Saturday, June 25, 2011

Signs of Suicidal Behavior - do you know them?

I decided to write about this because of recent events around here. We have had several soldiers commit suicide and I keep wondering to myself, "did anyone see this coming?" Now I know that if someone really wants to do it they will, but what if others had noticed the signs and intervened? We may still have some people with us. Most of the time there are signs that lead up to someone committing suicide. Some of these signs are:

Depression:
they will start experiencing many different emotions including sadness, anxiety and hopelessness...they may lose interest in things they once enjoyed or don't seem to care about what is going on around them. People with depression can be helped, even major depression can be helped when caught in time.

Talking about dying: they may become kind of obsessive about death. Maybe talking about how they want to die or how others have died. Thinking and talking about death all the time and more specifically including themselves.

Sleep patterns: Someone who's depressed and considering suicide may change their sleeping habits. This can range from them sleeping too much to not sleeping at all and being restless all of the time. Often times, they'll move from a regular schedule to being hyperactive. They then move into periods of sleeping for long periods of time.

Other things:

*loss of appetite w/ sudden loss of weight
*loss of concentration
*feeling worthless
*hating themselves
*hating everything
*loss of goals or interest in the future
*making plans for others to care for their pets
*giving away personal things or money
*getting their WILL in order
*loss of control

One important thing to look at is their past!! Do they have a past history of suicide attempts or depression?

Here are some links to follow for more info and help:

Suicide - medicineNet.com
Recognizing Suicidal Behavior
What can I do to help someone who is suicidal?
Depression (military onesource

If you have a mental health emergency you can always call Military Onesource:
Contact a Consultant Now
1.800.342.9647

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
1.800.273.TALK (8255)

If you need it, get help, get your loved ones help. Don't wait.

2 comments:

  1. Also, a lot of the time when someone finally makes the decision to commit suicide they are suddenly in a very good mood. So watching for a depressed person who is inexplicably happy all of a sudden is a good idea too. One of my best friends in high school committed suicide. We all thought he was doing better, but a clinically depressed person doesn't usually "get better" literally over night.

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  2. Yes that is very true! I knew someone who tried to commit suicide, failed... then they got 'help' and were out one night having fun, went home and shot themselves...everyone thought they were fine. Sad.

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