By: Keith Kappes
Columnist
Carter County Times
It was three years ago when I last wrote about the growing suicide rate in Kentucky and the U. S., especially among veterans.
As I began to research this topic again, I expected to see a spike in suicides because of the COVID pandemic. Like many of you, I’ve witnessed the heartbreaking scenes of individuals and families losing their loved ones to COVID and then becoming deeply depressed at the prospect of life without them.
But, to my surprise, I learned that the national rate actually went down six percent in 2020. Figures for 2021 obviously aren’t complete yet.
So, why do so many of our friends, neighbors and rank strangers decide life is not worth living and then kill themselves, most of the time with a firearm?
The best explanation I’ve heard for the decline during the pandemic is two-fold: People tend to rally around each other during times of crisis, such as a pandemic or war, and that people are more open about their feelings during these times and more willing to seek mental health services.
The downward trend in suicides was surprising, since Americans reported increased depression, anxiety, and substance use during the pandemic. Gun sales also went up significantly.
So, how do we help people avoid suicide?
“Try as you might to remember how a person lived his life, you always end up thinking about how he ended it.”
That quote by CNN news anchor Anderson Cooper came back to me as I considered this commentary. There was a time when I believed that suicide was mainly among the rich and famous or those terminally ill.
As a journalist, I remember reading about a street person who borrowed a gun from a passing stranger and then used it to commit suicide in front of him. He was an alcoholic and penniless. Doesn’t that prove that suicide is no respecter of persons?
Just a few years ago, statistics showed that someone took their own life every 12 minutes in America. In Kentucky it happened every 11 hours. Today those numbers are even higher.
If you or someone you know or love has talked of suicide, please encourage them to seek help. To reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, call 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
And please keep in mind that our family members and friends don’t want to remember us for how we died but for how we lived.
(Keith can be reached at keithkappes@gmail.com
