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    Straight Talk About Suicide: Finding a Compelling Reason to Live
    Straight Talk About Suicide: Finding a Compelling Reason to Live
    Straight Talk About Suicide: Finding a Compelling Reason to Live
    Ebook171 pages2 hours

    Straight Talk About Suicide: Finding a Compelling Reason to Live

    By Terence T. Gorski

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    About this ebook

    Suicide is a major problem in the United States. The goal of this book is to explain, in simple, no-nonsense language how to recognize people who may be suicidal, take action to prevent suicide attempts, and effectively manage suicide attempts should they occur. It is written for the person who is thinking about suicide, the counselor, and the friend or family member who is giving care. Bt the time you finish this book you will understand the suicidal process and have definite ideas about that you can say and do to help the sducidal person choose life instead of death.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBookBaby
    Release dateDec 4, 2016
    ISBN9781483589268
    Straight Talk About Suicide: Finding a Compelling Reason to Live
    Author

    Terence T. Gorski

    Terence T. Gorski, MA, N.C.A.C. II, is the president of CENAPS® Corporation, a consultation and training firm that specializes in alcoholism, drug dependence, and mental-health services. He lives in Flossmoor, Illinois.

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      Book preview

      Straight Talk About Suicide - Terence T. Gorski

      References

      Who Should Read This Book?

      You are reading this book for one of three reasons: You are a therapist who works with people who have suicidal tendencies; you are a person who knows or loves someone who is currently thinking of suicide, has attempted in the past, or has committed suicide; or you yourself are considering suicide as a possible alternative to end your pain and solve your problems. The common bond between all three groups of readers is that you have been or are currently being affected by the problem of suicide and you desire to learn more about it.

      I struggled when planning to write this book. Which of these three audiences should I primarily address? As I did internet and library research and talked with therapists who specialize in treating suicidal patients and their families, one thing became clear. There are many books written for therapists. These tend to be clinical and are often difficult to read. These books often fail to give practical information that a suicidal person or the friends or families of suicidal people could use to understand what is happening and what they can do to help the suicidal person to choose life over death.

      Suicide – killing yourself by your own hand – is not a pleasant subject to think or talk about. Thus, most people don’t. If you know someone who is showing the warning signs of suicide, it’s difficult to believe that they might actually try to kill themselves. Even if someone tells you that they are suicidal and asks for help, most people don’t know what to say or what to do. They fear calling a mental health center or psychiatrist for fear they will be locked up in a psycho ward, or zonked out on medication, only to be sent home just to become suicidal again a few days or weeks later.

      Mental health professional, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social works, and professional counselors know what to say and do. The problem is that they rarely get a chance to say and do what will help because the suicidal person is rarely referred to them unless they are caught in the act of attempting suicide or have tried to kill themselves and failed. Mental health professionals can be of great help to these people. But what about those people who have killed themselves? Here’s the sad truth - people who succeed in killing themselves are dead – end of story. There isn’t much anyone can do for them except arrange the funeral. The real task is trying to deal with the psychological and social aftermath to family, friends, and the community as a whole.

      Suicide is never a private act.

      It always has a devastating effect

      on family, friends, and the community.

      As I talked with professionals, family members, and people who had previously attempted suicide several things became clear. First, most professionals already know or have access to information about how to prevent suicide and manage the people who have survived suicide attempts. Second, most people on the brink of suicide are unlikely to pick up a book about suicide, start reading it and have a blinding flash of truth leap out at them that changes their minds. I know this happens sometimes, but it usually happens in the early stages of the suicide process.

      If, however, you are suicidal, and reading this book - you owe it to yourself to read on. As the title says - I’m going to use Straight Talk About Suicide. This straight talk is written in easy-to-understand language that gives specific information, ways of thinking, and things you can do to back away from the brink of suicide and start learning to manage your pain and solve your problems. Thus, I will periodically address the readers who or considering suicide in the hope of giving them some inspiration, encouragement, or hope for the future that could change their mind and encourage them to choose life, no matter how painful it is at the moment, over a self-inflicted death.

      For those of you who have attempted suicide and survived, this book can help you to understand what drove you to attempt to kill yourself and maybe even give you some insight into why you failed and why it is a very bad idea to try it again.

      I am also going to write to those of you who suspect that someone you know or love may be suicidal. If you know someone who is suicidal, your gut usually tells you they are seriously depressed, but your brain just can’t get believe they could be thinking about killing themselves. Even if you believe it, you probably don’t understand what is happening or know what to say or do that will be helpful. By the time you finish this book you will understand the suicidal process and have definite ideas about what you can say and do to help the person move back from the verge of suicide and get help.

      So, I decided to write this book primarily to those who know people who may be suicidal and to people who are suicidal and looking for a source of strength, hope, and help. I wrote as if I were talking directly to someone I knew and loved who was thinking about committing suicide or knew someone who was and wanted to help. Thus, I have made this book as easy to read as possible. I’ve avoided professional jargon whenever possible and tried to explain complex ideas in easy to understand words.

      I have done my best to make the book both intelligent and factual. I have not pulled any punches. I have written, to the best of my current knowledge, the honest truth about suicide that people need to know. This information can help you to empower people to move back from the brink of suicide and seek help. If you are suicidal, this book may give you the information, hope, and strength to back away from the brink of a self-imposed death.

      As I said, suicide is not a pretty subject. Talking honestly about it may upset some people, but so be it! Sometimes being upset by the truth that will keep you alive is better than settling for comfortable platitudes based upon wrong thinking that can kill you. I’d rather deal with someone who is upset and alive. It’s possible to help that person. There isn’t much that anyone can do to help someone who is dead.

      Suicide – The Facts

      Most people don’t like to get bogged down in facts or statistics. I’ve heard too many suicidal people and those who know and love them tell me – I don’t care what the facts are, my mind is made up. Thus, many, if not most people, lack a solid factual understanding of suicide, its consequences, and how it can be prevented. Thus, it is easy to under estimate how common suicidal behavior is. You also probably won’t know what to do when you think that you or someone you know and love may be thinking about killing themselves. Because of this lack of information, many people make serious and often fatal mistakes.

      So, this is where I want to start – with some factual information. I want you to understand that suicides (suicide attempts that end in death) cost the nation more than $3 billion per year and claim more American lives each year than homicides. Each suicide seriously affects at least five other people, either family members, coworkers or fellow students, or members of the community.

      Each successful suicide can cause copy cat suicides that push people who already have suicidal thoughts over the edge. Their suicide attempt is often based upon the irrational thought – If he or she can do it – I can do it too!

      It is also important to recognize that each suicide attempt that ends in death adds inaccurate information to the suicidal subculture and usually transmits ideas about how to commit suicide across our nation’s media teaching improved skills for the next wave of suicidal people.

      Each suicide attempt that ends in death

      adds inaccurate information

      to the suicidal subculture

      Right now I want you to understand some critical facts about suicide and attempted suicide. Most people who are thinking of suicide, people who love and care about suicidal people, and even some professionals who deal with suicidal people don’t know the facts. Here are the eight most important areas that I want you to understand:

      1.Death by Suicide Is Common.

      2.Most People Who Attempt Suicide Don’t Die.

      3.Most people who survive a suicide attempt end up with serious physical, psychological, and social scars.

      4.For every person who attempts suicide, hundreds more are thinking seriously about trying to do so.

      5.You don’t have to be crazy to think about or attempt suicide!

      6.Most suicidal people show warning signs that they want to kill themselves.

      7.Many people who plan to kill themselves never make the attempt.

      8.Most people who live through a suicide attempt end up with more problems because of attempting suicide than they could ever imagine!

      Let’s take each one of these statements and examine them in more details.

      1. Death by Suicide Is Common

      According to The Center for Disease Control (CDC), someone in the United States commits suicide every 17 minutes. Committing suicide means that people develop a plan to kill themselves,

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