Suicide rate remains steady

By MARLY KOSINSKI-Tribune Chronicle

WARREN - The rate of suicide in Trumbull County appears to be on track with last year's record high of 41, according to Trumbull LifeLines, which said there have been 22 confirmed self-inflicted deaths through Aug. 20.
Suicide Prevention Awareness Week began Sunday, and Wednesday is World Suicide Prevention Day, according to Trumbull LifeLines coordinator Ilona Roth-Cohn. She also is a member of the Trumbull County Suicide Prevention Coalition, which will hold its monthly meeting Wednesday.
"Unfortunately, the trend does not seem to be going down," Roth-Cohn said, predicting an increase in the number of suicides this year.
If she is correct, it will be the third straight annual increase. There were 38 suicides in 2006 and 36 in 1999.
"A poor economy, job losses and foreclosures are new stressors adding to the typical stressors of relationship issues and substance abuse. Plus, the holidays are coming," Roth-Cohn said.
Roth-Cohn said based on 2008 statistics so far, most of the suicide victims in Trumbull County have been white men between the ages of 35 and 54, which mirrors the national trend from the past several years. She said that in 2006 and 2007, most of the victims were white men between 19 and 34.
"National statistics show men are more likely to commit suicide because they hold in their feelings and don't like to talk about depression, which is often a precursor to suicide," Roth-Cohn said.
She said the goal of Suicide Prevention Awareness Week is to promote prevention because there are more than 1 million suicides committed each year, which is the equivalent of one suicide every 40 seconds. Even more alarming, Roth-Cohn said, is that for every suicide completed there are between 10 and 20 attempts.
"It's a major public health risk," she said.
Don Dickens, director of Trumbull 211, said his agency has been handling suicide prevention since 1971 and is part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. He said there was a nationwide spike in suicides following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as well as an increase in the South following Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
He said nationally, 70 to 80 percent of suicides are committed by white men older than 35.
"Untreated depression is the most common cause, but a variety of factors contribute to the depression, including job loss, relationship problems and death of a loved one," Dickens said.
He said the way to reverse the rising number of suicides is to focus on prevention and not just intervention.
"There's still a stigma attached to it that says someone is more likely to commit suicide if they talk to someone about it. But the reality is that they want to talk about it. That's why the hotline exists," he said.
Cathy Grizinski, associate director for Help Hotline of Mahoning and Columbiana County, said the hotline has been seeing a steady increase in calls over the past two years. However, she said more people are calling who actually have a plan in place.
"That shows there's still some hope left for them and they are reaching out for any help available," she said.
Mahoning County had 33 suicides in 2007, compared to 41 in Trumbull.