Suicide Prevention: working together Mike Rainsford - HSE Mental Health Promotion / Suicide Resource Officer.
Total suicide rate per 100,000 population in the EU Lithuania 34.0 29.0 Slovenia Hungary 28.6 23.6 Latvia Belgium 23.5 22.5 Estonia 22.5 Finland France 19.8 17.3 Austria Czech Republic 16.7 16.6 Poland 15.2 Denmark Sweden 15.1 14.2 Bulgaria 13.7 Slovakia Based on W.H.O. Data 13.1 Germany accessed in Jan 2012 12.4 Romania 12.2 Portugal 12.2 Luxembourg 10.4 Netherlands 10.3 Ireland 8.7 Spain 7.9 Italy 7.6 United Kingdom 4.9 Malta 3.9 Greece
Youth suicide rate (15-24yr olds) per 100,000 population in the EU 20.1 Lithuania 19.4 Finland 15.2 Estonia Ireland 14.4 13.9 Latvia 12.4 Belgium 11.3 Luxembourg Poland 11.0 10.8 Slovenia 9.4 Sweden Austria 9.1 Denmark 7.5 7.5 Slovakia 7.4 Czech Republic Based on W.H.O. Hungary 7.4 France 7.2 Data accessed Jan 6.4 Netherlands 2012 5.8 Germany Romania 5.0 Bulgaria 4.9 4.8 United Kingdom 3.9 Spain Italy 3.8 Portugal 3.7 1.9 Greece 0.0 Malta
Suicide: Some Facts Suicide is now the leading cause of death among young people in Ireland (aged 15-24) Ireland currently has the fourth highest rate of youth suicide (15-24 yrs) in the European Union In terms of total population Ireland ranks 20 th
International evidence for suicide prevention Improved understanding of suicide prevention among the general population Building individual emotional resilience Encourage help-seeking and access to self-help Integration of primary care and mental health services for people at risk of suicide Community response plans to suicide Provision of suicide prevention training to the community and health service staff Responsible reporting of suicide by the media Provision of appropriate treatment for persons who self-harm.
Improved understanding of suicide prevention among the general population Information,awareness campaigns, leaflets, training, workshops. Working with schools, teacher training. World Mental Health week
Building Individual Emotional Resilience Psychosocial training programmes, self-help, mental health promotion,social prescribing for health and wellbeing....
Encourage help-seeking and access to self-help Information, signposting, social prescribing, Alive2Thrive website, www.reachout.com, www.spunout.ie
TV / Cinema Ad
Integration of primary care and mental health services for people at risk of suicide Development of primary care teams. Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse service (SCAN) Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Social prescribing for health and wellbeing. Mind Full of Health service
Community response plans to suicide Learning from local response plans, 2014 developing community action plans for suicide prevention Local template for planning group in consultation with the National Office for Suicide Prevention.
Working together.. Education / NEPs Voluntary organisations, Mental Health Ireland, Grow, Stopsuicide, Grasp Life, Living Links, GAA, Family Resource Centres, Samaritans, HSE – Mental Health Services, Psychology Gardai, church leaders, communities.
Provision of suicide prevention training to the community and health service staff
ASIST - Suicide Intervention Skills over 1,500 people trained in Sligo and Leitrim Lives saved ?
Responsible reporting of suicide by the media National guidelines available developed by the Samaritans and the National Office for suicide prevention.
A national programme focused on reducing access to means of suicide Take into account, ease of access to medication eg, pain killers, access to firearms, signage eg. bridges,piers, rivers,railways etc..
Provision of appropriate treatment response for persons who self-harm Sligo General 2 x Liaison nurses. Increase in dialectical behaviour therapists Self-harm awareness training.
Risk factors Social isolation / being alone Poverty Stress: anxiety and/or depression Bereavement / loss Alcohol and drug misuse (80%) Relationship breakdown Financial problems Bullying / abuse Unemployment Illness / despair Stigma Access to means
Risk factors The most frequently reported precipitating factors in the month prior to suicide include breakdown of a relationship, loss of a job, financial difficulties, legal troubles and difficulties with the Gardai, experience of a traumatic event and anniversary of an important death.
Thoughts, feelings, actions.. When we are well, there is a balance between our logical, rational mind and our emotions. When we get very distressed, our negative emotions can overwhelm our logical brain. Negative emotions can lead to confused thinking and negative, self-destructive behaviours. We become overwhelmed and hopeless in the face of our problems..
Barriers to help seeking.. Stigma - suicide, mental illness - taboo subjects Guilt, shame, depression Low self-esteem, self-worth Don’t want to be a burden Don’t want to be seen as weak Don’t know how to talk about it Confused thinking Don’t know who to talk to Death represents relief from the pain
Barriers to help -seeking Depression is treatable but many young men may be reluctant to seek help because of the stigma or shame associated with the condition. Others may not recognise that they are suffering from depression and may present to their GP with a physical complaint not realising that there are underlying emotional difficulties.
Talking is key – a problem shared is a problem halved
Talking to someone, the journey to hope
The Strength of Community in Challenging Times - Building Resilience Together
What is Resilience? A classic definition of resilience is the ability to bounce back, cope and/or deal with stressful or challenging situations. It also means that as a human being we adapt and change to these situations or challenges in a way that will not leave us with lasting consequences, either, physically, emotionally or psychologically. Developing a greater level of resilience won’t stop bad or stressful things from happening, but can reduce the level of disruption a stressor has and the time taken to recover.
Why Build Your Resilience? Reduces impact of stressful events. Reduces recovery time. Enables one to maintain perspective and hope while experiencing negative emotions.
We can all build our resilience and that of our community . • Resilience is not a trait that people either have or do not have. • It involves behaviours, thoughts and actions that can be learned and developed in anyone • Remember - Building resilience is a process
Why are Some People More Resilient than Others? Factors that influence how a person reacts to a stressful or challenging experience include: Individual health and wellbeing – e.g. social skills, problem solving skills, physical health Individual factors – genetics, personality Life history and experience – past events and relationships, how we have coped in the past Social and community support – family, friends, work colleagues, school environments. Feeling connected to others. Patterns of thinking – the way your mind works (this is partly related to genetics and partly to your environment)
Other Factors which promote Resilience The capacity to make realistic plans and take steps to carry them out Self-care – the time you spend looking after yourself. A positive view of yourself and confidence in your strengths and abilities The capacity to manage strong feelings and impulses Resilience can be developed!
7 Skills of Resilience Recognizing your feelings Reaching out – emotional literacy Staying hopeful (optimistic) Analysing the cause of problems and managing stress Believing in your ability Empathy Give yourself thinking time
What influences our thinking? Unhelpful Thinking Habits Our style of explaining things Deep core beliefs about ourselves Our physical and emotional wellbeing Start paying attention to your initial thoughts. Check if your thinking is helpful and constructive or destructive and damaging.
Unhelpful Thinking Habits All or Nothing Overgeneralization Thinking Jumping to Filtering out the Conclusions Positive Making a Mountain out Mind Reading of a Molehill Should Statements Personalization (Beck, 1995; Burns, 1989)
Towards Resilient Thinking… Skills to move forward: Catching that unhelpful, initial reaction Stopping the chain of unhelpful self talk Create thinking time, be a detective , examine what is really going on Challenge negative thinking, substitute with more reasonable thinking
The Language of Resilience I I HAVE I I AM I I CAN Positive sense of self!
Recommend
More recommend