Special to IFN
Every 11 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies by suicide. If you are struggling, or know someone who is struggling, Susan Tolle can help.
Tolle has been involved with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) for nearly 10 years as an educator, advocate, and volunteer, equipping over 4,000 people with suicide education. “The more we talk about suicide, the more lives we can save,” she said.
Tolle’s passion for prevention began in 2016 when her daughter was going through crisis.
“I could find hardly any resources to help her and she had gone through three different suicide attempts,” she.
Tolle shares that stigma around suicide had resulted in this lack of resources.
“I started talking about my daughter’s experience and remember very clearly a friend of mine said to me after I had shared a story in the newspaper, ‘Susan, how can you air your dirty laundry in the newspaper?’ ”
Tolle shared the hurt that came along with this comment.
“I don’t look at my daughter’s mental health crisis as dirty laundry. This is the stigma that we have to overcome,” she said.
Suicide, which is the 11th leading cause of death in the U.S., affects nearly every community and
demographic.
“People say, ‘She’s crazy, that’s why she’s trying to kill herself,’ or ‘He drove his company to bankruptcy.’ They try to explain it away, but there is not a single cause of suicide.”
Tolle explains the hopelessness that those experiencing suicidal ideation feel.
“They feel like they’re going down a tunnel and there is peace at the end when they are gone. They don’t look left or right and are very impulsive. That’s why it’s important to think about what’s going on in their minds that we may not know and how important it is to be kind and let others know how much we care about them,” she said.
According to AFSP, there are 22 warning signs to watch for categorized into what a person says, does, and acts:
If a person talks about:
• Killing themselves
• Feeling hopeless
• Having no reason to live
• Being a burden to others
• Feeling trapped
• Unbearable pain
Behaviors that may signal risk, especially if related to a painful event, loss or change:
• Increased use of alcohol or drugs
• Looking for a way to end their lives, such as searching online for methods
• Withdrawing from activities
• Isolating from family and friends
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Visiting or calling people to say goodbye
• Giving away prized possessions
• Aggression
• Fatigue
People who are considering suicide often display one or more of the following moods:
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Loss of interest
• Irritability
• Humiliation/Shame
• Agitation/Anger
• Relief/Sudden Improvement
Tolle encourages parents to monitor their children’s devices, especially if they are concerned for their mental health.
“I tell parents all the time to snoop. Go into their search history. They don’t need to know. You might think it’s unfair to them, but it’s about your kid’s life. Snoop.”
If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available from trained professionals through the National Suicide Hotline by calling 988 or texting TALK to 741-741.
“We advocated for a three-digit number that people will remember. Veterans can call that number and press one and it goes immediately to somebody who specializes in veteran crisis. When we first launched it, we received millions of calls,” Tolle said.
LEARN MORE
For more information, or to book a training course on suicide prevention, visit afsp.org. To contact Susan Tolle directly, email her at bstolle@bellsouth.net or call 704-450-6162.
About Iredell Health System
Iredell Health System includes Iredell Memorial Hospital; Iredell Davis Medical Center; Iredell Davis Behavioral Health Hospital; Iredell Mooresville; Iredell Home Health; Iredell Wound Care & Hyperbaric Center; Community and Corporate Wellness; Occupational Medicine; the Iredell Physician Network and more. Iredell Memorial Hospital is the largest nonprofit hospital in Iredell County. The comprehensive healthcare organization has 391 licensed beds; more than 2,000 employees; and has approximately 365 healthcare providers representing various specialties. Centers of excellence include Women’s and
Children’s; Cardiovascular; Cancer; Surgical Services and Wellness & Prevention. The health system’s Iredell Mooresville campus is home to the area’s only 24-hour urgent care facility, as well as an ambulatory surgery center, imaging center, rehabilitation services, and physician practices. The mission
of Iredell Health System is to inspire wellbeing. For a comprehensive list of services and programs, visit www.iredellhealth.org.