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Suicide season: Weather's better, depressed are not

Herald, The (Sharon, PA) - 4/20/2015

April 20--MERCER COUNTY -- It's warm and the sun is shining, trees are budding, flowers are blooming, birds are singing and the snow is gone. But for some, that's just too much to bear.

How people feel inside versus what's happening outside is most often the reason that April and May comprise the peak suicide season, according to several studies done by the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

And in Mercer County, the trend is no different, according to Dr. Lisa Phillips, clinical psychologist at the Community Counseling Center in Hermitage.

"We are very much aware of the seasonality of suicide. What happens is that spring is a time of healing and rebirth after the dark months of January, February and March. But for those suffering from depression, their emotions are so incongruous with nature. The duality of how you feel versus the seasons is just something people can't navigate. And they commit suicide," she said.

Monday is most often the day that people kill themselves. "For some reason people don't tend to do it on a weekend or a Friday night, unless there is some kind of drugs or alcohol involved and their thought processes are so inhibited," she noted.

The myth, according to mental health workers, is that people get depressed around holidays, particularly Christmas, and tend to commit suicide then.

"Actually," Phillips said, "New Year's Day is a big day for suicide. It represents a fresh start and for those who are depressed, they feel entrenched and hopeless."

She also said it isn't when people are in the depths of depression that they consider suicide. "Ironically, it's when they start to feel better. When they are depressed, they simply don't have the energy to do anything. Severely depressed people are almost catatonic."

"It's when they start to get a little bit of energy and they start being able to get around that they consider swallowing a bottle of pills or finding a gun," she said.

The center offers outreach programs several times throughout the year, aiming specifically at seniors with chronic illness who tend to become suicidal.

The answer, Phillips said, is showing those who are depressed that they can connect with others and that they have something to offer, no matter what their situation is.

"If you're sick and you feel like a burden to your family, try reframing it. Give your caregiver an opportunity to love you, to help you. Or think of the job you're providing for the person who gets to take care of you. Every stage of life is a blessing, if you can connect to your faith or your community or family," she said.

Phillips recalls a woman who came in with thoughts of suicide because health problems had severely limited what she could do. "But she had beautiful handwriting. Beautiful. So we encouraged her to write letters to her friends and family, just catching up. They enjoyed receiving the handwritten letters. It became a calling for her and pulled her out of the depression," she said.

Fern Torok, an outreach coordinator at the center, said she's frightened at the clusters of suicides across the county.

"I remember 2013 standing out for me because there were a cluster of three teenagers all in one area," she said.

"And for every one that completes it, there are five or six attempts," she added.

"And, for everyone who does commit suicide, it traumatizes all their significant others who are left behind," she said.

"Whenever someone makes a conscious decision to attempt or complete suicide, often friends and family ask themselves what they could have done to prevent it," says Dr. Karen Rizzo, president of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. She said in 2012 there were 1,613 suicides in Pennsylvania. "It's an alarming public health problem that needs to be addressed in a clinically compassionate way, being culturally sensitive to the needs of those seeking to find answers to their personal loss."

According to data from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, the largest number of suicides in 2012 was committed by those between the ages of 45 and 54 with 361, followed by the 55 to 64 age group with 286.

Reports from the American Association of Suicidology indicate Pennsylvania is ranked 29th in the nation for suicides per 100,000 people. Montana, Alaska and Wyoming have the highest rates.

The advocacy efforts of members of Pennsylvania Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative, mental health consumer groups, and other public health advocates drove the Pennsylvania legislature to pass House Bill 1559 in June 2014. The law will require schools to adopt a youth suicide awareness and prevention policy including staff training beginning with the 2015-16 academic year.

Some of the more common signs of a person who may be considering suicide include:

--Previous suicide attempts

--History of depression or other mental illness

--Alcohol or drug abuse

--Family history of suicide or violence

--Physical illness

--Feeling alone

--Stressful life event or loss

--Easy access to lethal methods

Phillips also said rural residents face a higher risk of suicide, partly because they are more isolated and also because they are more likely to have access to firearms.

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(c)2015 The Herald (Sharon,Pa)

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