State suicide numbers climbing

DES MOINES - Experts know that at least 445 Iowans died by suicide in 2013. They're still working to determine what's driving the upward trend.

'The numbers are going up nationally as well, so I think Iowa is following the national trend,” said Keri Neblett, community intervention director for the Crisis Center of Johnson County. 'With suicide, there are so many factors and causes that it's very difficult to figure out an exact reason why the numbers go up and down.”

The latest data released by the state Department of Public Health shows the number of deaths by suicide topped 400 for only the second time in Iowa with the previous high at 420 in 2011. The number of Iowans below the age of 20 in that total was 26, the lowest number for teenagers since 2009.

Pat McGovern of the health agency's Division of Behavioral Health said suicide is the second-leading cause of death for Iowans between the ages of 15 to 44 years. It's also the third-leading cause of death for youngsters aged five to 14.

Officials around Iowa have focused attention this month on measures to prevent suicide. Their effort was aided by the recent high-profile death of actor-comedian Robin Williams, which brought issues surrounding suicide to the forefront of the national discussion.

'There are so many factors that go into it. There isn't one recipe for how to prevent it or what causes it,” said Cindy Meek, program coordinator for the Des Moines-based Amanda the Panda non-profit organization that works statewide to help people cope and recover from the loss of a loved one. 'It's hard to answer the question as to why. We don't know why. You can't put your finger on that.”

The causes are varied and multifaceted: economic stress, mental illness, insufficient coping skills, lack of support and substance abuse are among the factors, Neblett noted. Other elements might include the difficulty of accessing services by health care providers trained in best practices to reduce suicide risk, the stigma of using behavioral health treatment, and the stigma associated with losing a loved one to suicide.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is complex and reflects a mix of genetic, biological, psychological, cultural, and environmental factors. Research funded by the foundation indicates that 90 percent of people who die by suicide have a potentially treatable mental disorder at the time of their death - a disorder that often had gone unrecognized and untreated in a country where one person dies by suicide every 13 minutes.

Iowa health department data indicates that 307 of the 381 people who died by suicide in 2012 were males, while females accounted for 74 of the deaths. Neblett said the problem is growing among middle-aged men in the 45-64 age range.

McGovern said health practitioners in Iowa are pushing the concept that suicide prevention 'is everybody's business,” saying it doesn't take special skills or credentials to help someone struggling with depression or suicidal thoughts. It oftentimes just takes a good listener.

'Just saying ‘hi' to your neighbor or ‘how are you doing' and actually listening to their response,” McGovern said, 'just something as simple as that. You don't need to be a doctor or a psychiatrist or a trained health care professional to do that. That's what everyone can do to help prevent suicides.”

People can be hesitant that getting involved might make the situation worse, that saying the wrong thing might push someone 'over the edge,” McGovern noted. He said research and discussions with survivors indicate that's not the case.

'There are so many myths about suicide,” Meek added, 'that it was a healthy, conscience choice that a person in their right mind made and that's really not the case.”

Oftentimes situations involve a long battle with depression or, in the case of young people in the formative stages of brain development, someone who lacks impulse control where they make a rash choice in dealing with a major event in their lives.

Most people who attempt or commit suicide have talked about it or given definite warning signs such as making a plan, McGovern said. He added that they may be suffering from the recent loss of a family member or friend through death or suicide; dealing with other losses like ending a job or a relationship; increasing the use of drugs and/or alcohol; or experiencing sudden, uncharacteristic behavior changes like increased aggression or a sudden decline in grades at school.

While no single suicide prevention effort will be sufficient or appropriate for all individuals or communities, McGovern it is clear too many Iowans die by suicide each year, and some of these deaths could be preventable.

He advised Iowans who know someone that appears to be depressed and possibly suicidal to call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK or go to www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org or to contact Your Life Iowa at (855)-581-8111 or go to www.yourlifeiowa.org for assistance.