Midlife suicide surge baffles experts

"A new five-year analysis of the nation's death rates recently released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the suicide rate among 45- to 54-year-olds increased nearly 20 percent from 1999 to 2004, the latest year studied, far outpacing changes in nearly every other age group. (All figures are adjusted for population.)

For women 45 to 54, the rate leapt 31 percent. "That is certainly a break from trends of the past," said Ann Haas, research director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

By contrast, the suicide rate for 15- to 19-year-olds increased less than 2 percent during that five-year period -- and decreased among people 65 and older.

The question is why. What happened in 1999 that caused the suicide rate to suddenly rise primarily for those in midlife?

The lack of concrete research has given rise to all kinds of theories, including a sudden drop in the use of hormone-replacement therapy by menopausal women after health warnings in 2002, higher rates of depression among baby boomers or a simple statistical fluke.

At the moment, the prime suspect is the skyrocketing use -- and abuse -- of prescription drugs. During the same five-year period included in the study, there was a staggering increase in the total number of drug overdoses, both intentional and accidental, such as the one that killed the 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger. Illicit drugs also increase risky behaviors, CDC officials point out, noting that users' rates of suicide can be 15 to 25 times as great as the general population."

Read the whole article by Patricia Cohen of the New York Times here.

PTSD (another infamous set of initials)

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is one of those things we hear a lot about in wartime. It is most often associated with soldiers returning from war - scarred by horrible memories that seem to return and return, the infamous "flashbacks" so prevalent in the movies. But in truth, PTSD affects some 8 million Americans and is actually more prevalent in women. And "flashbacks" aren't always in the equation.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a type of anxiety disorder that is triggered by a traumatic event (duh.) What constitutes a trauma varies wildly from person to person and yes, it may be something as awful as witnessing the horrors of combat, or something as commonplace as a traffic accident. Rape, a mugging, physical or mental abuse can cause PTSD as well as natural disasters. After any of these events a person would normally be overwhelmed by strong emotions - fear, anger, guilt and such - but gradually the coping mechanisms of the brain start to take the edge off and the person would start to feel better. In PTSD, the process somehow gets off track, and those strong emotions can surface suddenly with all the intensity of those of the original event. (Think wormhole for feelings. Yuck.)

The symptoms of PTSD can be an annoyance or they can sideline your life. But it can be treated. There are medications to reduce the anxiety and therapies designed to help defuse the memories through gradual exposure or reduce your reaction to them through cognitive thought processing. Most folks with PTSD will improve dramatically with treatment. Good news here what with Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and 9-11. We've had enough trauma, Thank You.

Good movie on the subject: Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler.

Britney bipolar? You think?

Let's see. Spending money like it grows on trees? Check. Self medicating? Check. Hyper sexuality? Check. No clear concept of cause and effect? Check. Erratic behavior? Please. But is it just typical spoiled celebrity business as usual? Publicity stunts? Come on folks, I know that is takes at least nine years and six doctors for the average sufferer to be diagnosed, but this chick sounds classic.

So now that we've thoroughly enjoyed the continuing saga of Britney, her many adventures with her famous friends, her eclectic wardrobe or lack of it, her marriages and their fiery finales, her babies and parenting predicaments - perhaps we should consider the 26 year old woman who is spiraling out of control while everyone gets a giggle or makes a buck at her expense. This is a tragedy. And while everyone seems to have their nose plastered against the window to watch, why isn't anyone doing anything to help this girl?

I'm sure not blaming her family because I know well enough that once a child is "legal" there isn't a damn thing that parents can do with regard to getting someone treatment beyond suggesting it. And I'm pretty sure that one of Brit's symptoms is a startling lack of insight into her own illness - so she's not about to check herself into any hospital any time soon. But you'd think that the folks who hold her contracts might have a little influence by threatening to pull the plug on the money machine. But wait... they make even more money if her antics keep her in the news!

I've had a hard time with this one, often finding myself more contemptuous than sympathetic even though her behavior smells like full blown mania from here. After a lot of soul searching, I came to the conclusion that most of the people I know with bipolar disorder have to fight to be treated and are constantly at war with the insurance company or the VA or Social Security. They have few choices with regard to health providers and are nearly always struggling to pay for medications. They are under or unemployed and live with their parents or in low income housing. Some are homeless. Britney has every available option for treatment, but that doesn't make her less sick. In fact, it probably makes it worse - insulating her from reality and providing her with loads of enablers who profit from her pain.

People afflicted with bipolar disorder and untreated are disabled. In fact the World Health Organization considers them as disabled as paraplegics. Without proper treatment, Britney is not going to get better and is likely to end her life, by accident or with intent. I suppose that would be the Hollywood ending, but it would be such a waste. Those boys deserve their mother. Their mother deserves treatment.

(Ed. note: NAMI weighs in on Britney and the media here.)

Local Schools to get Mental Health Professionals

MOUNT VERNON — For some students, a school counselor can be a refuge from bullies or an open ear to vent about family troubles. But sometimes the school counselor is not enough. Starting in January, schools all across Skagit County will have a helping hand for students who might need mental health counseling.

Mount Vernon elementary schools had a taste of what it was like, with one mental health professional for the entire district. In January, the district will again have a mental health professional in schools, with two more by the end of 2008. In all, districts across the county will have 101/2 mental health professionals by the end of 2008, said Maile Keli’ipio-Acoba, director for Skagit County Human Services. It might take longer to find qualified people, she said.

“Mental health professionals are very hard to find,” Keli’ipio-Acoba said.

Finding enough within the one-year time frame might be hard, she said, but she hopes every kindergarten through eighth-grade school in the county can have someone on whom students can call. The professionals are funded by a 0.1 percent county sales and use tax for mental health. Catholic Community Services administers the program. This year’s program is projected to cost about $300,000.

Kevin Schwitter, school counselor for Washington Elementary in Mount Vernon, said his school had a mental health professional there for a half-day per week last year. Even in that short a time, students and families benefited.

“It gave them a chance to receive services that would have been difficult for them to get any other way,” Schwitter said. “This is a way to get more kids the services they need.”
Children who are on Medicaid often have trouble finding mental health counselors unless they have severe mental issues, Schwitter said.

Jean Champagne, director of special and support services for the Mount Vernon School District, said schools notify parents and get their permission before serving a child with mental health needs. “Mental health issues can really throw a wrench in kids’ ability to learn and behave well,” she said. The need in Skagit County is great, Champagne said.

Two organizations in the county have one child psychologist each, she said. After that, the next closest psychologist is in Bellingham. There are other barriers to access, especially income, that many families cannot surmount, she said.

Bill Cheney, a school psychologist for the Mount Vernon School District, said early mental health counseling can stave off future problems.“Some special education is about mental health issues that have gone untreated,” he said.

Having mental health professionals treat children in their own schools removes transportation issues as well as any stigma of going to a psychologist’s office, he said.
“We want them to be successful as a whole child,” Cheney said.

Thanks to Kate Martin of the Skagit Valley Herald for this article.

Auld Lang Syne (or days gone by...)

It's hard to believe that 2007 is coming to an end. As I look back at some of this blog, I realize what an incredible year that this has been for me. It's been a hard year, emotionally speaking, but one of many revelations and much growth. So many changes...

I think my son could say the same. He faces enormous challenges every day of his life just living. But I think he has more insight into his bipolar disorder than ever before. He lost a pretty good job this year. But he celebrated a year of marriage. He had a couple of pretty terrible patches. But he seems to be doing well on the medication changes that came from those breaks. He's found a support group. He's talking. One day at a time.

And me? I became an empty nester and have had the bittersweet experience of watching my daughter spread her wings. I opted to go out on my own again in my business - back to the labor of being self employed. I took my Family to Family training and taught my first class this fall - an amazing experience that was equally exhausting and rewarding. I keep plugging along with my support groups, keep plugging along at being married, keep plugging along at my unfulfilling work. Some days I feel that I have nothing left. Some days are good. Some days I need a Xanax to sleep.

This is life. My cup of kindness for those days gone by? I had all of my brood home for Christmas. We ate too much and watched silly movies and played games. It was a good day.

It is a good life.

Bah Humbug!

I don't know about you, but I loathe this time of year. Part of it is related to my job - my hours get brutal - and part of it is all the extra "work" that is expected of me, such as shopping, decorating, and wrapping presents. Don't even mention the office parties. Cuz even if I had the time, I wouldn't enjoy watching my coworkers get drunk. I know that this is supposed to be a happy time; I'm supposed to enjoy all of this. But although I love giving gifts to those I care about, I don't so much enjoy the rest of it. I find myself tired, cranky and down most of December. If this sounds like you - some strategies to avoid the worst of the December Dumps courtesy of Mark Sichel, LCSW:

1. Have an attitude of gratitude. Misery and gratitude cannot occupy the same space in our psychological house, and we have the power to choose between these emotional states.

2. One golden rule to getting along with family....be responsible for how you behave, You certainly have no control over how your relatives behave. The most important part of avoiding holiday stress with our families is for each of us to feel mastery over, & satisfaction with, our own behaviors, attitudes & feelings. If you know in your head and your heart that you've acted like the best parent, child, brother, sister, friend that you know how to be, you can walk away from any difficulty feeling good about yourself.

3. If you're feeling depressed and lonely, volunteer with any number of groups that help underprivileged or hospitalized children, the homeless, or the aged and disabled at the holidays. There are many, many opportunities for doing community service. No one can be depressed when they are doing community service.

4. Decide upon your priorities and stick to them. Organize your time. Be reasonable with your schedule. Do not overbook yourself into a state of exhaustion--this makes people cranky, irritable, and depressed.

5 Remember, no matter what your plans, the holidays do not automatically take away feelings of aloneness, sadness, frustration, anger, and fear.

6. Be careful about resentments related to holidays past. Declare an amnesty with whichever family member or friend you are feeling past resentments. Do not feel it is helpful or intimate to tell your relative every resentment on your long laundry list of grievances. Don't let your relative do that to you, either.

7. Don't expect the holidays to be just as they were when you were a child. They NEVER are. YOU are not the same as when you were a child, and no one else in the family is either. On the other hand, if your memories of childhood holidays are awful, be grateful that you now have the capacity and skills to make them wonderful for yourself and those you love.

8. Plan unstructured, low-cost fun holiday activities: window-shop and look at the Holiday decorations. Look at people's Christmas lighting on their homes, take a trip to the countryside, etc.--the opportunities are endless.

9. Do not let the holidays become a reason for over-indulging in food and drink and create unnecessary weight gain and hangovers for yourself. This will exacerbate your depression and anxiety. Contrary to popular opinion, alcohol is a depressant.

10. Give yourself a break; create time for yourself to do the things YOU love to do.

I'm going to try to remember this last one.

More On Vets

Call the national suicide hotline (1-800-784-2433) and the first question asked is "Are you a member of the armed forces?" Shocking? Hardly....

More here.