Suicide claimed the lives of fashion designer Kate Spade and chef Anthony Bourdain in the span of one week; on average, in the United States alone, it takes 123 lives a day and close to 45,000 a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The CDC now classifies suicide as a leading cause of death in the U.S.—specifically the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S.—with rates rising 25 percent between 1999 and 2016. Additionally, 44 states saw rates of suicide increase significantly by 30 percent or more in that time frame.
Like others, Connecticut has suffered an uptick. Data from the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shows that 283 died by suicide in 1999 and 402 in 2017. Yet, in comparison to the rest of the country, that can be considered a sort of achievement, as the CDC ranks Connecticut as 46th in rates of suicide deaths.
Michelle Peters, the director of Connecticut’s branch of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, attributes this subdued growth to Connecticut’s suicide prevention efforts, referencing the 2012 establishment of the Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board, along with the work of organizations like AFSP Connecticut and the National Institute of Mental Health in the state, as contributors. However, Peters thinks that Connecticut—along with the rest of the U.S.—must invest more in research on suicide if the country is to see improvement and to answer the daunting question of why people take their own lives.
“All we know [about suicide] is from interviews with family and friends of people who have died by suicide,” she explained. “We need to have the money to put toward the research that can then be put toward suicide prevention.”
Peters believes this is one of the greater factors in ensuring that the AFSP in particular can reach its goal of decreasing the rate of suicide by 20 percent by 2025. According to the National Institutes of Health, about $100 million was spent on suicide research last year, while $690 million was spent on breast cancer even though it takes fewer lives.
Additionally, Peters said mental health must be viewed as important as physical health.
“It is essential that mental health is considered, funded, treated and given enough attention as physical health,” she stated. “Our head is connected to our bodies and we all have mental health. We need to pay as close attention to it.”
Kate Mattias, executive director of the Connecticut chapter for the National Alliance on Mental, is of a similar sentiment, saying that there must be a deeper and better understanding of mental ailments before viable solutions to the suicide increase can be found. Raising greater awareness, especially around depression, she says, is a place to start.
“You have to talk about depression. So many individuals who attempt or die by suicide are later discovered to have a mental illness, particularly depression, whether it was diagnosed or undiagnosed,” Mattias
Additionally, like Peters, Mattias thinks that more funding should go into research and resources, citing the cutbacks to federal initiatives like the Affordable Care Act as troubling and rendering the nation ill-prepared to combat the increase; 40 percent of recipients of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion have mental health issues.
“The public mental health system could use more resources,” Mattias expressed. “The lack of resources impacts access to care. If people don’t get the care they need, that can impact their outcome.”
“Connecticut does a good job [on resources], but we can always do better,” she continued.
For Dr. Shannon Jackson, associate director of Student Wellness Services for Counseling at Central Connecticut State University, it is imperative that more be devoted to suicide prevention in the state, saying that, now, “we generally do a poor job as a nation prioritizing the equitable provision of mental health services.” Every day, he encounters student clients with suicidal thoughts and tendencies, and the need for his services grow bigger and bigger with every semester.
“I have been working in college student mental health for about 13 years, at CCSU for four of those, and I can say with confidence that I have seen a sharp increase [in students with suicidal thoughts] during this time,” he said. “Sometimes suicide is seen as a way of ending one’s intolerable pain. If we could provide alternative means of addressing that pain, like easily accessible mental health services, suicide would be a considerably less desirable option.”
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or text 741741.