Everywhere you go, everyplace you live, all of us know somebody or of someone who has or has attempted to commit suicide. Myself not excluded, I myself know a couple people who have and honestly I have tried it once or twice....thankfully for me my attempts didn't work.
Today I woke up from a call from my brother in Georgia, telling me that one of our relatives committd suicide last night, under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
When I called my mother to see how her and my step-father were doing she informed me that all of this happened twenty minutes after they left the house, and that my 18 year old cousin found her mother upstairs after she shot herself. It makes me sad. Why would...I don't even want to attempt to assume what was in her mind at that moment.
To make things worse apparently in th state of Tennessee they don't have 'clean-up' crews, for the lack of better words. My MOTHER was bawling when she told me that she had to clean everything up after they removed the body and my STEP-FATHER is blaiming himself for what had happened because he got mad and left...He is thinking that if he would have just controlled his temper he would have stayed and this wouldn't have happened. He believes that he could have talked her out of it. But I know this woman very well, and well when she gets her mind put to something....its very very hard to talk her out of anything.
Some facts and Statisics of Suicide in the United States.
In 2004:
• Suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death for all
ages (CDC 2005).
• Suicides accounted for 1.4% of all deaths in the U.S.
(CDC 2005).
• More than 32,000 suicides occurred in the U.S. This is
the equivalent of 89 suicides per day; one suicide
every 16 minutes or 11.05 suicides per 100,000
population (CDC 2005).
• The National Violent Death Reporting System
examined toxicology tests of those who committed
suicide in 13 states: 33.3% tested positive for alcohol;
16.4% for opiates; 9.4% for cocaine; 7.7% for
marijuana; and 3.9% for amphetamines (Karch et al.
2006).
Gender Disparities
Males take their own lives at nearly four times the rate
of females and represent 78.8% of all U.S. suicides
(CDC 2005).
• During their lifetime, women attempt suicide about
two to three times as often as men (Krug et al. 2002).
• Suicide is the eighth leading cause of death for males
and the sixteenth leading cause for females (CDC
2005).
• Among males, adults ages 75 years and older have the
highest rate of suicide (rate 37.4 per 100,000
population) (CDC 2005).
• Among females, those in their 40s and 50s have the
highest rate of suicide (rate 8.0 per 100,000
population) (CDC 2005).
• Firearms are the most commonly used method of
suicide among males (56.8%) (CDC 2005).
• Poisoning is the most common method of suicide for
females (37.8%) (CDC 2005).
More than 31,000 people kill themselves each year.
• More than 425,000 people with self-inflicted injuries
are treated in emergency rooms each year.
How can we help prevent Suicide
The goal is to stop suicide attempts.
• Learn the warning signs of suicide.
Warning signs can include changes in a person's
mood, diet, or sleeping pattern. The American
Association of Suicidology (www.suicidology.org)
has detailed information on what to look for and
how to respond.
• Get involved in community efforts.
The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention lays out
a plan for action. It guides the development of
programs and seeks to bring about social change. For
more information, go to www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/
suicideprevention/strategy.asp.
So needless to say, My thoughts and my wishes goes out to my Friends and Family in Bristol TN. I will be there in a heartbeat if you need me.
