Beech Tree News Network

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in Kentucky and the second leading cause of death in people ages 15 to 34, according to a "Mortality in the United States Report," published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

"People commit suicide when they see no way out from whatever the situation is. Usually people feel hopeless, they see no light at the end of the tunnel, and that hopelessness is a key factor in someone following through with the act of killing themselves," said Dr. Laurie Ballew, medical director at Paducah's Lourdes Behavioral Health Institute.

The state's suicide rate is higher than the national average, she added.

"Kentucky has 15.5 suicides per 100,000 (people) compared to the rest of the United States, which has 12.5," she said.

Locally, suicide is a big problem.

"McCracken County is ranked 13th in the state as far as suicide, so if you take into consideration all of the (120) counties in Kentucky, we're pretty high," Ballew said.

No 'rhyme or reason'

In 2013, the McCracken County Sheriff's Department investigated 31 suicides and in 2014 that number stayed the same, Sheriff Jon Hayden said. So far this year, there have been five suicides.

Hayden noted those numbers include drug toxicity and multiple substance toxicity deaths, which can skew the data because they are "often times not able to make a determination if it was an intentional overdose or an accidental overdose."

In the city, the Paducah Police Department reported 31 suicides in 2013 and 35 in 2014. There have been six so far this year.

Additionally, 911 Dispatch Assistant Director Brent Stringer said dispatchers have fielded more than 540 calls threatening suicide and more than 130 attempted suicide calls since 2013.

"We get calls multiple times per week, threatening suicide either with medication or a weapon of some sort," Hayden said. "Those are stressful calls to respond to and each one is a little different."

Hayden said a majority of those calls do not result in suicide and usually end with the person getting the medical help they need.

The cases where someone does take his own life, he added, are traumatizing for everyone involved.

"Each and every one is something that you remember because it's such a devastating thing to see, to investigate," Hayden said.

"Making those types of death notifications is extremely difficult. You know, if you investigate three a month, it feels like 300."

McCracken County Coroner Dan Sims agreed. "Suicide is the worst case - outside of a child death or infant death - to work because a lot of people have trouble accepting that, that loved one has taken their own life," Sims said.

For McCracken Chief Deputy Mike Turnbow, the suicide cases he's worked are the ones that stick with him the most.

"I've actually had four people commit suicide in front of me with firearms over my career," he said.

"Those stick with you, because you're trying to talk them out of it and you can't do it."

The hardest part, he added, is that there is no "rhyme or reason."

"You know it's been said 'suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem' and I've heard this phrase 'searching for answers,' but there's not (answers)," Turnbow said. "We can't get inside their heads, so we don't know why. We can only really guess."

Hayden said the hardest part is seeing the impact suicide has on a person's loved ones.

"It's devastating to families," he said. "People sometimes tend to want to blame themselves for not being able to prevent it or not being able to pick up on the signs. ... They feel they should have caught it, they should have done something."

Troubling signs

But seeing the signs that a person is at risk can sometimes prove challenging, Ballew said.

"The lay person can't always see it," she said. "They can only see it if they look at how the person is functioning. And unfortunately some people are so good at covering it up, that we never see it until they kill themselves."

Looking at a person's behavior is key, Ballew said.

"Some of the things we look for are changes in behavior from mild to drastic," she said. "A person that ordinarily has been outgoing - likes to go out and be around people - they become reticent to be around people, they want to stay in the house, they're not interested in doing anything. Another sign is their work is not as good as it used to be, maybe they're not completing tasks on time like they did before."

In the more serious cases, she said, people can become so severely depressed that they no longer care for themselves.

"Their hygiene is no longer cared for, they don't want to shower, and in its worse forms people don't want to get out of bed or eat, so we can see a significant weight loss."

Drug and alcohol abuse also can be a factor, she said.

"What do those things do?" she said. "They decrease our inhibition, they decrease our filter that tells us 'Oh no, you don't want to do that.'"

In the more severe cases, Ballew said, it's important to get the person to a doctor or emergency medical center for mental and physical health evaluations.

"If you have an individual who just gets more and more depressed, who won't get out of bed or gets to the point where they can't get out of bed, then you (should) call an ambulance or get them to a hospital and have them admitted."

If a person's behavior changes are milder, sometimes showing that person support and compassion can alleviate some of his or her suffering and encourage them to get help.

"Be supportive," she said. "Let them know that you care about them, that you're glad to see them, that you're there to help if they want to talk. You don't want to be overly pushy, but show that you're concerned and that you care."

On a societal level, Ballew said, suicide could be preventable if there was more education and open discussion on the topic.

"Emotional illness can hit anybody," she said. "We're all humans. ... Anybody can feel hopeless or helpless at any time. If we could reduce the stigma that is attached to depression and mental illness and suicide, then I think people who are suffering might see that maybe there is some hope. But the only way to prevent something is to be educated about it."

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By Kat Russell
The Paducah Sun

Date: 04-13-2015

Kentucky Press News Service