Suicide awareness: opening the conversation

RAPID CITY, S.D. — It was a horrifying scene for anyone to witness – a person at Pactola Lake, attempting suicide. Fortunately, law enforcement was on scene to help.

Suicide is a particularly traumatizing event, and not all that uncommon in the Black Hills.

“The general public I don’t believe realizes how much this goes on in our community,” said Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, Sgt. Jason Mitzel. “I’ve been in law enforcement about 16 years and suicide is something we deal with fairly regularly.”

Those suicides affect more than just family members. According to experts, for every completed suicide, approximately 115 people are affected. Last year alone, 184 people in South Dakota completed suicide, affecting over 21,000 South Dakotans. That is where organizations like the Front Porch Coalition come in, to help in the aftermath.

“If our services aren’t provided right away, immediately, and even on scene, on average it takes a a family or friend four-and-a-half years to reach out for supportive services after the loss of a loved one” said the Coalitions Director of Communications and Outreach, Bridget Swier. “That’s a long to struggle with coping with a loss like that. Studies also show that if you’ve lost a loved one to suicide, you are 10 times more likely to struggle with suicidal ideation yourself.”

Both the Coalition and law enforcement encourage conversations surrounding mental health and suicide, as it could help someone struggling, and be the difference between life and death. For every completed suicide, there have been at least 25 attempts.

“The idea that talking about suicide perpetuates it, that is a myth,” said Swier. “It does not perpetuate it. What it does is it opens the door and opportunity for someone that is struggling to talk about it. And if someone is having thought of suicide, we are not placing them there, they are already having those thoughts.”

As a start, changing the language surrounding suicide is vital. Referring to it as a completed suicide as opposed to committing it take out criminal affiliation, making it a neutral conversation, and one that could save many lives.