Many Factors lead to Suicide

Many factors lead to suicide

Written by Matt Spillane

Thursday, 01 March 2012 00:00

Over the past year, Lewisboro residents have had to cope with their fair share of tragedies. And like the rest of the country, those tragedies increasingly include deaths by suicide. Just two weeks ago, an elderly Goldens Bridge man died by suicide at his home, becoming the fifth man to take his own life in town in the past nine months. It is a trend that has people asking about motives and reasons, as well as seeking ways to prevent these deaths and finding methods to cope with them. Lewisboro is not the only town that is seeing its share of suicides, though, as the rate of suicide deaths has been increasing across the country in recent years. National trend Five reported suicides in Lewisboro over the past nine months is an extremely high number for a town of fewer than 13,000 people. For that time span, that's a rate of more than 40 suicide deaths per 100,000 people in Lewisboro; the national average in 2009 was a rate of 12.02 suicide deaths per 100,000 people, according to the Centers of Disease Control (CDC). Figures from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) show that national suicide rates steadily declined from 1993 to 2000, remained about steady until 2004, and have been rising since 2005. New York state is consistently among the states with the lowest rate of suicides. In 2009 — the most recent year that suicide statistics are available — New York had the second-lowest suicide rate of the 50 states, with a rate of 7.3 suicides per 100,000 residents. New Jersey was lowest with a rate of 6.4, while Montana was highest with a rate of 22.5. A consistent trend among those numbers is that a majority of suicide deaths are by men, particularly white men. While the national suicide rate in 2009 was just over 12, the rate for white men was 21.6. In 2009, there were 3.7 male deaths by suicide for each female death by suicide. The numbers swing the opposite way when it comes to suicide attempts, however. In 2009 there were three female suicide attempts for each male attempt. How is there such a vast difference in the rate of attempts and the rate of deaths between men and women? Dr. Alex Crosby, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC, told The Ledger this week that there are many theories about why this discrepancy exists, but that there is no specific answer. He said that part of the reason has to do with method — men use firearms more often than women do, for example. In Lewisboro, firearms were used in two of the five suicide deaths. Dr. Crosby also said that women often tend to visit physicians more frequently and seek health care more often than men, which may protect them from fatal suicide attempts. Social support systems may also play a role, he said, since men have a greater tendency to feel that they can handle their own problems, without seeking help or advice from others. Another trend that is reflected both nationally and in Lewisboro is the high rate of suicides among middle-aged people. In 2009, according to the AFSP, people between the ages of 45 and 64 had the highest rate of suicide, with a rate of 19.3 for that age group. In Lewisboro, all five of the suicide deaths were by men who were 49 or older. Risk factors When studying trends and possible reasons behind suicide deaths, Dr. Crosby said that it is important to keep in mind that suicide is a complex issue. "Most of the time, researchers have figured out that it's usually multiple influences [that cause a suicide]," he said. "That does create a challenge for us when we're looking at national trends, to figure out if there is something that's changing [across the country]." Dr. Crosby said that social isolation, substance abuse, family dysfunction and mental disorders such as clinical depression are some known risk factors for suicide. He has also looked at business cycles and the role that they might play in suicidal behavior. Along with three of his colleagues, Dr. Crosby conducted a study looking at suicide rates from the 1920s through 2007, and one of the things that they found is that the economy consistently had an influence on suicidal behavior, especially among working-age adults. When the economy improved, suicide rates went down. When the economy got worse, suicide rates went up. While he stressed that the state of the economy is not the reason for working-age suicide rates, Dr. Crosby said that it may be one of the factors. Dr. Crosby said that one of the study's recommendations is for people to identify when economic issues are affecting their communities. He said that people should make sure that their fellow residents in town have a network of support, whether it is through a church, a social service department or a similar organization. People should also be aware of the role mental illness plays in suicidal behavior. "The research that has been done will often times find some sort of indicator that the person [who died by suicide] had a mental illness," Dr. Crosby. "[However] mental illness by itself is not the only thing that puts someone at risk for suicide." Other factors, such as financial problems or family issues, combined with a mental illness often contribute to suicidal behavior, he said. Prevention and survivors There are several services available for local residents to seek help for themselves or others who demonstrate suicidal behavior. Maria Idoni, area director of the Hudson Valley and Westchester chapters of AFSP, said that her organization offers programs for suicide prevention as well as programs for suicide survivors, or people who know someone who has died by suicide. Ms. Idoni said this week that she has been running the Hudson Valley chapter for more than three years and that she just took over the Westchester chapter about a month ago. She said that her organization runs events to raise awareness for suicide prevention, such as the Out of the Darkness Walk in Mamaroneck next October, which is intended to raise money for AFSP's research and education programs and to "increase national awareness about depression and suicide, advocate for mental health issues, and assist survivors of suicide loss." Ms. Idoni also said that AFSP holds town-hall type meetings to raise awareness of suicide issues and goes into high schools to "take away the stigma of talking about mental illness." Grant Mitchell, community mental health commissioner of Westchester County and a Goldens Bridge resident, said last week that it is important for people to take suicidal behavior and threats of suicide seriously. "What we're trying to do is destigmatize having mental illness so people get help before they act on those thoughts," Mr. Mitchell said. There are also support groups for suicide survivors who know someone who has died by suicide. Rebecca Walkley, a South Salem resident and a suicide survivor, is a psychotherapist who runs the Suicide Loss Bereavement Group, a support group that meets the first Thursday of each month at the Katonah Healing Arts Alliance. Ms. Walkley said that she is a peer, not a therapist, for this group. She said that suicide is considered the most complicated of grieving processes, and that anyone interested in joining the group may call her at 361-5161 or email her at rebecca.walkley@gmail.com . People with suicidal behavior may call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a 24-hour, toll-free service, at 800-273-TALK (8255). Toll-free access to trained crisis counselors is also available at the National Hopeline Network at 800-SUICIDE (784-2433) or hopeline.com.