Every 35 seconds, someone in the United States attempts suicide. Every 14.6 minutes, one person succeeds. The state of Mississippi now ranks 19th in the country for suicides. And that number is climbing.
These were the sobering numbers Kiwanians were given during Wednesday afternoon’s meeting at the Columbus Country Club, where Contact Helpline Executive Director Lindy Thomason was the guest speaker.
She didn’t spare her audience from the harshness of reality. The room is normally filled with the mealtime sounds of ice clinking in glasses, forks meeting plates. Wednesday, the listeners fell silent.
The 24-hour, faith-based telephone crisis hotline has operated in Lowndes County for 37 years and also serves Oktibbeha, Clay, Choctaw, Monroe, Noxubee, Webster and Winston counties.
Thomason knows the importance of the hotline, because years ago, when she was going through a painful divorce, she would have called if she had known the service was available. Instead, she struggled through. From time to time, ever so briefly, she thought about taking her own life.
Many people, if they were willing to admit it, have contemplated suicide, she said. Almost everyone knows someone who either attempted to kill themselves or succeeded.
It’s particularly important to spread word of the hotline to teenagers, Thomason said, citing statistics that list suicide as the third cause of death among 15 to 24-year-olds and a growing concern among the elderly.
Contact is staffed by 50 volunteers who go through 24 hours of classroom instruction and 12 hours of hands-on apprenticeship in order to learn how to effectively listen and help callers. They also take a two-day class to specifically learn techniques to assist suicidal callers. An average shift at the helpline is four hours, and at least 25 additional volunteers are needed, Thomason said.
Broad spectrum of needs
While suicide prevention is perhaps the classic image people have of crisis helplines, Thomason said it’s not actually the most prevalent reason people call Contact. Of the 8,962 calls the helpline received last year, only 53 dealt with suicide.
Instead, since the economic downturn, Thomason is seeing more and more people calling for help with basic everyday needs like food, shelter, medication and utility assistance. Approximately 3,000 calls last year were for referrals to other agencies, and 444 calls were requests for financial help to meet expenses.
Two decades ago, the helpline’s mission expanded to include “Reassurance Contact,” which currently serves around 300 elderly or physically-challenged people. Each day, at a specified time, someone from the helpline calls the client to make certain they are OK. Contact volunteers often become listeners for the lonely.
Thomason said the volunteers don’t tell people what to do, and they don’t judge them. They accept them wherever they are emotionally and try to listen and, through open-ended questions, guide them to better options.
But in the end, there is still only so much Contact can do. Much depends on people knowing the helpline exists. Thomason can remember a time when few people had heard of Contact. She’s encouraged by the number of people who are aware of it now.
Still, she works daily to make sure the word is spread to the general public, particularly teenagers. Briefly, there was a hotline for teens, staffed by teens. Now, those calls are also handled by Contact.
Wednesday morning, before going to the Kiwanis meeting, Thomason was at Columbus High School, speaking to students.
“No one can help you unless you will tell them,” Thomason said.
Suicide warning signs
While some suicides occur with no prior warning, the majority of suicides occur following a series of red flags. Recognizing the risk factors and hallmarks of suicidal ideation are key elements of suicide prevention.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention lists the following warning signs that a person may be considering suicide:
From thought to action
Signals that someone may have moved beyond contemplation and is about to carry out a suicide plan include:
The role of major
depression
“Although most depressed people are not suicidal, most suicidal people are depressed,” the AFSP website states. “… One can help prevent suicide through early recognition and treatment of depression and other psychiatric illnesses.”
Like suicidal ideation, major depression carries its own set of warning signs. The person may talk about changes in sleeping patterns or exhibit marked changes in appetite or weight. They may seem anxious, agitated or restlessness, or the opposite — they may show signs of fatigue or loss of energy.
They may exhibit decreased concentration, indecisiveness or poor memory. They may express feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, self-reproach or inappropriate guilt.
A voice in the dark
During her divorce, Thomason occasionally considered crashing her car into a tree, she told Kiwanians. Single-car accident, no more pain.
But she didn’t. Instead, she dedicated her life to helping others walking the same tangled path.
To volunteer for the Contact Helpline or Reassurance Contact, please call 662-327-2968.
If you are in crisis and need help, please call 662-323-HELP (4357) or 1-800-377-1643.
In case of emergency — an attempted suicide, suicide in progress, or imminent danger to oneself or others — please call 911.
[Editor’s Note: Article statistics verified by the National Institute of Mental Health, the American Association of Suicidology and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.]
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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