Preventing suicide requires a community-wide response. It begins with addressing immediate safety concerns such as removing weapons from homes, changing medication packaging and reducing access to lethal means of self-harm.
It also involves educating the public about risk factors and warning signs of suicide. It also includes efforts to prevent suicide attempts through methods such as electronic health records screening, smartphone passive monitoring and means restriction.
Life skills
Life skills are abilities that enable people to deal with the challenges and stresses of everyday living. These include creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, and the ability to communicate. They also include personal and social responsibility. These are essential to success in the workplace and for healthy relationships.
School-based activities can promote life skills and help prevent suicide by promoting connectedness, building resilience, and providing knowledge of resources and services. These include prevention education about warning signs, destigmatizing mental health issues, and educating students about how to seek support.
When discussing topics related to suicide, it’s important to be open about your mandatory reporter status and how you can’t promise confidentiality. This helps build trust and reassures students that you are a caring adult even when the topic is difficult. It’s also important to keep discussions calm and composed. Students pick up on these cues, and they will respond accordingly. Similarly, it’s important to give students and audience members trigger warnings prior to engaging in sensitive topics.
Resilience
Resilience is the ability to adapt to stress, crisis and trauma. Resilient people have a repertoire of effective coping strategies and emotional strength, which help them weather the storms of life without sinking into despair.
Studies have shown that resilience can reduce suicide risk. In one study, those with high resilience levels experienced lower lifetime and current suicidal ideation than those with low resilience. Resilient individuals also showed greater positive affect and higher psychological capital than those with low resilience.
Individuals can build resilience through building life skills, such as communication and problem-solving abilities. In addition, they can nurture their sense of self-worth by connecting with others and establishing meaningful relationships. They can also learn to manage distress by practicing distraction techniques, such as the 15-minute rule (check in after 15 minutes to see if suicidal thoughts have returned). The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention provides resources for individuals and families. Gwinnett Coalition also offers a free program called QPR for Suicide Prevention to teach individuals how to identify warning signs and respond appropriately when someone is at risk of self-harm.
Connectedness
Connectedness sees the interconnections in people and ideas. People high in this talent theme can draw parallels and spot patterns others miss. They are energized by connecting daily tasks to a bigger purpose, and they thrive in teams where they feel supported to share their big-picture thinking.
Studies have shown that social connections can buffer the negative effects of suicide risk factors, especially in vulnerable populations. Rural programs that serve individuals at risk for suicide can promote positive attachments by leveraging existing community networks and supporting their growth. For example, organizations like Youth Villages offer intensive in-home services to support families with children facing mental health challenges and family violence. These services are a key to creating safe, supportive relationships that help prevent youth suicide. Connectedness pairs well with Learner, who brings curiosity and a drive to continuously improve. But it also works with Strengths like Achiever, Competition, and Command. All of these strengths can provide a balance to Connectedness by putting more emphasis on taking action.
Identifying people at risk
Many people who kill themselves have a history of mental health issues, especially depression. Untreated depression increases the risk of suicide, as do financial pressures and a sense of hopelessness. Stressors like conflict, disasters and violence, abuse, chronic pain and illness, and a sense of isolation are also associated with increased suicide rates.
A key to preventing suicide is identifying and reaching those who are at risk through screening and assessment, providing safe and effective treatment and care, and reducing access to lethal means. This can be done through gatekeeper training, suicide risk assessment tools and standardized approaches to safety planning.
A good place to start is by educating people about the warning signs of suicide and helping them identify and talk openly about their emotions. It’s important to ask a person about their feelings and listen in a nonjudgmental way. It’s also helpful to reduce the availability of lethal means, such as by changing medication packaging or distributing gun safety locks, and by taking steps to keep people with risk factors safe, including by connecting them with emotionally supportive relationships.