Increasing Suicide Rates
Since the CDC released its brief “Increase in Suicide in the United States, 1999-2014” (1) on April 22, 2016 there has been a lot of reaction in both the professional and lay media. But one of the most powerful is a letter-to-the-editor in the New York Times by Jeffrey Borenstein, MD (2). I’ve reproduced it here in its entirety:
The report showing a 24 percent increase in suicides should be a wake-up call to our country. If we saw numbers like this for any other cause of death, people would demand action.
The vast majority of people who die as a result of suicide have a psychiatric condition like depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or post-traumatic stress. To decrease the number of suicides, we need to improve access to care by enforcing the insurance parity laws so that people are not denied treatment.
We also need to reduce stigma and prejudice against people who have a psychiatric illness so that people are not embarrassed to seek help. And just as we declared a war on cancer and increased funding for research, we need to declare a war on mental illness and accelerate the funding of research to improve treatment.
Dr. Borenstein really nails it. Hopefully his call to arms will be heeded by key stakeholders, especially in the insurance industry and government funding, who don’t get it, who don’t understand that psychiatric illnesses (including substance use disorders) can and do kill. Too many of our patients fall through the cracks with dangerous consequences. Their pain — and that of their grieving families — is intense, often overwhelming, and certainly immeasurable. We need also to get the message out that for every death by suicide there is a cohort of bereaved family members who themselves become ill and suicidal. They require — and deserve — our best diagnostic and treatment efforts.
Dr. Borenstein also highlights the need to address the stigma associated with psychiatric illness so that individuals can more freely come forward for professional help. Over the past year, I’ve been writing a lot about stigma in this blog. Let me add that we also need to find ways to fight stigma that is subtle and sometimes even denied in the workplace. This is in the area of microinequity. Although microinequity most commonly describes discrimination based on gender or race/ethnicity, it extends to psychiatric illness as well. It’s one thing to make sure that individuals suffering from psychiatric symptoms get timely treatment and don’t hesitate because of stigma. But it’s another that they not be stigmatized down the road for being well and living with a psychiatric illness. This calls for all of us to be vigilant advocates, not just for our patients, but also in our public service work.
Another salute. I’ve just returned from the annual meeting of the American Association of Suicidology. The theme was “Suicidology: A Place for Everyone”. Our newest section since 2014 is the suicide attempt survivor group. These fine individuals assist us in our mission. They attack stigma by openly sharing their stories of despair, triumph, and resilience. The motto of AAS is that suicide prevention is everyone’s business. They are doing it in spades.
References
Borenstein J. An increase in the suicide rate. Letter-to-the-editor. New York Times. April 26, 2016.
Dr. Myers is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and immediate past Vice-Chair of Education and Director of Training in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at SUNY-Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY. He is the author of seven books the most recent of which are “Touched by Suicide: Hope and Healing After Loss” (with Carla Fine) and “The Physician as Patient: A Clinical Handbook for Mental Health Professionals” (with Glen Gabbard, MD). He is a specialist in physician health and has written extensively on that subject. Currently, Dr Myers serves on the Advisory Board to the Committee for Physician Health of the Medical Society of the State of New York. He is a recent past president (and emeritus board member) of the New York City Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
The views expressed on this blog are solely those of the blog post author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Psych Congress Network or other Psych Congress Network authors. Blog entries are not medical advice.
