For whatever reason, when one person decides to end his or her own life, a tragic loss occurs for all of us. Some recent events require that we look again at suicide.

A new survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) reveals from a special report on youth ages twelve through seventeen, showing that nearly one million youth had considered and made plans to commit suicide during periods of severe depression. Of the nine-hundred thousand contemplators, over seven hundred thousand then made some attempt at suicide.

In the report, “Suicidal thoughts among youths aged 12-17 with Major Depressive Episode,” the authors estimate that at least three and one-half million youth in the age range studied have experienced a major depressive episode during their lifetime; over seven percent of youth had thoughts of killing themselves during such an episode; and nearly three percent actually had attempted suicide. Females were far more likely than males both to report severe depressive symptoms and to have suicidal thoughts and make plans to take their lives.

(Now former) SAMHSA Administrator, Charles Curie, commenting on the survey, stated that suicide is, “a preventable tragedy. It is a thief that sets no boundaries and seeks victims of all ages; from all racial, religious ethnic and multi-ethnic groups; across all socio-economic divides; and within urban and rural communities nationwide.”

With the recent death of two New Orleans police officers to suicide in the aftermath of the unspeakable horror that followed hurricane Katrina and the yet untold stories of thousands more whose lives and prospects for psychological well-being were all but shattered and who may, at this very moment, be thinking about ending their own lives, we must remind ourselves of the double tragedy that suicide is. First, the taking of ones own life represents the fatal loss of hope and future of a fellow human being. The second loss is the one that the rest of us endure—having to bear for the rest of our own lives the weight of the unanswerable questions whether we could or should have been able to do something that would have made a difference to them.

I have no doubt that some of us get depressed, even severely depressed, without the obvious presence of a social or physical reason to explain their distress. An abundance of research has also shown that most depressive episodes can be successfully treated by psychotherapy and or medication, reducing or relieving the depression, with its attendant feelings of sadness, tiredness, and lack of positive feeling, while putting into check the dread, hopelessness and sense of no future that often fuels the thoughts and then the actions of self destructiveness.

SAMHSA, through its Center for Mental Health Services, has recently launched a National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The toll-free number is 1-800 273-TALK. This program funds over one hundred crisis centers throughout the United States, providing trained crisis workers who know how to take the time to listen, advise, and then refer callers to local centers where person-to-person help is available.

The local crisis center for the Southland is centered at the Didi Hersh Community Mental Center’s Suicide Prevention Center in Los Angeles. Program Director Sandri Kramer, tells me, “On the LIFELINE we get mostly suicide and crisis calls. We’re definitely getting a lot of calls from Texas on the HOPELINE, which is 1-800 SUICIDE, backing up the recovery efforts in Texas.”

In response to the recent national crisis, SAMHSA has put its teams into a wider-ranging disaster response mode. “In the aftermath of the hurricane,” Kramer told me, “they wanted to make a crisis life available for people dealing with trauma in the aftermath of the hurricane.” Please write these numbers down so that you can give them to a friend or a loved one when no other help is available or use it yourself if or when you may need such assistance. Take care.

(Please note: the content of this website is for informational use only and should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease. DrComeau.com should not be used as a substitute for professional medical or psychological advice. Please consult your health care provider or your local emergency services team (911, in most instances) in the event of a health related concern or emergency.)

Copyright © 2011 Allan J. Comeau, Ph.D.