There were “zero deaths by suicide in Seal Beach in 2022,” according to Seal Beach Police Lt. Julia Clasby.
From 2020 to 2022, the Orange County Suicide rate increased by 27%, according to a City Council proclamation issued this week.
The City Council issued the proclamation for National Suicide Prevention Month at the council’s Monday, Sept. 25, 2023 meeting. District Two Council Member/Mayor Tom Moore read the proclamation. On City Clerk Gloria Harper’s desk were suicide prevention pamphlets, bracelets, and ribbons.
I picked up one of each. It’s possible someone else picked up a pamphlet or a pin, but I didn’t see them.
I know many of you don’t want to talk about it. Neither do I. But silence gives aid and comfort to the enemy.
According to a two-page pamphlet from Didi Hirsh Mental Health Services, “Asking about suicide does not increase someone’s risk of dying by suicide.”
Also according to Hirsh:
“Most people experience suicidal feelings at some point in their lives.”
I wrote about this subject before, in “Perspective: Suicide Prevention Week ends Sept. 15,” which was published on Sept. 14, 2018. That column describes my teenaged battle with clinical depression. I have updated the column on our website because the Suicide Prevention Lifeline has changed since 2018. The number is now 988.
I’ve also signed up for a journalism class on reporting on the subject.
I never want to write about the subject again, but I can’t control what other people do and I believe silence gives aid and comfort to the enemy.
According to “Prevent Firearm Suicides,” warning signs and risks include:
• A major change in behavior
• Recent impulsiveness
• “Withdrawing from things they used to enjoy.”
I once read a suicide note. It was posted on social media. I read the thing because a superior ordered me to write about the individual’s death for another paper. I didn’t put my name on the story and kept it brief.
I didn’t quote from or paraphrase the note in the article, as I felt that would only give pain to the survivors. (I regret failing to argue against my superior’s order to write the story.) The note didn’t explain what led the individual to make that decision. After I read the note, I was angry at the person who wrote it. I feel that anger whenever a person who dies by suicide endangers other people. That’s usually when a death by suicide becomes newsworthy, or when it is a public figure such as a government official or prominent individual.
I can’t begin to comprehend what the survivors feel when a loved one dies by their own hand.
However, I can comprehend those who have battled depression. It’s vicious. I’d rather have a second occurrence of seminoma than go through clinical depression another time.
I know that those who battle clinical depression feel alone wherever they go. They battle in silence against an enemy they can’t see. The illness drains you of energy. The less energy you have, the harder it is to fight. And since there’s a stigma against having a mental illness, some people won’t seek the help they need.
That stigma gives aid and comfort to the enemy. Pretending it doesn’t exist also gives aid and comfort to the enemy.
If you think someone you know is suicidal, call the police and ask them to evaluate that person.
“When you are worried that someone may be having thoughts of suicide, the only way to really know is to have a conversation about suicide. This can be a difficult and often uncomfortable conversation, but it is vital to talk openly and ask directly: ‘Are you thinking about suicide,” according to “Preventing Firearm Suicides.”
If you think someone is about to attempt suicide, call 911.
If you are thinking about killing yourself, call the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
Charles M. Kelly is associate editor of the Sun Newspapers.
