“Screening is the first step, but it’s only effective if young people have access to care,” said Lindsay Jeffries, Director of Behavioral Health at LFCS. “It’s crucial that children and teens have a place where they can be heard and connected with the right support to address their mental health needs.”

The post Lutheran Family and Children’s Services Backs New AAP Report Calling for Annual Youth Mental Health Screenings first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

Emotional Self-Care: Acknowledging and Expressing Feelings

Emotional self-care involves recognizing and managing our emotions. This can include practices such as journaling, therapy, or simply allowing ourselves to feel without judgment. By normalizing emotional expression and encouraging individuals to seek support, we can break down the stigma surrounding mental health and suicide. Emotional self-care helps individuals process their feelings in healthy ways, making it less likely that they’ll reach a point of crisis.

Mental Self-Care: Stimulating the Mind

Mental self-care focuses on stimulating and engaging the mind in positive ways. Activities like reading, solving puzzles, or engaging in creative hobbies can help keep the mind sharp and alleviate feelings of boredom or restlessness, which can sometimes contribute to depressive states. By promoting mental self-care, we encourage people to find joy and fulfillment in intellectual pursuits, which can provide a valuable buffer against suicidal thoughts.

Practical Self-Care: Managing Everyday Responsibilities

Finally, practical self-care focuses on managing everyday responsibilities, such as organizing finances, maintaining a clean living environment, or setting and achieving personal goals. When individuals feel in control of their daily lives, they are less likely to feel overwhelmed by stress. Practical self-care empowers people to handle life’s challenges more effectively, reducing the risk of reaching a breaking point.

The post Self-Care Awareness and Suicide Prevention: A Unified Approach to Addressing the National Suicide Epidemic first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

In 2022, 49,500 people took their own lives in the U.S., the highest number ever*. Suicide is currently the 2^nd leading cause of death for those ages 10-34 in Missouri. 1,177 Missourians died by suicide in 2021
(most current state data)**, while thousands more were treated for self-inflicted injuries.

It is difficult to know if someone is feeling suicidal and even harder to know how to help. LFCS put together a brief youth & teen suicide prevention video designed to give basic information about suicide prevention. One life lost to suicide it too many. Please take 2 minutes to see what you can do to help prevent a tragedy from happening in your community.

Crisis Hotline Resources:

Call 988 to reach the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Text “MOSAFE” to 988 for the Missouri Crisis Text Line
Text “NAMI” to 741-741 for the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Crisis Text Line

For information about LFCS counseling services, call 866-326-LFCS (5327) or email help@lfcs.org.

* https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/suicide-data-statistics.html
** https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/suicide-mortality/suicide.htm

The post Resources for National Suicide Prevention Month first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

According to the CDC, suicide is the second leading cause of death for individuals ages 10-34. Suicide is a serious public health problem that can have lasting harmful effects on individuals, families, and communities. While the causes of suicide are complex and determined by multiple factors, the goal of suicide prevention is simple:

• Reduce risk factors (things that trigger thoughts of suicide) and
• Increase protective factors (things that prevent suicide).

The best way to increase protective factors is to develop a strong support system that encourages open communication. Support systems can include families, neighbors, church communities, community resources, sports teams, friends and work colleagues.

Ways to be present when someone is having thoughts of suicide:

• Contact community resources with them
• Go with them to tell a trusted adult or mental health professional
• Sit with them until help arrives
• Listen to them talk about the ‘bad’ before you give them suggestions about the ‘good’.

Resources available in the St. Louis Area:

• Behavioral Health Response – 314.469.6644
• Kids Under Twenty One – 314.644.5886
• Life Crisis – 314.647.4357
• St. Louis County Youth Connection Helpline – TEXT: 4HLP to 31658
• St. Louis City Youth Connection Helpline – TEXT: 2TALK to 31658

The post 2017 Suicide Prevention Week first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

If you are feeling suicidal, or if you want to end your life, it’s important that you keep yourself safe. Try to remember that thoughts about taking your life are just thoughts. You don’t have to act on them, no matter how overwhelming they are or how often you have them. You won’t always have these thoughts.

Why do people want to end their lives?

Sometimes living can be very painful, and problems can seem overwhelming. At some point, many people think about suicide, but do not plan or act on it.  However, for others, the thought of suicide might begin to seem like a real alternative to a problem or situation that appears hopeless.

Situations that might contribute to a feeling of hopelessness include:

• Break-ups
• Family problems
• Sexual, physical or mental abuse
• Drug or alcohol addiction
• Mental illness, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and depression
• The death of a loved one
• School or work problems
• Unemployment or being unemployed for a long time
• Feeling like you don’t belong anywhere
• Any problem that seems hopeless

Is deliberate self-harm the same as wanting to end your life?

Wanting to end your life is not necessarily the same as deliberate self-harm. Deliberate self-harm, such as cutting or burning oneself, is often a tactic used to cope with difficult or painful feelings. However, most people who engage in deliberate self-harm don’t wish to die. Check out the Deliberate self-harm fact sheet.

What to do if you want to end your life?

Everyone goes through tough times and feels hopeless every now and then. It is possible to get through these times by creating your own “tool kit” of strategies to cope with these feelings. Here are some suggestions to help you cope:

• Postpone any decision to end your life: While it may feel like you have to act now, try to postpone your decision. Keep a list of things you can do to distract yourself. This might include watching a DVD or going to the movies, playing a game, calling a friend, chatting online, exercising, reading a book, or listening to music. Take these actions when your negative feelings start to surface. Many people report that by postponing a decision to die, they found that their lives changed. They were able to get the support they needed and could move on to a better, happier place.
• Tell someone: Although it might seem like a bigger challenge than ending your life, it is important to reach out to others who might help you find alternative ways to solve a problem and realize what’s important to you. You can talk to a family member, friend, counselor, teacher, religious leader, or anyone that you feel comfortable with. If that person doesn’t believe you or doesn’t want to listen, keep trying until someone else does. Sometimes, people don’t react well at first because they don’t know how to react. Although it might be hard, this isn’t your fault. Don’t give up! If you are having difficulty talking about what you’re going through, you can start with sentences like “Right now, I’m feeling…”; “I think it started when…”; “I’ve been feeling this for a while…”; or ”Lately school/work has been…”
• Call a crisis helpline: If you’re having difficulty talking to people you know about how you’re feeling, call a crisis line: The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) or youth helpline Your Life Your Voice at 1-800-448-3000, run by Boys Town (for everyone) are both anonymous, free 24-hour help lines.
• Write down your feelings: Writing down your feelings or keeping a journal can be a great way of understanding how you’re reacting to a particular situation. It can also help you think about alternative solutions to the problems you’re facing.
• Set small goals: Sometimes people set goals that are almost unachievable, and then they feel worse when they can’t reach those goals. Try to set goals that are achievable for you, even if they’re on a day-to-day or hour-to-hour basis. And remember to reward yourself for reaching these goals, too!
• Exercise and eat well: Even though you might not feel like it, exercising and eating well can help when you are feeling down. Biological factors, as well as social factors, influence how you feel and how you think about yourself and the world around you. Exercise helps stimulate hormones like endorphins, which help you feel better about yourself and your life. If you haven’t done a lot of exercise before, it might be a good idea to start with something small a couple of times each week. A 15-minute walk or two or three laps in a pool can be a good place to start.
• Avoid drugs and alcohol Try not to use drugs or alcohol in the hopes that they will make you feel better. The high you get from drugs and alcohol is usually temporary, and the after effects often make the problems worse.
• Talk to a psychiatrist, psychologist, counselor or other mental health professional. Psychiatrists are mental health professionals who have special training in mental illnesses, including depression, schizophrenia and suicide. Clinical psychologists and mental health counselors have a similar training, but don’t administer medication like psychiatrists can. You might be able to find a psychiatrist or psychologist through your medical doctor, your local community health center, or local psychiatry and psychology associations. Also, check out the Get Help section on ReachOut for more information on how these professionals can help.

Article copied from http://us.reachout.com/facts/factsheet/Suicidal-thoughts-wanting-to-end-your-life

The post Suicidal Thoughts and Understanding Suicide first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.

According to Communities Healing Adolescent Depression and Suicide (CHADS) Coalition, more children die from suicide in the 15-19 age group than from the top 6 medical causes of death combined. Furthermore, for every completed suicide in the 15-24 age group, about 900 attempts are made.

A major risk factor for suicide is having a mental disorder. Studies have shown that an overwhelming majority of people who die by suicide—90% or more—had a mental disorder at the time of their deaths. Half of all lifelong mental illnesses begin before age 14, and unfortunately 80% of all youth with mental illnesses are not identified and do not receive any mental health services. Other risk factors include previous suicide attempts, a family history of attempted or completed suicide, serious medical conditions or pain, highly stressful life events, and exposure to another person’s suicide.

When someone makes a comment about feeling suicidal in any way, take it seriously. If they have a plan, take them to a mental health professional, doctor, or hospital emergency room. Call 911, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255), or Behavioral Health Response (1-800-811-4760). Do not leave them by themselves and make sure that a safety plan is created.  Much more information can be found at the CHADS Coalitions at www.chadscoalition.org and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention at www.afsp.org.

The post Suicide Prevention Week first appeared on Lutheran Family and Children's Services of Missouri.