TALKING IS KEY TO SUICIDE PREVENTION

“Un million de gracias! Por traernos un taller de prevencion al suiciding. Es importante! Es primordial. Debemos educarnos! Suicide prevention is desperately important, and we must educate ourselves so we can do everything possible to prevent it.”

Buffalo Latino Village and American Foundation for Suicide Prevention had Denisse Centeno-Lamas, LCSW, a Boricua therapist in Florida, present “Talk Saves Lives.”

A critical part of suicide prevention is talking about it!! She tailored the workshop to Latinx communities. Denisse basically helped attendees explore risk factors, protective factors, and ways to help.

 Suicide is one of the most traumatic, grievous ways to lose people. It has recently hit us hard in this community with the death of twelve-year-old Dariel Reyes who died by suicide after being relentlessly bullied at school.

 As was clear in the workshop, suicide touches us all. It’s a leading cause of death for all ages but the very youngest. In 2021, suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34.  Suicide is also a result of trauma, stress, and/or shame (the subtle trauma). Some examples are:

• the loss of a parent or premature death of anyone close.
• maltreatment (abuse and/or neglect).
• witnessing violence.
• chronic bullying/racism/bigotry.
• Intergenerational trauma (including colonization and oppression);
• environmental disasters e.g., hurricanes, fires.
• medical traumas, chronic illness.
• extreme poverty.
• experiences damaging our trust of others, ourselves, or the world.

Children are especially vulnerable and impressionable, so hurts run very deep.
It’s natural to want pain to stop, so a painful life increases the risk of suicide. Trying to deal with the pain can lead to bad choices, which can also increase suicide risk.
We intuitively know protective factors reducing pain and increasing resiliency and ability to trust, such as:

• strong family ties.
• a cohesive and caring community.
• a good support network of friends and allies – people we can turn to for help, support, and comfort.
• sufficient resources including support services – especially for mental health; and
• activities that foster connection, development, education, strengthening of values, faith, and/or healthy living.

Denisse boiled the warning signs down to:

• what the person says: statements like “I wish I were dead,” or “Why am I living?” are red flags.
• how they’re behaving; extreme risk-taking behaviors, increased substance use/abuse; suddenly giving prized possessions away, etc., and
• how their mood seems to be: does the person seem depressed? Anguished? Is their interest in doing things gone? Their eating patterns altered.

If you feel concerned, don’t be afraid to ask them, “Do you feel suicidal?” or “Do you feel like killing yourself?” You won’t be “giving them ideas.”
If they feel suicidal, by definition, they will already have thought of it. Asking just opens the socially taboo issue so that they will feel freer to talk about it. 
Getting help from a therapist who culturally attuned, fully respectful, really cares, and (above all) that the person feels comfortable with can make all the difference.

You can help too by giving unconditional love and positive regard; and sharing your own feelings, experiences, and coping mechanisms. Encourage them to do the things that have helped you, and the things that you’ve seen have helped them in the past.

Reach out to your own best support and community resources.

We all need help at times! Fight the misguided stigma. Talking about it’s important. Shame and secrecy feed the problem, as do guilt and blame. Remember, we can only do the best we can. Faulting ourselves, as all too common, is unfair and unhelpful. We also need to strive for accountability and social change, but not at our own expense.

The national suicide hotline is 988; it is staffed up to take calls 24/7.

La línea directa nacional de suicidio es el 988; Cuenta con personal para recibir llamadas las 24 horas del día, los 7 días de la semana.

We also include a photo of the resources for Latinx counseling shared in the presentation. (You might also find helpful the recent Talking Peace video on the WNY Peace Center’s YouTube “Helping Our Children [and ourselves!] Deal with Bigotry”).

Just remember that you are not alone – reach out and encourage others to reach out too.  We’re one in the Spirit.

We’re all in this together. 

Si, se puede – Juntos!