Strictly Anything » Strictly Suicide

Strictly Spades Shovels Statistics and Suicide

Kathy Rees — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 10:19:42 +0000

Suicide is one of the greyest areas of statistical reporting. Often findings on autopsy or by coroner will read death by misadventure, an open finding, asphyxiation, blood loss.

It is time for us to call a spade a spade. It does not save the family any more pain by having suicide written on the death certificate or autopsy report. Suicide is paid by most insurance companies after a waiting period of 12 months. There is no need to hide this anymore.

In effect what it does do, is hide an epidemic in rhetoric and grey language. We cannot plan for services without accurate reported numbers of actual deaths by suicide. We need clear language and clearer statistics to make any real inroads into this issue. It’s not enough to have anecdotal evidence, even though in the right forum this can be influential and relevant.

When people crunch numbers for health services (that would be me) we look at reported cases, services available, cost to provide service versus the need for service and the cost benefit to the community. From a realistic economic point of view it’s cheaper not to bother. But thankfully we are human (for this decade at least) and can’t let our brothers and sisters die due to mental illness. At least that is what I used to think and desperately try to believe but the evidence speaks differently.

As I’ve spoken about before, I will mention here again. We simply CANNOT allow suicidal and manically depressed patients to leave hospital with a script and an appointment for review on their own reconnaissance to take their medication and feel better in six weeks time. The statistics are grey, think died by misadventure in front of a train after they ‘fell’ from a bridge etc., but evident nonetheless. People don’t make it. They turn to a system for help and find emptiness. They wait months for appointments. And find emptiness. It is far cheaper and much more Darwinian of the community, to let these people die.

I urge the government to urgently review statistical reporting of suicides so that services can be planned and for those who we are still able to help, find something to hold onto rather than emptiness. Cancer diagnoses are not put on medication for six weeks and hope the problem goes away on medication and neither should mental health or depressive illnesses. These diseases are all time bombs, but cancer has better press.

Carry on.

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Strictly ruokday

Kathy Rees — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 22:26:44 +0000

“”My fellow twitter pals, are you OK? #ruOKday ”

This was the tweet that tipped the balance as to whether I write this post or not. So here it is – in all its frustrated fury.

RUOKDAY is a dangerous, pathetic attempt by the government to address depression and suicide. As I tweeted several times already today – what will you do if your friends are not OK?

Where will you send them? There is a + 6 months wait for hospital to see anyone regarding a depressive or mental illness – unless you present in a truly psychotic state, which may take 3 visits from different specialists to confirm this for you to get a bed, if there is one available.

Are you equipped to deal with someone else’s meltdown? How will you cope with their depression and can you diagnose it? Even if you can where will you send them? To their GP – they may have to wait a few days and then if they get a referral to a psychiatrist, privately you will have to wait anywhere up to 3-6 months for initial consultation and have around $300.o0 to spare.

Don’t believe me? Recently I had to get an appointment for my daughter and the psychiatrist would not see her unless I paid the full amount up front. They would not accept the difference between the Medicare rebate and their fee – the ombudsman and Society for Psychiatrists did not care – it’s free trade. So needless to say, my daughter was not seen. We waited another six months to see someone who would bulk bill us – but they are still in private practice – we still have her name down for public – it’s been over two years.

So before you ask someone if they are OK, make sure you are prepared for the answer. Don’t scurry to your ‘well’ friends and say in whispering voices that you think so and so has depression and distance yourselves tomorrow, as if you have come across the most contagious disease known to man. This is how people actually react. Their intentions may be honorable, but their flesh is scared to death.

What will you say to them when they tell you, with all the courage they can muster, that life is just too hard and they want to give up, they can’t do it, it hurts just too much – offer them a cup of tea or beer and tell them ‘she’ll be right.”?

This whole campaign is nothing short of a slap in the face to all those suffering depression and trying desperately to get help, and is another move by the government to put the onus on the citizen to deal with health issues that are a state concern and facilities and services should be provided.

Even if I continue to write the posts I feel I need to, to demonstrate further points about the inadequacies of the mental health services in this country, I know that attention will be moved tomorrow and #ruokday will be another memory, another do gooder day where people asked the question and thought they had done their bit.

So one last point – don’t further slap people in the face, especially via twitter – to strangers and online ‘friends’ who you don’t actually know or care about, and ask them if they are OK unless you really, really mean it, and are prepared to hold their hand through the mental health system if they need it. Anything else is just superfluous show ponying.

Carry on

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Strictly Suicide Media

Kathy Rees — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 20:08:05 +0000

Yesterday two things happened. I saw this interview and found these – the media guidelines for suicide reporting.

The main argument against reporting suicides is that it’s contagious – a spate of suicides follow – especially celebrity ones. I’ve spoken about this before. Having read the media guidelines though, I have another perspective.

It’s not only how the media don’t ‘report’ about it, it’s also how the coroner doesn’t record it. Death by misadventure is usually a polite way of saying they jumped off a cliff.

I’m not in favour of a blow by blow description – though the public blood lust demands it – (I’m still amazed how many people ask me how my husband did it and are surprised when I tell them – you’ll sleep better if you don’t know) there is a morbid curiosity or is it something more sinister – something to file away for later in case they need it?

Having read the guidelines and finding the section where they talk about vulnerable sectors of the community being influenced, I stopped and thought about it carefully – that actually precludes the whole world – because there is always a weak moment in all of us at one time or another where we can be influenced either up or down.

So do I have an answer – yes and no. Reporting of statistics, or the lack of them, issues surrounding what leads to suicide all need to be talked about and without the fear that these ideas and discussions will put ideas into other people’s heads. We’ve built the buildings for people to jump off – now we have to teach them how to live with them.

Carry on.

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Strictly Mental Health

Kathy Rees — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 23:52:13 +0000

photo credit: Steve Snodgrass

I found this link on my twitter stream Star Observer about the poor attitudes to mental health services for Gay and Lesbian et al community.

I also saw – albeit briefly – a forum on mental health on #lateline about all the new reforms about to go through for mental health and why it’s been such a slow process blah blah blah.

I’ve mentioned before, but I’ll say it again here, I’ve lost a family member every decade of my life to suicide and I’ve had the unique experience to view the mental health service in two states during this time.

The tragic thing is, I’m not alone – well maybe I’m one of the few who have lost so many the same way, but countless families have lost family members and loved ones to suicide while we wait for the’mental health profession’ to get their shit together.

But what about the community attitude I hear you scream at me (or maybe that’s my little voice) well that’s a whole book that I’ve already trashed because the bottom line there is – NO-ONE GIVES A SHIT – really. You try telling someone how your partner died and watch the reaction – they literally move away from you, end the conversation as quickly as possible and run along.

Suicide is more taboo than HIV, anal sex, boys loving boys and even paedophilia.

In my expereince, which as I say is extensive, this attitude has not changed in 40 years and no amount of reform is going to bring back the hundreds of thousands of people who have died waiting for help. And just so you know, my daughter also has a ‘mental health issue’ and I have struggled for months to get her care – so not much changed here. I just hope I don’t lose anyone else to make it five decades of loss.

Carry on.

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Strictly Barriers to Bridges

Kathy Rees — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:00:39 +0000

photo credit: JessyeAnne

I read this article with some hope SANE Prevention of Suicide only to be let down again.

When my sister committed suicide all those years ago, I was enraged at the mechanism which she used to complete her task. A wise counsellor asked me “so what do we do, not build buildings because someone might jump off?” which caused me to ponder – deeply.

It’s not the bridge, the building, the gun or the access to prescribed medications that aid suicide. It is the lack of mental health services, support and community understanding of the fundamentals of depression that lead to suicide. An attention seeking teen will not opt for the bridge option, they’re not that serious. A committed suicidal person will find a way to end it all no matter what measures are put in place.

Please let us focus on the real issue – it’s not the buildings – but the people and biases within them.

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Strictly Suicide Prevention – The Number One Key

Kathy Rees — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:45 +0000

photo credit: Cameron Cassa

After a suicide you will hear phrases like “I never saw it coming”, “there were no clues”, “I didn’t know they were depressed”, “ouf of the blue”. So what is the key to seeing it coming, finding the clues and knowing what depression is? Hindsight.

What do I mean by hindsight? Hindsight is usually the knowledge and wisdom you get by looking behind you at the events leading up to the conclusion, in this case a suicide. So how can we use hindsight, as a tool?

Study your loved ones. If something seems out of character, unusual, they become quiet and reserved suddenly, or you notice it more and more, ask yourself what is going on now – don’t wait until after. This does not mean to turn into a paranoid nervous wreck, but it means to be aware.

Why do we ignore these changes in character? There are many reasons but I’ll outline the first few that I know.

1. We’re scared

We don’t like change. We don’t like to face things that are hard. We don’t want terrible things to happen to us or to our loved ones so even though there maybe a little nervous twitch in our bellies about something, we don’t act on it.

2. We may be wrong

There’s nothing worse than an intervention on someone who is perfectly fine and just having a bad day. We don’t trust our own judgements or knowledge of a situation or the person in it.

3. We may be right

This section is not for the faint hearted but those who can be honest with themselves. We may be right and we may want it to happen. Sometimes situations are difficult and it seems that it would be easier if the person just wasn’t there anymore, they may be using it as leverage to manipulate you. So go ahead and do it.

In any case, suicide is preventable. But it takes enormous courage, not from those who are about to do it, but from those around them who can offer a hand but don’t, can’t or won’t. If you can’t stop them or don’t have the personal tools to approach the person, find someone who can, talk to someone about your fears, let their doctor know that you think they may be depressed. At least then, if the worst happens, you won’t be standing at the funeral saying “if only I had done something”.

A final word, sometimes, even if you do ‘everything you can’, it’s still not enough. More on that in another post.

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Strictly Suicide

Kathy Rees — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 19:36:05 +0000

Suicide is a tragic waste. I think we can all agree on that. What I believe is more tragic is the community response to suicide.

There is a perception in the mainstream media that to talk about suicide will increase it. This has been backed up by small increases in suicides after the suicides of popular celebrities (Coban for example). Suicide is seen as contagious to those who are vulnerable to influence.

How then, as a community can we act to protect, help or heal those vulnerable amongst us? Rather than not talk about the disease that is killing a group of us, how can we talk to move change?

AIDS was not talked about for a long time, until its numbers increased to the point where all humanity was threatened, and then all of a sudden it was all anyone could talk about. Suicide is, unfortunately, taking the same road, but no-one will talk about it.

Suicide accounts for the highest number of deaths among males 17-25 outside of motor vehicle accidents, and was the number two killer, for a while, of men 40-45.

These are only the clear cut cases we know about. Reporting of suicides on death certificates, which then account for the ABS (statistics) figures are grey.

There seems to be a Darwinist stream that runs among us, where those who can survive turn a blind eye to those who aren’t ‘strong enough’ to make it. Until this attitude changes amongst us as humans, suicide will always be ranked in the top 5 killers.

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