Approximately 77% of students at Weir have known someone
in their life who’s committed suicide
or had suicidal thoughts according
to a recent school wide survey.
According to the National
Institute of Mental Health, suicide
was the second most leading cause
of death in the US just under unintentional injury.
Unfortunately, there is a
stigma around suicide, and many
feel shame or silenced, but it’s an issue that needs to be discussed if it’s
going to be prevented.
Suicide effects everyone
around you who loves and cares
about you. This includes family,
friends, pets, and yes even teachers.
Emma Maloney, a sophomore, stated,”If you feel depressed
and want to commit, just know there
are multiple people who care about
you and will be sad if you go.”
Breaking the Suicide Stigma
Furthermore, an anonymous
student said, ”It’s extremely upsetting to see your friends and loved
ones go through that daily.” They
also stated,” I’ve had several family
members and friends who have attempted and (thankfully) failed, but
it’s a terrifying thing to hear.”
Teachers and administrators
also feel the impact. For example,
teacher Carrie Gillette explained,
“It breaks my heart. First of all, because I have my own kids so I just…
it just…it just breaks my heart that
there is such a breakdown in somebody’s you know…family, or home,
or something.”
Likewise, assistant principal
Kelly Lawton stated, ”It is the most
gut-wrenching, heartbreaking thing
to go through” and “when you hear
things like that, it just…there’s just
no words…”
If you’re having these
thoughts, you are not alone. There
are ways to get help.
For instance, a second anonymous student stated, ”I have struggled with suicidal thoughts…I’ve
gotten help, and I don’t have them
anymore.”
Lawton assured that students dealing with suicidal thoughts
or feelings will get the resources
they need. It’s also important to let
the student(s) dealing with these
feelings know that they’re not alone
and that there are ways to get help.
DO NOT be afraid to ask for help.
School counselor Natalie
Charlton explained, “I think a lot of
students or kids in general just don’t
reach out when they need help or if
they’re feeling like they need someone to talk to. They’re kinda scared
or apprehensive to reach out” and
“sometimes you need that extra set
of hands to help you.”
Furthermore, she stated that,
”The biggest thing is don’t be afraid
to ask for help. If you feel like you
need someone to talk to, my doors
are open…you know… 100% here,
and just make sure you reach out.”
In an interview, senior
Makayla Cowan describe suicidal
thoughts as a “shape-shifting monster.” She went on, “Somedays it’s
tiny like a butterfly, and other days,
it is a grizzly bear, looming over you
on its hind legs.”

“You are a victim to your own mind. it’s okay to reach out for
help”, Cowan explained.
Likewise, she stated,
”There’re others feeling the same as
you out there. You were simply dealt
a bad set of cards. That doesn’t
mean you can’t get a good set in
the future.”
Charlton also recommended Genesis, a mobile crisis response
and stabilization team open 24
hours. You can call or text this service anytime. This is a local service
for the state of West Virginia.
Generally, “It’s helpful to talk
to a professional or somebody who
is an outsider that can help you get
back up” and “It’s okay to have bad
days. It’s okay to have bad moments
or bad years, but just to not let the
stigma of mental health get to you,”
Charlton assured.
Thus, “Get therapy when you
need it, even if you do not want it,”
Cowan said.
For those who know someone with suicidal thoughts, it’s also
very important to know some various signs of a possible suicide, so it
can be prevented. For example, becoming withdrawn, starting to give
materials away (especially things
that are important to them), quitting activities that were important
to them, acting out-of-character,
comments of cutting, phrases like
“Nobody likes me” or “I don’t wanna
be here anymore.”
If someone you know is
showing some of the signs above,
it doesn’t mean they’re necessarily
suicidal! Maybe just sit down and
have a conversation with them.
Ask them if they’re okay or
how they’re doing. That can go a
long way according to Charlton.
With this in mind, “Sometimes the
biggest thing is…’is there anything
I can do?’…’what can I help you
with?’” Charlton said.
Another important thing to
touch on is that Lawton explained
how some kids are sometimes told
to not tell about a suicide in fear of
the person being mad at them.
This is what she had said
about that, “They’ll be mad…for
about 15 minutes, but you just saved
somebody’s life.” She also explained
that when told this info the school
never says who told them about the
student.
A final anonymous source
had a word of warning to everyone:
”Watch what you say around other
people cuz’ you never know what
they’re going going through at that
certain time.”
Signs of Suicide
• Talking about: wanting to die,
great guilt or shame, and being a burden to others
• Feelings of: empty, hopeless,
trapped, having no reason to
live, extremely sad, more anxious, full of rage, and unbearable emotional or physical
pain
• Making a plan or researching
ways to die
• Withdrawing from friends,
saying good bye, giving away
important items, or making a
will
• Taking dangerous risks such as
driving extremely fast
• Displaying extreme mood
swings
• Eating or sleeping more or less
• Using drugs or alcohol more
often
Source: www.nimh.nih.gov
National Suicide Prevention Hotline 800-273-8255