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MYTH: |
Talking
about suicide or asking someone if they feel
suicidal will encourage suicide attempts. |
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FACT: |
Talking
about suicide provides the opportunity for
communication. Fears that are shared are
more likely to diminish. The first step in
encouraging a suicidal person to live comes
from talking about those feelings That first
step can be the simple inquiry about whether
or not the person is intending to end their
life. However, talking about suicide should
be carefully managed. |
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MYTH: |
Young
people who talk about suicide never attempt
or complete suicide. |
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FACT: |
Talking
about suicide can be a plea for help and it
can be a late sign in the progression
towards a suicide attempt. Those who are
most at risk will show other signs apart
from talking about suicide. If you have
concerns about a young person who talks
about suicide:
- Encourage
him/her to talk further and help them
to find appropriate counseling assistance.
- Ask if
the person are thinking about making a
suicide attempt.
- Ask if the
person has a plan.
- Think about the completeness of the plan and
how dangerous it is. Do not trivialise plans
that seem less complete or less dangerous.
All suicidal intentions are serious and must
be acknowledged as such.
- Encourage the young person to develop a
personal safety plan. This can include time
spent with others, check-in points with
significant adults/ plans for the future.
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MYTH: |
A promise
to keep a note unopened and unread should
always be kept. |
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FACT:
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Where the
potential for harm, or actual harm, is
disclosed then confidentiality cannot be
maintained. A sealed note with the request
for the note not to be opened is a very
strong indicator that something is seriously
amiss. A sealed note is a late sign in the
progression towards suicide. |
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MYTH: |
Attempted
or completed suicides happen without
warning. |
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FACT:
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The
survivors of a suicide often say that the
intention was hidden from them. It is more
likely that the intention was just not
recognized. These warning signs include:
- The recent suicide, or death by other means,
of a friend or relative.
- Previous suicide attempts.
- Preoccupation with themes of death or
expressing suicidal thoughts.
- Depression, conduct disorder and problems
with adjustment such as substance abuse,
particularly when two or more of these are
present.
- Giving away prized possessions/ making a
will or other final arrangements.
- Major changes in sleep patterns - too much
or too little.
- Sudden and extreme changes in eating habits/
losing or gaining weight.
- Withdrawal from friends/ family or other
major behavioral changes.
- Dropping out of group activities.
- Personality changes such as nervousness,
outbursts of anger, impulsive or reckless
behavior, or apathy about appearance or
health.
- Frequent irritability or unexplained crying.
Lingering expressions of unworthiness or
failure.
- Lack of interest in the future.
- A sudden lifting of spirits, when there have
been other indicators, may point to a
decision to end the pain of life through
suicide.
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MYTH: |
If a
person attempts suicide and survives, they
will never make a further attempt. |
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FACT:
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A suicide
attempt is regarded as an indicator of
further attempts. It is likely that the
level of danger will increase with each
further suicide attempt. |
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MYTH: |
Once a
person is intent on suicide, there is no way
of stopping them. |
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FACT:
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Suicides
can be prevented. People can be helped.
Suicidal crises can be relatively
short-lived. Suicide is a permanent solution
to what is usually a temporary problem.
Immediate practical help such as staying
with the person, encouraging them to talk
and helping them build plans for the future,
can avert the intention to attempt or
complete suicide. Such immediate help is
valuable at a time of crisis, but
appropriate counselling will then be
required. |
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MYTH: |
People
who threaten suicide are just seeking
attention. |
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FACT: |
All
suicide attempts must be treated as though
the person has the intent to die. Do not
dismiss a suicide attempt as simply being an
attention-gaining device. It is likely that
the young person has tried to gain attention
and, therefore, this attention is needed.
The attention that they get may well save
their lives. |
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MYTH: |
Suicide
is hereditary. |
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FACT:
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Although
suicide can be over-represented in families,
it is attempts not genetically inherited.
Members of families share the same emotional
environment, and the completed suicide of
one family member may well raise the
awareness of suicide as an option for other
family members. |
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MYTH: |
Only
certain types of people become suicidal. |
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FACT: |
Everyone
has the potential for suicide. The evidence
is that predisposing conditions may lead to
either attempted or completed suicides. It
is unlikely that those who do not have the
predisposing conditions (for example,
depression, conduct disorder, substance
abuse, feeling of rejection, rage, emotional
pain and anger) will complete suicide.
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MYTH: |
Suicide
is painless. |
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FACT: |
Many
suicide methods are very painful. Fictional
portrayals of suicide do not usually include
the reality of the pain. |
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MYTH: |
Depression and self-destructive behaviour
are rare in young people. |
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FACT:
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Both
forms of behaviour are common in
adolescents. Depression may manifest itself
in ways which are different from its
manifestation in adults but it is prevalent
in children and adolescents.
Self-destructive behaviour is most likely to
be shown for the first time in adolescence
and its incidence is on the rise. |
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MYTH: |
All
suicidal young people are depressed. |
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FACT: |
While
depression is a contributory factor in most
suicides, it need not be present for suicide
to be attempted or completed . |
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MYTH: |
Marked
and sudden improvement in the mental state
of an attempter following a suicidal crisis
or depressive period signifies that the
suicide risk is over. |
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FACT: |
The
opposite may be true. In the three months
following an attempt, a young person is at
most risk of completing suicide. The
apparent lifting of the problems could mean
the person has made a firm decision to
commit suicide and feels better because of
this decision. |
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MYTH: |
Once a
young person is suicidal, they will be
suicidal forever. |
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FACT: |
Most
young people who are considering suicide
will only be that way for a limited period
of their lives. Given proper assistance and
support, they will probably recover and
continue to lead meaningful and happy lives
unhindered by suicidal concerns. |
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MYTH: |
Suicidal
young people cannot help themselves. |
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FACT: |
While
contemplating suicide, young people may have
a distorted perception of their actual life
situation and what solutions are appropriate
for them to take. However, with support and
constructive assistance from caring and
informed people around them, young people
can gain full self-direction and
self-management in their lives. |
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MYTH: |
The only
effective intervention for suicide comes
from professional psychotherapists with
extensive experience in the area. |
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FACT: |
All
people who interact with suicidal
adolescents can help them by way of
emotional support and encouragement.
Psychotherapeutic interventions also rely
heavily on family, and friends providing a
network of support.
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MYTH: |
Most
suicidal young people never seek or ask for
help with their problems. |
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FACT:
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Evidence
shows that they often tell their school
peers of their thoughts and plans. Most
suicidal adults visit a medical doctor
during the three months prior to killing
themselves. Adolescents are more likely to
'ask' for help through non-verbal gestures
than to express their situation verbally to
others. |
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MYTH: |
Suicidal
young people are always angry when someone
intervenes and they will resent that person
afterwards. |
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FACT: |
While it
is common for young people to be defensive
and resist help at first, these behaviours
are often barriers imposed to test how much
people care and are prepared to help. For
most adolescents considering suicide, it is
a relief to have someone genuinely care
about them and to be able to share the
emotional burden of their plight with
another person. When questioned some time
later, the vast majority express gratitude
for the intervention. |
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MYTH: |
Break-ups
in relationships happen so frequently, they
do not cause suicide. |
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FACT: |
Suicide
can be precipitated by the loss of a
relationship. |
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MYTH: |
Suicidal
young people are insane or mentally ill. |
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FACT:
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Although
suicidal adolescents are likely to be
extremely unhappy and may be classified as
having a mood disorder, such as depression,
most are not legally insane. However, there
are small numbers of individuals whose
mental state meets psychiatric criteria for
mental illness and who need Psychiatric
help. |
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MYTH: |
Most
suicides occur in winter months when the
weather is poor. |
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FACT: |
Seasonal
variation data are essentially based on
adult suicides, with limited adolescent data
available. However, it seems
adolescentsuicidal behaviour is most common
during the spring and early summer months. |
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MYTH: |
Suicide
is much more common in young people from
higher (or lower) socioeconomic status (SES)
areas. |
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FACT: |
The
causes of suicidal behaviour cut across SES
boundaries. While the literature in the area
is incomplete, there is no definitive link
between SES and suicide. This does not
preclude localised tendencies nor trends in
a population during a certain period of
time. |
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MYTH: |
Some
people are always suicidal. |
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FACT: |
Nobody is
suicidal at all times. The risk of suicide
for any individual varies across time, as
circumstances change. This is why it is
important for regular assessments of the
level of risk in individuals who are 'at
risk'. |
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MYTH: |
Every
death is preventable. |
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FACT: |
No matter
how well intentioned, alert and diligent
people's efforts may be, there is no way of
preventing all suicides from occurring. |
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MYTH: |
The main
problem with preventive efforts is trying to
implement strategies in an extremely grey
area. |
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FACT: |
The
problem is that we lack a complete
understanding of youth suicide and know more
about what is not known than what is fact.
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