DJ Devine RL Wife of DJ Texas Tornado's blog: "Serious Concerns"

Preface: As many of you know, I attended a QPR Suicide Prevention Gatekeeper Training Class related to meeting suicide needs of people in various situations on September 10, 2007 (“World Suicide Prevention Day“), as offered and supported through the Austin/Travis County Suicide Prevention Coalition. Noel and Elizabeth Roebuck were there facilitating the class, while the class was lead by a Certified QPR Instructor, Janie E. Black, M.Ed. My interest in learning more about suicide stems from a second cousin killing himself with a shotgun (butt placed on the toilet and pointed to directly under his jaw) after returning home from a war and struggling with a variety of issues when I was in my pre-teen years…and, in later years, having friends go through bouts of suicidal tendencies, threats and attempts. Additionally, in working with domestic violence and victim situations throughout the years in the shelter and on the phones, it has been my experience that callers have called in, both from the victim and aggressor roles, with suicidal thoughts. To better prepare my effectiveness with these callers, I seek guidance from organizations that provide information and guidance to be more effective. In the past, we have been able to refer these callers to the Suicide/Hope Line by stating something to the effect of, “I think your needs would be better served by calling the Hope Line“; however, it has been my experience that we are getting more callers who have stated that they have called and were not helped by them (either put on hold forever, didn’t answer the phones, or offered no hope for them). Do we turn them away? No. We, instead, take time to listen to this caller even more intently than ever before. While this caller may not be actually going to attempt to kill themselves tonight, they are thinking about it; if they are thinking about it, they may well have indeed an a plan of action in place. Would you really want the weight of that life on your mind??? I would think not, and (as such) I do take each of these calls extremely seriously and try to provide them a ray of hope after listening to them very intently and interacting with their call. The Class: In knowing that they were going to hand out some handouts in the class, I went in slightly unprepared and didn’t have a tablet at hand to capture the statistics that they tossed out. One of the first questions, though, that was asked was -- “How many of you here today have survived suicide attempts?” (and a few raised their hand) and “How many of you here today are suicide survivors?” (and, a few more raised their hands). It was later clarified that anyone that has had the loss of a family member, friend, coworker, acquaintance, etc. are all survivors of suicide and a survivor of suicide attempt is an individual who has survived an attempt on their lives. Elizabeth Roebuck added that saying that one is a suicide survivor takes the power out of the words and allows one to be able to move forward. QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer): QPR isn’t intended as a form of counseling, but is likened more to CPR as, while the fundamentals are easily learned, it just might save a life. It is the baby of Paul Quinnett in 1995. I am not going to attempt to replicate the booklet as there are some copyright issues and the basis that the booklet provided be used in conjunction with training, which a call to Noel or Elizabeth Roebuck of the Austin/Travis County Suicide Prevention Coalition can initiate the training aspects. Some highlights from my notes: * When consoling with a suicide survivor, the most important thing to remember is that their emotions are numb and much of what you say is not going to matter too much. They are not going to hear it all because their emotions are running rampant and wondering if they could have possibly have prevented their loved one’s or friend’s death. It is important to remember that your presence alone is all that they may need, as well as some reassurances that they are not to be blamed in any way, shape or form. Once a suicide attempt is made, it isn’t necessarily to die, but more to relieve themselves of some pain -- whether it is perceived or real. All one needs to say to suicide survivor is “I am sorry for your loss” because it is their loss that they are grieving for. * There is a survivor of suicide support group at the Hospice of Austin. * Highest risk group is ages 15-23; however, the most successful completions are the elderly. * Most communicate their event sometime before the event. * For the 5th year in a row, Austin has been the highest rate of suicide deaths in all of the metro cities of Texas. (There was no possible explanations provided in the class for this.) * There have been 12 suicide deaths per 100,000 population for the past 25 years. * Depression is a medical illness. * Suicidologist -- a real term and position. Our speaker for a good portion of the class, Janie Black Med (from the QPR Institute) is a suicidologist and is currently working with the University of Texas on a suicide study project. * About the hopelessness that the people who are suicidal feel, they don’t want to die; they just want the pain to go away. They have a constriction of options that seem myopic. * Asking directly to a suspected suicidal person about their feelings and thoughts, etc., does open up communications. They are wanting to talk, but don’t think most people will understand them. * Assure the suspected suicidal person that their feelings are normal and allow them to talk freely. * Do not ever ask -- “You aren’t thinking about that, are you?”, “You aren’t suicidal, are you?”, or “Are you going to hurt yourself?”. In their eyes, they aren’t going to hurt themselves, they are merely going to put themselves out of the misery and the pain. * Some good less direct approaches to ask (if you are uncomfortable with asking directly) -- “Have you been unhappy lately?”, “Have you been very unhappy lately?”, or “Have you been ever so very unhappy?” * Some good direct approaches to ask -- “Are you thinking about killing yourself?”, “You look pretty miserable, I wonder if you are thinking about suicide?”, or “You know when people are as upset as you seem to be, they sometimes wish they were dead. I am wondering if you feel that way too?” * NOTE: If you are afraid to ask, go find someone who is not afraid to ask. * Some protective factors to bring up -- “What would your (child, parents, spouse, etc.) do if you killed yourself?” Sometimes, these will help aid in prolonging their own lives. * Don’t use the term “commit” suicide. They are not seeing it as a criminal act; they are seeing it as an act to release them from pain. * Sometimes helpful is to sit down with them and make a list of pros and cons of living or dying -- ie. A column with “Why live?” and another column with “Why die?” * A helpful book about suicide is -- LAY MY BURDEN DOWN (I didn’t catch the author’s name) Discussion regarding the many paths to suicide: FUNDAMENTAL RISK FACTORS (1) Biological - genetic load, sex glbt, race, age (2) Personal/Psychological - child abuse, loss of parent, culture shock/shift, values/ religious beliefs, drugs or alcohol (3) Environmental - season of the year, geography, urban v. rural, model for suicide PROXIMAL RISK FACTORS (“triggers” or “final straws”) * Crisis in relationship * Loss of freedom * Fired/Expelled * Illness * Major Loss * Others….real or perceived Increasing hopelessness, Contemplation of Suicide as a solution Meeting Walls of Resistances (protective factors) * Counselors/therapists * Duty to others * Job security or job skills * Responsibility of children * Support of significant others * Difficult to Access to means * A sense of hope * Positive Self Esteem * Pets * Religious prohibition * Calm environment * AA or NA Sponsor * Best friends * Safety Agreement * Treatment availability * Sobriety Causes of Death -- poison, gun, hanging, autocide, jumping, and others. Conclusion: As in wrapping up the intense study in the 2 hr class, resources were passed along. Many of them are centralized to those requiring the services in the State of Texas; however, most are also receptive to receiving calls from all over the United States and they will refer, if need be to a resource more directly related to the caller’s area. Some things to remember when talking to someone contemplating suicide -- (1) “I want you to live!” (2) “I’m on your side!” (3) Give referrals (see below….) WHEN YOU APPLY QPR, YOU APPLY HOPE, AND HOPE GIVES LIFE!! National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (open 24/7) 1-800-273-TALK (or 1-800-273-8255) Please remember, if it is life threatening, 911 or the nearest hospital emergency room is advisable. To get immediate care when talking to a healthcare provider, they need to be sure to say that they are in danger of harming themselves and use the word “suicidal”. Texas MHMR and Crisis Hotlines in Texas: * Texas Council of Community MHMR Centers (http://www.TX council.com/crisis.html) * Texas Suicide Prevention (http://www.TexasSuicidePrevention.org) * Coming Together To Care: A Toolkit for Texas Communities’ Appendix (http://www.MHATexas.org) For Additional Information: * QPR Institute (http://www.qprinstitute.com) * Suicide Prevention Resource Center (http://www.sprc.org) * American Association of Suicidology (AAS) (http://www.sociology.org) * American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) (http://www.afsp.org) * Texas QPR Gatekeeper Trainer/Mentor -- Merily Keller (mhkeller@onr.com) * Texas SPR Gatekeeper Trainer -- Elizabeth Roebuck (nroebuck@ix.netcom.com) * Austin Travis County Plan for Suicide Prevention: Guidelines for Suicide Prevention, which was submitted to Mayor Will Wynn in August 2005 (http://www.atcmhmr.com/about_us/Suicide_Prevention_Plan_200507.PDF) Emergency Interventions in Austin, TX (check for similar resources in other cities nationwide): * Crisis Line - Austin Travis County MHMR Center 512-454-3521 or 512-472-4357(HELP) * Seton Shoal Creek Hospital 512-324-2029 * Austin State Hospital 512-419-2810 * St. David’s Pavillion 512-867-5800 * Veteran’s Administration 512-389-1010 * Breckenridge Emergency Room 512-324-7010 * Seton Emergency Room 512-324-1010 * Seton Northwest Emergency Room 512-324-6010 * Seton Southwest Emergency Room 512-324-9010 * St. David’s Emergency Room 512-397-4240 * South Austin Emergency Room 512-4488-7160 * North Austin Medical Center Emergency Room 512-901-1100 * 211 Information and referral line (211) * Access Homeless Services 512-478-5644 * Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) 512-305-4100 * Salvation Army 512-476-1111 * Substance Abuse Outreach, Screening, Assessment and Referral (OSAR) 1-800-508-0834 * Austin Recovery 1-800-373-2081 or 512-697-8600 College (Do not necessarily need to be a student of these colleges) * UT Austin 512-471-2255 * Concordia University 512-486-1222 * St. Edward’s University 512-448-8444 Local Dates to Remember: September 9-15, 2007 -- National Suicide Prevention Week (www.aas.org) September 23, 2007 -- Out of the Darkness (http://www.outofthedarkness.org) Community Walk for AFSP (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention) at the Texas State Capitol (registration at 10am, 3K walk begins at 11am) NOTE: Should anyone desire any clarification of the above, please feel free to contact me. I will do my best to clarify.