PMC health professionals teaching the community to look for signs of suicide

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Story Published: Nov 20, 2009 at 5:56 PM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 20, 2009 at 11:42 PM MDT

By Wes Horrocks

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POCATELLO - Health professionals at Portneuf Medical Center are trying to teach the community that suicide is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Saturday the hospital is hosting a telecast for National Suicide Survivors Day.

It's a time for people to comfort each other, and learn what to look for to prevent more deaths. Sheila McHugh, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at Portneuf Medical Center said, "Keeping things inside never helps."

Losing a family member to suicide can be an excruciating experience. McHugh said, "(I felt) anger, guilt-a huge amount of guilt, and the if-only. I think that comes up frequently."

Portneuf Medical Center treats hundreds of people who are suicidal.

Some have mental illnesses. Others suffer from depression, or bi-polar disorder.

The hardest part of helping them is overcoming the stigmas about treatment. Corey Richardson, an Emergency Room Licensed Clinical Social Worker at PMC said, "This may be something they're dealing with for years, or maybe a lifetime. Not something that we can fix over a matter of a couple of weeks or a couple of days."

For those patients that do end up at the emergency room one of the most important part of their recovery is having a strong network.

Which means family members and friends should be showing them extra love, and reassurance.

They should also be on the lookout for common signs of suicide like less sleep, withdrawal, or giving away prized possessions.

If something seems unusual, be straightforward. Richardson said, "Asking someone if they're suicidal does not increase the risk of suicide."

Suicide is highest among Native American young men, and while more women attempt suicide, 85% of men complete it.

Professionals are hopeful that people will have more access to help in the future. Dr. Predrag Gligorovic, Chief of Psychiatry at PMC said, "Decrease the prices of medication, to decrease the prices of counseling, decrease the prices of co-payments, why? Because we want to help people."

Hundreds of communities are participating in Suicide Survivors Day.

At PMC a telecast will be shown Saturday November 21 starting at 10:45 a.m. in the Willow Creek Auditorium at the West Campus.

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