race. In the first workshop, the students were exposed to the idea that all white people are inherently racist seeing as American society was founded on principles meant to support white people (see more on structural racism here, here, and here for further understanding). Several white students in the film became emotional during that workshop. Most students remained quiet. Following this workshop, a black student and a white student were filmed independently of each other in their own homes and discussed the workshop and what they learned with their families. The white student discussed the differences between structural racism and bigotry with her mother and struggled to identify with the principles taught in the training. The black student stated to his mother how almost everything spoken in that workshop applied to him. The student further discussed his feelings by stating how overt racism is and yet how “subliminal” it is at the same time. How can something be so in your face and yet under your feet simultaneously? I immediately reflected on the dialectic of something being so clear and yet so vague. The film continued to grapple with student differences. At the beginning of the film, one white male student discussed with his mother how he feels that all individuals, if they apply themselves wholeheartedly, have the same chance of success regardless of their skin, gender, sexuality or other demographic factors. As a white man myself, I must confess that when I was in high school, I had the same mindset. How could it be different? Especially when I was reading mythic bootstrap literature in high school classes. Sure, the harder you work the more you deserve, but that statement does not work for all Americans. I had not accounted for racial factors that inhibit the growth of others, not to mention socio-economic factors, nationalities, citizenship status, gender and age. I continued to reflect on these statements and connected them to my experience in high school in New York City. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement responding to the murder of George Floyd, multiple private progressive schools in New York, including the one I went to, suffered scrutiny from students and alumni who identify as black, indigenous people of color (BIPOC). Multiple Instagram accounts surfaced with the handle “BLACK AT [school name].” I read the posts in 2020, and again before writing this post, and remembered feeling horrified knowing these acts of racism, bigotry and microaggressions happened all around me. This was subliminal to me, yet overt to others.

UNDERSTANDING RACE IN SOCIETY AND THERAPY

By Chris Alpert • 01 Nov, 2023
When I first came to Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A), I was unsure what to expect regarding race and diversity at both the organization and in Ohio. Having grown up in Harlem in New York City and attended graduate school in San Diego, CA, I had heard stereotypes about Ohio, specifically that Ohio was a very white state. At C&A during orientation, we discussed the role of first impressions for clients and discussed how the front desk staff are considered, “the directors of first impressions.” I loved this term. After orientation, I wondered, why we didn’t discuss demographic factors such as race and gender? We generally pick those up upon first impressions and have implicit biases and judgements in those first impressions. It was odd to me that we did not discuss these demographic factors. As the summer and fall progressed, I noticed that there were few discussions about race as it impacts C&A and the kids and families we serve. I noticed the number of white staff at C&A and reflected on my own privilege as a white man who can easily avoid the discussion of race because I do not suffer discrimination on an individual or systemic level. I reflected on my first experiences discussing race in high school. When I was in high school at the Calhoun School, my father received a grant to create a film and workshops that addressed race and racism seen through the eyes of high schoolers in New York City. My dad had completed a training hosted by the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. This training opened my father’s eyes to his own white privilege and motivated him to teach kids, specifically white kids, about their privilege earlier in life. I first saw the film, I’m Not Racist… Am I? (see more here ), toward the end of high school after it had come out in 2014.

THE DANGERS OF MARIJUANA USE

By Dr. Karita Nussbaum • 20 Oct, 2023
Ohio is at a crossroads once again with marijuana on the ballot next month. The following article is from Every Brain Matters, an organization that believes that the THC in marijuana is a dangerous and addictive drug. Every Brain Matters is a trusted source of educational material based on the latest scientific evidence. One of the major criticisms of expanded marijuana legalization is that it makes the drug more accessible to minors. A brand-new study just published in JAMA Pediatrics shows that it has become a valid concern.

LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE – SOUTHERN NIGHTS: ILLUMINATING HOPE AND MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS FOR THE YOUNGER GENERATION

By Savannah Okray • 11 Sep, 2023
For the last few months, C&A has been diligently preparing for the 18th Annual Let Your Light Shine – Southern Nights presented by The Repository by organizing auction items, printing tickets and using their creativity to make sure that eventgoers feel as though they are walking into an evening in the south, with barrels and lanterns to boot. The committee, led by chair Jen Frey and co-chair Molly Sperling and auction chair Stacy Remark are hard at work, it’s crucial to remember that this event raises awareness and dollars to support the agency’s programs and services amid suicide prevention and awareness month.

GROWING WITH YOUR CHILD AS A PARENT

By Dan Mucci • 30 Aug, 2023
I have grown up as a parent for the last four and half years! As luck would have it, a little more than four and a half years ago, I started at Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health (C&A) in the mission advancement department with my responsibilities being the marketing and development coordinator. Some might say, I did a good job of raising my two kids, who were teenagers at the time. But, boy, if I had known of the services C&A offered and even some of the parenting tools for my toolbox, parenting might have been even better.

WHAT DID YOU DID THIS SUMMER?

By Dr. Karita Nussbaum • 09 Aug, 2023
This summer I attended a Marijuana Prevention conference near Denver, Colorado. I was curious to know what the locals were saying after 10 years of legalization. The speakers included a Denver Police Commander, school resource officer, medical doctor, residential treatment program CEO, deputy from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA), Executive Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Screening Association and others related to educating the community and defending children’s rights. In the audience were parents, professionals and advocates for children from all over the United States. The conference was geared toward the protection of children.

FROM DARKNESS TO DISCOVERY: MY COLLEGE JOURNEY OF SELF-TRANSFORMATION

By Savannah Okray • 24 Jul, 2023
When I arrived on campus, I tried to immerse myself in college culture. I joined a sorority, the speech and debate team, and two other clubs which were extensive time commitments, factoring in no time to relax or focus on bettering my mental health. This lack of attention to my mentality, combined with my low self-esteem that prevented me from making friends led me down a dark hole in which some days I thought it would be better if I wasn’t here. About four weeks into school (at Ohio University), I realized that I had to do something, as I knew it was not safe for me to continue down the road I had been on. From there I moved home and attended an inpatient treatment center where I worked with counselors for five hours a day, learning coping skills and other ways in which I could help mend my suffering mental health. Through the lessons I learned I was able to get the skill set and help I needed and returned to school three weeks later.

THIS IS WHY WE CELEBATE

By Mary Kreitz • 19 Jun, 2023
This time of year there are a lot of celebrations happening in our communities – Memorial Day, Pride Festivals, Juneteenth celebrations, 4th of July and many more. These events aren’t just frivolous excuses to have parties, backyard barbecues or festivals. They are important cultural and civic events we need these celebrations.
More Posts
Share by: