Be the one to help prevent suicide deaths
By Editorial Board
The numbers are sobering.
In 2022, 49,449 people died by suicide in the United States. This is up from an estimated 48,183, in 2021. In Wisconsin, 921 people died by suicide in 2022. This is up from 905 people dead by suicide in Wisconsin, in 2021.
According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC), suicide is the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10-14 and among those ages 25-34, third among those ages 15-24 and the fourth for those ages 35-44.
The leading cause of death for all those age groups is the broad category of “unintentional injury.” Given the stigma, which is still associated with suicide deaths, the number of actual suicide deaths is likely much higher.
To put this in perspective, the number of people dead by suicide, is about twice that of the number of people killed by all forms of homicides, each year.
However, that is just the tip of the iceberg, as far as the impact of suicide goes.
The CDC reports that 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide in 2021. Three and a half million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.7 million people attempted suicide.
The risk of talking about suicide, in terms of statistics and numbers, is that it removes the fundamental humanity, and diminishes the personal and community tragedy that every suicide death brings.
Those who attempt, and those who die, by suicide, are our brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, parents, children, cousins, comrades and co-workers. When we look in the mirror, we see their faces in our own, the memories of their last battle invading our thoughts in those quiet and dark times.
The challenge for all of us, is to learn from that sorrow, to be the one to prevent the next tragedy from occurring.
This September, is National Suicide Awareness Month. Throughout the month, there are events and education, to dispel the myths and misconceptions surrounding suicide, and to empower every one of us to learn the warning signs and connect those at risk with the help they need.
Among those events, Sept. 27, people are invited to take part in a day of learning, at Northcentral Technical College. The event, which is made possible with funding from the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin Foundation, will include in-person and virtual sessions, addressing a variety of topics.
From 8:30-10 a.m., Sara Kohlbeck, with the Medical College of Wisconsin, will talk about youth suicide. From 10:15-11:45 a.m., Erica Steib, with Mental Health America of Wisconsin, will talk about suicide in the LGBTQ+ community, while from 12-1:30 p.m., Carole Ewald and Alyssa Knoll, with the Veterans Administration, will talk about suicide among veterans Then, from 1:45-3:15 p.m., Gena L. Orlando, Wisconsin Area Director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, will talk about suicide and older adults, and from 3:30-5 p.m., Darla Tyler-McSherry, with Montana State University and Ask in Earnest, will present on suicide among farmers.
People may register at bit.ly/S-WordSept27 or can call 715-748-1420.
Suicide impacts everyone, and it is up to each of us to learn and do what we can to be the one who stops the next tragedy.
Members of the Courier Sentinel editorial board include publisher Carol O’Leary, general manager Kris O’Leary and Star News editor Brian Wilson.
