Perry Kiwanians learn about suicide trends, prevention

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Ryan Nesbit, left, co-chair of the Iowa Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, told the Perry Kiwanis Club the latest ideas about suicide. Welcoming Nesbit was 16-year Kiwanian Marcus Carris. Photo courtesy Kiwanis Club Secretary Doug Wood

In one way or another, nearly everyone has been touched by the topic of suicide. Nearly everyone knows someone who has taken his own life.

Ryan Nesbit, co-chair of the Iowa Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, stopped by the Tuesday noon meeting of the Perry Kiwanis to discuss the topic.

Nesbit, a native of Dunkerton, Iowa, now resides in Ankeny with his wife and three children.

He is a stay at home Dad and spends a great deal of time volunteering for the foundation and other organizations that work to stop suicide. Every week he travels across the state, usually talking to school kids.

Nesbit first became aware of the issue of suicide when in 1991 his friend committed suicide. He discovered his deceased friend. This began a 15-year period of difficulty dealing with his friend’s suicide.

Over the past few years, suicide has been steadily increasing, Nesbit told the Kiwanians, and a great cause of this is social media. A lot of bullying occurs over social media. Until 2010, teen suicide had been decreasing, he said. It has grown since then, and the primary cause is the development of social media and opportunities to bully.

Suicide is the 10th-leading cause of death in the U.S. Each year more than 44,000 Americans die by suicide. For every successful attempt, there are 25 failed attempts. There are 121 suicides every day. Two-thirds of firearms deaths are suicides.

In 2015 seven out of 10 suicides were middle-aged white men. Nesbit said men aged 25 to 44 are at most risk for suicide. This seems to be the time when men of this age have not reached goals that they have hoped for and in many cases are facing divorce.

Nesbit stated that men were four times more likely to commit suicide, but this has fallen to 3.5 times as compared to women. The rate of suicide for women is rising. Women, too, are now facing more of life’s pressures and expectations, he said.

Nesbit was asked why the rate appears to be rising. He said that in a lot of cases, people have no faith or religious beliefs. Past generations had a great faith background. Now we think that we are our own god. He also believes that we now give up too easily.

People have a lot of things given to them now and do not have to work as hard in life as previous generations did. In the past, people learned how to deal with adversity and hardships. Now people tend to give up and not work at life’s challenges.

Nesbit blames cell phones as a major factor. People do not interact with each other and wrap themselves up in an isolated, fake world of social media. More bullying occurs this way and is impersonal. You do not confront those who are doing the bullying.

A great concern to Nesbit is children as young as 11 who are thinking of the topic of suicide. The number of kids thinking of suicide goes up as the age goes up.

Nesbit is critical of the mental health system now in place in Iowa. He said Gov. Terry Branstad was bad for mental health services but that the current Gov. Kim Reynolds is worse.

Iowa is 46th in the nation in terms of the availability of psychologists and and 47th in psychiatrists. The state offers only a very few mental health beds. There is nearly no place to hospitalize people with mental health issues in Iowa. In 1954 there were 5,300 beds available.

A large portion of people with mental health issues ends up in jail or prison and do not receive the treatment that they need.

Nesbit discussed signs of people with depression. Negative feelings, not being happy or giving away belongings are some signs. In contrast, a person who has decided to commit suicide may suddenly appear to be happy because they believe that their suffering is coming to an end.

Nesbit stressed that there is no absolute sign. A person who is very popular and appears happy may commit suicide as readily as those showing signs of depression.

Nesbit wants to bring the issue of suicide to light and notice. Society shuns this disease and topic. It is very devastating to those left behind from the suicide.

The effects of suicide cost $51 billion in the U.S. annually.

Nesbit wants all people who are contemplating suicide to tell others about it. Seek help from others, he said. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-272-TALK (8255). Text TALK to 741741 to text with a trained crisis counselor from the Crisis Text Line for Free, 24/7.

If you know about someone who may be at risk for suicide, escort them to the mental health services of an emergency room.

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