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BYU suicide and campus mental health appt. wait times


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2 hours ago, Thinking said:

My daughter knew the BYU student who committed suicide and attended her funeral. Perhaps we can celebrate some of the good things that she did.

  • She volunteered at Thanksgiving Point.
  • She volunteered at the space center in Pleasant Grove.
  • She traveled to Ghana for a month to serve others, among other countless talents and services.
  • She served in the primary.

Does your daughter know what motivated the taking of her own life?

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9 hours ago, Bernard Gui said:

Does your daughter know what motivated the taking of her own life?

It is unlikely one cause, especially if there is a history as is in this case.

Suicide prevention info suggests it is best not to approach suicide as caused by one thing or even triggered by a particular stressor in order not to create the mindset that suicide is a normal response to _______.  Plus it is inaccurate.

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22 minutes ago, Calm said:

It is unlikely one cause, especially if there is a history as is in this case.

Suicide prevention info suggests it is best not to approach suicide as caused by one thing or even triggered by a particular stressor in order not to create the mindset that suicide is a normal response to _______.  Plus it is inaccurate.

Indeed. Yet here we are with some suggesting the Church is the cause. 

Edited by Bernard Gui
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13 minutes ago, Bernard Gui said:

Indeed. Yet here we are with some suggesting the Church is the cause. 

I think it would be a great idea for reporters to receive greater training in how to avoid increasing suicide risks.  There are some standards these days, like  including the hotlines at the end of the article, but presenting unbalanced info and pushing something as a contributor when it may not be (at least a major one) while ignoring information that could be helpful (explaining context and options for treatment, not just reporting wait times at one facility and even that incorrectly at times) is dangerous, imo.

Of course one can't push nonprofessionals to study and then pay attention to what the professionals say is most helpful, including what to avoid.  But one can be an example and take every opportunity to promote the info.

Edited by Calm
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KSL report on therapy services. https://www.ksl.com/article/46443444/after-byu-students-death-utahs-universities-work-to-improve-campus-mental-health

“After the woman’s death, a letter surfaced on campus calling into question the university’s policies regarding mental health.

BYU officials say they’re working on a proposal to hire more therapists. But most of Utah’s major universities are under the threshold for an ideal number of mental health professionals on campus, and officials at most say they’d like to be able to hire more therapists or counselors.

“This is important for us to hear,” BYU spokesman Todd Hollingshead said on Wednesday. “It’s a challenge that we’re facing that other institutions are facing, as well. As an institution we care about our students, we want our students to get the help they need. Yes, there’s work that we all need to do to do a better job.”

 

Edited by bsjkki
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Just posting FYIs that look helpful in learning how to approach suicide generally, but also on a personal level...

This article makes a good point, how we speak of something creates assumptions about it.

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/the-facts/suicide-prevention/worried-about-suicide/having-a-conversation-with-someone-you're-worried-about/language-when-talking-about-suicide

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The language people use to talk about suicide is from a different time. The word ‘commit’ comes from a time when suicide was treated as a crime. As we learn more about suicide, our language has evolved. We are trying to learn more about people who think about or attempt suicide, and to be compassionate and thoughtful when we talk about it. 

The more we can use language that accurately and sensitively describes suicide, the more we encourage a healthy and respectful way to talk about suicide. 

 

Edited by Calm
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People get uncomfortable asking about suicide. I try to set up the question by building in context. First, I inquire generally about how someone is feeling and other symptoms. For example, if a patient is depressed, I’ll cover sleep, mood, and irritability. Mostly though, I am hoping to hear about someone’s inner experience. Second, I frame my question with those symptoms to minimize (and hopefully remove) fear and anxiety. People are frightened to talk about suicide because they think it will trigger a call to 911 or a trip to the ER. I might say something like, “You seem really down, and not sleeping is awful. A lot of people have darker thoughts, like not wanting to be around anymore. What about you?”...

Identify the classic signs

Loss of pleasure in previously enjoyable activities. Giving away possessions. Joking about suicide or “when I am gone.” Talking about how everyone would be better off without them. Changes in sleep. Increased drug or alcohol use. These are the classic signs.

And pay special attention to a new interest in acquiring a gun or requests to borrow a firearm. Firearms account for 51 percent of all suicides in this country. In a survey of 36 wealthy nations, the United States was unique in having the highest overall firearm mortality rate and the highest proportion of suicides by firearms. Guns are used for more suicides in the United States each year than for homicides...

Avoid platitudes

By that, I mean phrases like this: You have so much to live for. It will get better. It’s not logical. Come on, you have so much.

Getting a suicide assessment right is my job. Yours is to open up a conversation and reach out to someone you know who is struggling. And know this: You can be helpful and supportive, but ultimately, you can’t control someone else’s actions. I have accepted the inability to control my situation. A patient of mine who hung himself had never had suicidal thoughts. Another looked his mother in the eye after she asked all the right questions and denied any troubles. She found him dead the next morning. After a physician I treat emerged from a very severe depression, he let me know he had been timing the express train at his local stop, creeping closer and closer to the edge of the platform. Asking, talking, and clinical treatment won’t prevent every suicide—but not talking about it surely won’t.

Learn more

In an emergency, ask your loved one, “Do you feel unsafe in any way?” Remember that emergency rooms exist for a reason and that intense suicidal feelings are a medical emergency. “I’m worried about your health, let’s talk to a doctor and get some advice.” Get facts and learn from trusted sources such as the American Psychiatric Association, the American Society for Suicide Prevention, and The Jed Foundation.

https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/how-talk-about-suicide/

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Evidence suggests that the effect of contagion is not confined to suicides occurring in discrete geographic areas. In particular, nonfictional newspaper and television coverage of suicide has been associated with a statistically significant excess of suicides. The effect of contagion appears to be strongest among adolescents, and several well publicized ‘clusters’ among young persons have occurred.”

https://qz.com/1297693/how-to-talk-about-suicide-safely/

This should probably be included at least once in every discussion:

Quote

As we learn more, remember to talk about suicide in a safe way:

-say “died by suicide” or “took his/her life”, not “committed suicide”

-exclude details of method used

-exclude depictions, location of death and notes left behind

Reporters are not going to be happy to leave out the above last two and likely will find justifications to include them unfortunately.

Edited by Calm
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And then there is the entertainment industry:

Quote

This doesn’t mean that all mention of suicide can be helpful. Talking about it is one thing; showing people how to do it is another. After a British hospital drama featured a man taking an overdose, and included details of the exact drug and amount that he took, data collected from 49 accident and emergency departments the following week showed a 17% increase in overdoses. In the four weeks following the suicide of a celebrity in Taiwan, where the method used had received a great deal of media coverage, once again suicide attempts rose. Within psychology this is referred to as modelling, where people copy a behaviour they see someone else doing. Many media organisations now follow guidelines to avoid detailing methods.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140112-is-it-bad-to-talk-about-suicide

 

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21 hours ago, Calm said:

I think it would be a great idea for reporters to receive greater training in how to avoid increasing suicide risks.  There are some standards these days, like  including the hotlines at the end of the article, but presenting unbalanced info and pushing something as a contributor when it may not be (at least a major one) while ignoring information that could be helpful (explaining context and options for treatment, not just reporting wait times at one facility and even that incorrectly at times) is dangerous, imo.

Of course one can't push nonprofessionals to study and then pay attention to what the professionals say is most helpful, including what to avoid.  But one can be an example and take every opportunity to promote the info.

This is a good suggestion. 

That said, it is my observation from having worked in the profession that suicides are not typically given news coverage except, as in this case, when the circumstances are very public and/or sensational. And even in this instance, the victim was not identified, much less the possible motive discussed. 

That said, with the prevalence of social media, people are less apt these days than ever before to get their information — or get it exclusively from news sources. 

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On 12/8/2018 at 2:00 PM, LoudmouthMormon said:

I'm finance clerk for my ward.  I write out, maybe almost a dozen or so checks to counselors for maybe 5-8 ward members a year.  

"Bishop's capacity to recognize when they're about to step into problems well past their knowledge-base" - I'm not sure what that even means.  I've clerked or exec.secretaried for 5 bishops now, I've heard all of them say "I don't know" at least once.

I guess I'm thinking from the other end of being able to talk and counsel with bishops about their members from the stand point of a therapist. I talked to my previous bishop extensively about resources in the area and concerns that may come to his office, other bishops want tools and means to assess sexual concerns that come into their office (mind you, my specialty is sex therapy...I'm sure there are other concerns that if my expertise was different they'd want info on that too), and every once and a while a bishop needs a little coaching as to how to best approach a concern with a specific member(s) that they're not getting. I've luckily only had a rare case where communications had really broken down between members and leaders where I've really really needed to intervene. I'm also thinking of my own family growing up and the bishops they ended up talking to....all good men and all in more poop than they initially realized. But from what I've seen, we could do a little more to help them be better liaisons to community/professional sources and their congregants who may come to them first for help.

 

With luv,

BD 

 

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22 hours ago, Calm said:

And then there is the entertainment industry:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140112-is-it-bad-to-talk-about-suicide

 

Worth noting that this has broken down considerably with the rise of social media and alternative media. In fact I strongly suspect this is why we have school shooting problems - the rise of modeling behavior leading to copycats among those psychologically problematic. Not sure what the solution is.

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2 hours ago, Scott Lloyd said:

This is a good suggestion. 

That said, it is my observation from having worked in the profession that suicides are not typically given news coverage except, as in this case, when the circumstances are very public and/or sensational. And even in this instance, the victim was not identified, much less the possible motive discussed. 

That said, with the prevalence of social media, people are less apt these days than ever before to get their information — or get it exclusively from news sources. 

Unfortunately the details of how suicides are done are often included if done in public or by celebrities.  And that is understandable because it is going to be shared as you say even if reporters don't plus it makes it understandable why it is news in the case of non celebrities.  I don't know how it could be avoided.  And I don't know how one could control for a study to show that even if social media has the info, attempts go down some if news media exclude the info to show justification for required exclusion (say by making laws against publicizing).

All in all it demonstrates we really need to push the education on how to talk about suicide wherever we come across such discussion.

Edited by Calm
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