Experts Weigh in on Nevada's Numbers on Elderly Suicide
By
Frank X. Mullen, Reno Gazette-Journal
August 8, 2007
Loneliness, lack of resources and depression top the
list of reasons elderly people commit suicide in Nevada, according to local and national experts.
In
Las Vegas, gambling addiction plays a big role in seniors' choices to end their
lives, an Associated Press report stated this week. But in Washoe
County, the problems that plague elderly people nationwide send some seniors to
the point of no return.
The state's pioneer attitude -- that people ought to
pull themselves up by their bootstraps -- also helps account for the
state's grim statistics, experts said.
Nevada
's overall suicide rate is 19.2 per 100,000 as compared to the national
rate of 10.9 per 100,000, making the state second in the nation after Alaska.
Elderly people in
Nevada
commit suicide at three times the rate of people in other states, a recent
analysis of federal data found. Among people 75 or older,
Nevada's rate is 48 per 100,000 as compared to 17 per 100,000 nationally. Each
day, 89 people die by suicide in the
U.S.
Rural areas of
Nevada
have the highest overall suicide rates, followed by
Clark
County
and then
Washoe
County, according to state statistics.
"Gambling is sometimes a factor in
Washoe
County
, but not often," said Debbie Gant Reed of the
Crisis
Call
Center
in Reno. "We don't hear about gambling issues as much as they do in
Southern Nevada. Here, it's depression and concerns about health and health care."
She said many seniors call the crisis line and just
want to talk to someone. They are anxious about going to doctors or paying
for prescriptions or being able to cope with other basic needs.
"The thing to remember is that there is help out
there," Reed said. "Usually there's a project, a church or a
program that can help with food, prescriptions, medical supplies or
whatever the person needs."
As for loneliness, that's a reason for the hot line.
"We're here to talk and we're here 24-7 at no
charge," she said. "We encourage anyone having coping problems
to call."
She said sometimes it's hard to tell if depression is
leading to suicidal thoughts. But if someone mentions suicide, it's time
to take notice.
"Oftentimes depression in elderly people gets
ignored because people think it's just part of getting older," said
James Radack, senior vice president at Mental Health
America, a Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group. "That's not the case.
Depression is a health factor, just like a broken arm or a heart
disorder."
He said when a person is so depressed they say they
can't go on anymore, "take it at face value." He said relatives
and friends shouldn't be afraid to ask if depression is causing thoughts
of suicide.
Depression is a tough issue for anyone to confront,
experts said, especially elderly people and especially those who live in
rural areas.
"The generation we're talking about has a
tradition of getting on with it, taking care of themselves," said
Misty Allen, director of the Nevada Suicide Prevention Program. "And
in rural areas you have an isolation problem, a lack of mental health
resources and health resources overall.
"Then there's the Nevada
attitude of libertarianism, a mentality that you can do things on your
own. There's a stigma in asking for help and a stigma in admitting you are
depressed."
Allen said 40 percent of adults who commit suicide had
seen their primary physician within a week or two of taking their own
lives. There's no stigma in seeing a physician for physical ailments, she
said, so someone who is depressed can go to the doctor for an illness and
exhibit symptoms of depression without mentioning the problem.
"That's why primary physicians are the
gatekeepers," she said. "Children are seen in school, but
seniors and people in rural areas may have lost their connections with
their neighbors and their communities.
"Doctors and people who know others who are
depressed must be aware of what's happening. They are the first and last
line of defense for many people who can be helped but aren't asking for
help."
That's reminiscent of the project's motto:
"Preventing suicide is everyone's business."
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