Indigenous Youth Suicide Prevention
At one time, one of my friends disclosed to me of having suicidal thoughts. The moment I heard of him wanting to take his own life, I panicked. I was worried that he might even attempt it sooner before serious action was taken. I advised him to open up and talk with his elder sister, who would help him avoid feeling worthless. I wasn’t sure whether my advice would help or complicate things further.
It is a bit difficult to identify suicide signs from people who are always silent. However, in some people, it is much easier to come across signs such as withdrawal from friends, family, and society. Feeling hopeless, worthlessness, anxiety, seeking pills or weapons, and excessive substance abuse are among the other signs that a person might be having suicidal thoughts.
It is essential to be clear and direct when asking someone about whether they are feeling suicidal or not as the question could help save an individual’s life. People go through many ups and downs in life, and being that we are different, we often deal with them differently. To some people, asking for help requires courage. Notably, it sometimes takes just as much courage to ask if someone needs to be helped. Therefore, this makes it very vital for one to be bold enough and ask whether one wants to commit suicide directly to save the situation in a good time.
When dealing with a client with suicidal behaviors, I would first conduct a screening and risk assessment on the client. This will enable me to determine the current and past suicidal ideations or attempts of the client. After identifying how severe or mild they are, I will establish a psychosocial treatment intervention to prevent the onset of suicidal ideations and attempts. On the other hand, I will use the Brief Interventions on the client with no intention or plan to engage in suicidal behaviors. I will conduct a safety plan intervention with the client to enable us to develop the six critical steps for staying safe. With the client’s collaboration, I will identify the relevant warnings signs depicted, the individual’s coping skills, possible people to contact for help freely, distraction places, and professional contacts. This will be useful information to help reduce any suicidal attempts or ideation (Frontiers | The Zero Suicide Model: Applying Evidence, n.d).
With the rapid increase in suicide cases in the country, it is best for all of us to take action and prevent the rise. All our lives matter despite the hardship that we often go through. It is also advisable to report any cases of attempted suicide as first as noted to help save lives. Apart from being responsible for one another, suicidal individuals can even grasp a few of the extensive resources stated below to help them shun from attempting or thinking of suicide. The resources include;
- Youth Suicide Prevention at school: A Resource for School Mental Health Leadership Teams, developed by School Mental Health ASSIST, discusses strategies for supporting student well-being at schools.
- Youth Suicide Prevention Programs: A Resource Guide, developed by the Center for Disease Control, is meant for communities interested in developing and improving programs preventing suicide among the youths.
- Promising Strategies (Aboriginal Youth: A manual of Promising Suicide Prevention Strategies). This will also enhance the development and implementation of suicide prevention programs for the aboriginal youths in the community (Prevention tools and resources, n.d)
References
Frontiers | The Zero Suicide Model: Applying Evidence … (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00033/full
Prevention tools and resources. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.togethertolive.ca/prevention-tools-and-resources