NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — When Mary Crutchfield was 21 years old, she didn’t know why she couldn’t get out of bed and just wanted to stay asleep all the time. All she knew was that she didn’t want to feel that way anymore.
“I wasn’t sad, I wasn’t crying, I wasn’t emotional, but I had a lot of suicidal thoughts and I was tired,” she said.
Crutchfield, now a psychiatric nurse, credits another nurse with saving her life.
“She bent over and put her hand on my knee and said, ‘I want you to look into my eyes and know that this is called depression and that it’s treatable. It is.”
The number of suicides in the United States has skyrocketed over the past two years.of CDC report In 2021, 48,183 people took their own lives, an increase of 5% from the previous year. In 2022, 49,449 people died by suicide, an increase of 2.6%.
Dr. David Spiegel, Chair EVMS Psychiatry He said the pandemic is one of the possible reasons for the increase in suicides.
“I think the pandemic has done one of two things. On the one hand, it has isolated us from other people, but at the same time it has forced our families to actually spend more time together. and now we don’t have the same level of support,” he said.
Experts say this is similar to what happens on holidays. Suicide rates tend to increase immediately after Christmas, when family and friends leave and people return to living alone again.
Older people are generally at higher risk for suicide because of social isolation.
Dr. Spiegel said: “You lose your family, you lose your friends, you lose your job.
So you can be more yourself. ”
The doctor said social media is why teens are increasingly at risk. Cyberbullying and body image issues cause many mental health disorders.
“People who have less support and poor coping skills tend to commit suicide more impulsively because they tend to think there is no way out,” he told WAVY.
So how do we protect those at risk? First, know the red flags.
People who are considering suicide may say things like:
- I want to die
- be a burden
They may feel like:
They may also behave differently.
- Increased alcohol and drug use
- give something away
- Make a will or say goodbye to a friend
- anxiety/tension
- Sleeping too much or not at all
“If we reach out as a community, we can really prevent a lot of things that are happening to people emotionally,” Crutchfield said.
If you’re concerned about what you notice, we recommend starting a conversation with your partner like this: Is there something you would like to tell me? ”
If you learn that a loved one is suffering from depression, Dr. Spiegel recommends writing down a crisis intervention plan and carrying it with you on your phone or wallet.
Must include:
1) Suicide warning signs
2) Emergency numbers: including 988 National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline,
3) Things not to do: alcohol, drugs,
4) Do: Keep your weapons and pills locked away.
“So this method just makes it a little harder for people who suddenly have an impulse to try to harm themselves,” Dr. Spiegel said.
In many cases, that’s what it takes to save lives and put people like Crutchfield on the road to recovery. “It’s kind of incredible that he has this power as a human being without even realizing it.”
Dr. Spiegel emphasized that support is the most important deterrent to suicide. Having a good counselor or doctor is helpful, but so are group therapy and 12-step programs for people struggling with substance abuse.
Each city in Hampton Roads has a community service committee that can help you if you are uninsured or underinsured.
Many providers and support groups will also be on hand at several locations. Walking the Out Of Darkness Community It will be held on the South Side and Peninsula at Mount Trashmore in Virginia Beach starting this Saturday, September 9th.
