The Narrative

Throughout this ongoing conversation concerning lethal means safety and suicide prevention, it is vital to continually remember that the variety of lethal means one may employ in the act of ending ones life is vast. Though this newsletter has specifically focused on firearms, it is important that other means of suicide are given the same weight and attention, as they too enable the completion of suicide, and the end of a life.

In times past, the intriguing paradigms between firearms and suicide have been explored, shedding light on legislative, cultural, and psychological interplays that make firearms such a challenging yet vital angle to understand throughout all suicide prevention efforts. Looking at the abuse of medications and or other substances within this same framework reveals an equally fascinating problem with a completely different orientation.

Rather than being gripped by ideological strife and an overall reluctance toward the fostering of empathy across an ever increasing divide, the perpetuator that makes the abuse of medications and substances increasingly dangerous is the tacit grips of addiction.

This implicit understanding in full display shows that the abuse of substances increases ones suicidality, and ones suicidality increases ones abuse of substances, often to the point of death.

The Literature

It has been well established that alcohol and or opioid use disorders (AUD/OUD) significantly perpetuate ones suicidal thoughts, attempts, and death. The myriad of behavioral, neurobiological, and psychological indicators show that negative affective states increase as well as self regulation, both contributors to ones suicidality as well as other mental health conditions such as depression, anxiety, and the like.

Researchers, for example, have found a seven-fold increase in suicidal behaviors within the 24 hour window following alcohol consumption. This is but one of the many examples of the perpetual nature of substance abuse in relation to suicidality.

The Culmination

As humans, our propensity toward addictive behavior has always been a point of cultural/social concern, as addiction can and often does touch so many people beside the user. Furthermore, the death of one by way of suicide can and often does effect an entire community in an intense and visceral way. This overall makes the edification of how substance abuse and suicide are enmeshed in one another imperative.

Substance abuse becomes not just a way in which many act upon their suicidality but so too a way in which such suicidality is intensified, making it both an issue of culminating as well as amplifying ones suicidal behavior and thought, an issue that both grips and kills.

Local Initiatives and Involvements

Mental Health and Suicide Prevention 2025 EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN MESA COUNTY Register Here!

Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST): March 20-21, September 18-19, November 6-7 This two-day workshop(16 hours) helps participants learn how to prevent suicide by recognizing signs, providing a skilled intervention, and developing a safety plan to keep someone alive.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA): February 21, April 11, September 26, October 17, December 5 This eight (8) hour training teaches people how to recognize signs of mental health or substance use challenges in adults, how to offer and provide initial help, and how to guide a person toward appropriate care.

Youth Mental Health First Aid (Youth MHFA): March 7, April 18, August 29 This Six and half (6.5) hour training for adults who regularly interact with people ages 12-18. It introduces common mental health challenges, typical adolescent development, and plan for how to help in crisis and non-crisis situations

Soul Shop™: February 20, October 2 This 90-minute workshop equips faith community leaders and other people of faith to train their congregations to minister to those impacted by suicidal desperation.

If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, call or text 988. The National Suicide Hotline is staffed around the clock with certified members of the American Association of Suicidology. Or the Crisis Text Line, text CO to 741741 from anywhere in the United States, anytime. A live, trained Crisis Counselor receives the text and responds, all from a secure online platform.