Unfortunately, our Midcoast community has lost far too many young people to suicide. As a mother, former teacher, and community member I am deeply saddened by each loss. As the executive director of Five Town Communities That Care, which is dedicated to promoting healthy youth development and to the prevention of problem adolescent behaviors including suicide, I am driven to do something about it.

Doing something is not easy.  Suicide is widely regarded as a taboo subject, as are most subjects related to mental health. I am not trained as a mental health provider or counselor, but in spite of this, I cannot be silent or remain on the sidelines.  What I can do is provide information that parents and community members can use to respond to the young people they know and love.

We need to have conversations about it, even if those conversations are uncomfortable.  Suicidal behavior is complex and frightening and the frequency of suicide in Maine is cause for concern — there is one suicide every two days on average. For Mainers aged 15-34 years of age, it is the second leading cause of death.

It is important to understand that most people who are suicidal can respond to treatment, if they get help in time.  This means we need to get better about recognizing risk factors and warning signs, and know where people can seek help. I encourage readers to visit the Maine Suicide Prevention Project's website, as it contains lots of important information and links to local resources for help.

I am prompted to write this today because one of the risk factors for adolescent suicide is social contagion, which can be influenced by social media such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.  This means that for young people, some forms of nonfictional media coverage of suicide are associated with a statistically significant increase of suicide among those who see it. The way we talk about those who have taken their own life can influence teens to attempt suicide themselves.

The death of yet another local youth this week has been receiving a lot of local social media attention, particularly on Facebook. Although expressions of sympathy to the family and friends are certainly appropriate, some types of memorializing can lead to an increased risk that other young people may also attempt suicide.

Adults close to this young man's classmates report that teens in the area are sharing detailed information about how he died, factors which have been shown to increase the risk of attempted suicide by some adolescents.  The prevalence of discussion focusing on self-inflicted injury and referencing bullying may put youth who are already depressed at greater risk.  Put simply, if everyone in a young person's social media universe is talking about a suicide, especially if it includes details of how they died, and that young person is already depressed or distressed, then seeing this stream of uncensored talk can make them more likely to repeat the act that is being discussed. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY

1) If you have a close relationship with adolescents in the Midcoast, especially if they knew this young man or his friends, please take the time to discuss it with them. It is normal for them to be curious or sad, but if they seem especially focused on his death, gently explore whether the reaction goes beyond what you would expect given their relationship with this particular young man.

2) If you have concerns about how they are handling this, especially if they have been "down" or "low" lately, please call the Maine Crisis hotline at 1-888-568-1112. The volunteers who take the calls on this line are there to help, and can talk to parents and directly to the young person who needs help dealing with the impact of this loss.
 

3) Spread the word to parents you know in the community.  Make sure that they have this information and know to check in with their adolescents.  If parents have younger children who may be affected, there is a great column on talking to kids about suicide at childpsychmom.com.

Dalene Dutton is executive director Five Town Communities that Care, a Rockport-based nonprofit whose mission is promote healthy youth development and to prevent problem adolescent behaviors such as substance abuse, suicide, violence, delinquency, school drop-out, and teen pregnancy. The organization also seeks to foster increased collaboration and cooperation in communities in order to best serve the needs of their youth.
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