Teen suicide attempts soar
Report cites need for urgent action as self-harm injuries increase 143%
A 143 per cent increase in attempted suicides by local youth is such an “alarming” finding it requires immediate priority action, a justreleased mental health profile of the region concludes.
“A very staggering increase,” is how epidemiologist Mackenzie Slifierz described the rising number of hospital emergency department visits by young people between the ages of 10 and 19 for intentional self-harm injuries, documented in his 2010-15 Windsor-Essex County Health Unit report. At 226 visits per 100,000 population, the attempted suicide rate for youth last year was significantly higher than for any other age group, including seniors (33), adults 45 to 64 (80.5) and adults 20 to 44 (165).
Maryvale is where young people go when they are hospitalized after a suicide attempt. “And yes it’s been increasing, that’s for sure, and it’s not good,” the adolescent treatment centre’s executive director Connie Martin said Monday. “It’s scary how many of them are very serious.”
She said bullying and cyber bullying — something older generations never suffered through — are big reasons kids try to kill themselves. Also, when it comes to completed suicides, the percentage of LGBT teens is “exceedingly high,” she said, explaining that they feel they can’t tell anybody and can’t see any way out.
Other kids come from homes where there’s domestic violence, directed at a parent or themselves.
“Again, they don’t see any way out,” Martin said. “These are the kids we’re seeing.”
She said the Regional Children’s Centre has an emergency team that responds within 15 minutes if a suicidal young person shows up in an emergency department.
That team works with an oncall child psychiatrist to decide on a course of treatment, which can include admission to Maryvale.
But it has only six beds and during the “tough time” between September and June it’s not uncommon to have all those beds full and four kids waiting in emergency departments.
Martin said while the initial treatment often gets kids through the crisis, the services available afterwards are very thin, meaning there’s the potential for a relapse.
“You need something over time until you really, really own a new way of thinking and you really do have a new frame of reference on life,” she said.
The rise in attempted teen suicides appears to be a national trend, highlighted by the rash of five teen suicides in the Ontario town of Woodstock earlier this year.
“Certainly, what we’re hearing is that age group is feeling the anxiety and stress of life, and not necessarily sure of how to reach out and find the tools to cope,” said Claudia den Boer Grima, CEO of Canadian Mental Health’s Windsor-Essex County branch, which hosted a news conference Monday to release the report and promote Suicide Prevention Week Sept. 1016.
She said part of what CMHC does to prevent suicide is “starting the conversation, making sure that we’re talking about it, making sure that we help individuals understand what the signs and symptoms are, where they can go for support,” and helping them get professional support, “to help them on the road to recovery and resilience.”
When Windsor high schooler Stephanie Kinghorn killed herself 13 years ago at the age of 15, she didn’t realize there were so many people around her who could have provided support, said her older sister Melissa Lywood, who delivers anti-bullying workshops at area high schools in hopes of preventing other teen suicides.
Outgoing and bubbly, “Steph” had a lot of friends, Kinghorn said. “But when she was in high school she had some difficult situations with a few peer groups. Unfortunately it led her to feel very depressed and alone and ultimately she considered suicide to be the solution for what she was going through.”
Young people today are facing many challenges, including cyber
I often say if you’re going through a difficult time, think: Is this going to matter a year from now?
bullying through social media, she said. The message she gives is to hold on if you feel like letting go, that things will get better.
“I often say if you’re going through a difficult time, think: Is this going to matter a year from now?”
Signs include: threatening suicide; talking about wanting to die; appearing depressed, sad or withdrawn; deliberate injuring; changes in mood, appearance or behaviour; and drug or alcohol abuse.
The campaign advises that if you see these signs: stay calm and listen; let the person talk and don’t judge; let them know help is available, ask if they have suicidal thoughts, stay with them until they get help; and take all threats of suicide seriously.
Call 911 or go to a hospital emergency, or call the Community Crisis Centre 24-hour crisis line (for ages 16 and over) at 519-973-4435 or the Windsor Distress Centre (for all ages, from noon to midnight) at 519-256-5000. Walk-in services include the Regional Children’s Centre at 3901 Connaught St., the Community Crisis Centre (age 16 and over) at 1086 Ouellette Ave., Family Services counselling at multiple locations, and Maryvale’s walk-in counselling at Leamington District Memorial Hospital for youth under 18 and families.
Maryvale’s Martin said suicide among teens is a neglected area of health care.
“They have so much life ahead of them and we all know as adults that you just need to get them through that dark tunnel and then many will say: ‘I didn’t know what I was thinking,’” she said.
“But boy, if you lose them, the family never gets over it.”