Everyone is responsible for preventing and intervening in suicides

Photo By Sgt. Michael Roach | Photo Illustration by SGT Michael Roach  

FORT RILEY, KS, UNITED STATES

12.15.2016

Story by Sgt. Michael Roach 

19th Public Affairs Detachment

“‘I have a problem; I’m thinking about killing myself,’ that’s a problem, right?”

David Easterling, the Suicide Prevention Program manager at Fort Riley, Kansas, poses the question rhetorically.

“In our society, not even (in) the Army, having problems is not (viewed as) all that good of a thing,” Easterling said. “Good preventative measures for suicide and most problems are having strong interpersonal connections with another person.”

While the stigma of going to others with a problem has diminished in Army culture, not having a person with whom to bring those problems can make an issue significantly worse, according to Easterling. That feeling of isolation and loneliness can lead to reaching out for help without necessarily intending to.

Tragedy was averted for one Fort Riley Soldier in September while placing an order over the phone with Papa John’s in Junction City, Kansas. The Soldier had been drinking and decided to order food rather than leave his residence. While on the phone with a Papa John’s employee, he made comments that caused the workers there to worry about his well-being, prompting them to call the authorities who then made a successful intervention, according to the report filed on the event.

“It was a school night, so we were pretty busy,” said Amanda Clark, the training general manager for Papa John’s in Junction City. The delivery driver who took the call notified Clark about the situation and she was able to notify the authorities before taking over the phone call herself when the driver left to make a delivery.

“He didn’t want to hang up with us, he really liked the delivery driver he was talking to,” Clark said. “We would have done that for anybody regardless, because you know that is a rough situation to be in and a rough state of mind to be in. But, to me I mean, if you’re still ordering pizza and stuff like that; you have some want to be around. Just by his address I knew that he was a Soldier with a family so we weren’t going to let that happen if we could avoid it.”

To Easterling, this incident is indicative of a Soldier who wanted to talk about his problems, and strangers who had the presence of mind to ask.

“So one of the takeaways from this story is that individuals who are thinking about suicide want to tell people about it,” Easterling said. “A lot of times individuals don’t want to get involved because they don’t want to cross that line with somebody and they’re worried about how they are going to react. But most people who are actively thinking about suicide want to talk about it. They want to talk about what is happening to them. This is an excellent case to prove that point. This person was willing to reach out and talk to a random person on the phone.”

‘A real simple conversation’
While this intervention prevent a tragedy, there are ways to sometimes eliminate the need for suicide intervention in the first place. Capt. Christine Winter, Big Red One’s division psychiatrist, stresses an understanding of the mindset that could lead to suicidal ideations and attention to the mental health of coworkers, friends and family members.

There are “two key things that everyone needs to understand,” Winter said. “One, it’s normal, that’s the first thing. Having thoughts that can be very disturbing to people — having thoughts of essentially just bad things — is a very normal response to stress… this is an everyday occurrence for a lot of people.

“The second is that it is really something that can resolve pretty quickly just with a real simple conversation.”

Winter contends that many suicides are prevented from what might seem like extremely small, even unintended, interactions. Preventions like those are seldom acknowledged or recorded, she said.

“The best interventions are the ones that people don’t even know they’re doing,” Winter said. “When it comes to actual prevention there is a lot of emphasis that’s put on somebody making a statement or saying something about suicide and then everyone else reacting to it. Those are the ones that we are really good at preventing.

“The ones that we miss are the ones where people are not saying it. Those are the ones that we can do something more about.”

Noticing changes in behavior or attitude, changes in circumstance or other stressors in coworkers, friends and family is paramount in preventing suicide attempts, according to Winter. Something as simple as making a phone call, asking a question or knocking on a door may help save a life.

“When you notice a change (such as) some people are always quiet and by themselves but maybe they’re going to start talking a little more,” Winter said. “That’s a difference, you know? Noticing a change in somebody is going to prevent things.”

‘What do you do?’
Easterling agrees that searching for a change and being aware of other people is the best way to prevent suicides attempts. Just as important, however, is knowing what to do if someone says that they are thinking about attempting suicide.

“What do you do when they really say ‘yes’?” Easterling said. “At Fort Riley, and even in the civilian world, never leave them. Once you’ve got them you don’t let them go. Once you’re there, even if you think you’re saying all the wrong words and you think you’re fumbling over yourself – as long as you’re trying your best, that’s going to come across to the person at risk. And they’re going to see that you’re not willing to give up and that you believe in them.”

As important as it is to talk to the at-risk individual, letting them talk can be just as critical, Easterling said.

“When anyone is working with an individual and they’ve opened up and said ‘yes, I’m thinking about suicide,’ let them talk, don’t jump directly to ‘hey, let’s get you to the hospital;’ let them open up and tell you their story,” Easterling said. “Allow them that moment to decompress. It was more than likely a big event in their life to tell you that they’re thinking about suicide. So now, let them tell you about it. Be invested in that story, ask follow up questions about that story (and) allow them to get it out.”

Opening up and talking about their problems will cause a physiological change releasing endorphins and serotonin that makes the at-risk individual feel better, according to Easterling.

“Instead of handing them off to someone, we hand them up,” Easterling said. “We try and get them to a higher skill set than ourselves. This person who was from Papa John’s, you know, had the manager call the (military police). Call the police department, get them involved, get them to where that person’s at. If you are on the phone with someone, call the MPs, call 911. At the end of the day we’re going to be at IACH, we’re going to be talking to a behavioral specialist who is going to help the chain of command create a way forward for this Soldier. All roads end at the same place essentially – how we get there really depends on each scenario.”

‘Be there’
According to Easterling, the key to both preventing and successfully intervening in suicides is for all persons to be present in their daily lives and understand that their contributions and attentiveness to one another matter.

“Be there,” Easterling said. “We all have our day-to-day activities that we have to go through. Wherever we’re at, be there. Whatever you’re doing and whoever you’re working with; whether it is in a shop, on a range, in the PX, be there. Notice the things you can notice, react to the things you know you can react to. It’s not all about one person on this installation saving everybody on this installation. It’s about all of us doing our part – be there.

“Do your part whatever it is, however small you think it is… It doesn’t matter your rank, your age, anything, you can make the difference.”

• Date Taken: 12.15.2016
• Date Posted: 12.15.2016 11:46
• Story ID: 217824
• Location: FORT RILEY, KS, US