As a trauma informed therapist, I believe that simply asking if someone has had thoughts of suicide is not enough. As a community, we don't do enough to limit access to means to take ones life. We are bigger proponents of second amendment rights, particularly in the south. I believe it involves asking about self harm, including asking about abusing alcohol and drugs.
As someone who has spent a signficant amount of time in long term recovery, I understand that while I may have been abstinent from alcohol that my mental health was indeed impacted. Today, I have a choice to go to see an addiction therapist and a trauma informed therapist. I was introduced to EMDR therapy following my own journey of complex grief, and it's application proved to be helpful to my life so I wanted to learn skills to my apply to my clients who I recognize were even more vulnerable than myself as I was lucky enough to have family support and resources to crawl out of my addiction. A month after my father was diagnosed with melanoma, my boss at a major healthcare center took his own life. I remember having many questions as did the members of my team and we went on as if this never occured. Very little was done except offering EAP, and pastoral counseling services. My side job was at Grief Recovery Center, and thankfully, they helped me cope during this very difficult time.
As an outpatient therapist, I go beyond asking if my clients have suicidal thoughts. I ask if they have means to take their own lives. I ask if their thoughts are active or passive thoughts of suicide. Two years ago, 988 was introduced as a means to help the community. About 9 days ago, I attended a group of community health professionals on Zoom discussing ways to improve access to care on the topic of suicide prevention as this topic has hit close to me both professionally and personally. I have had many friends in the recovery community take their own lives because once they get sober, they no longer have alcohol or drugs to numb their mental health woes. I attended a funeral in December of one such friend. He was someone I remember as always making me laugh. I choose to remember him this way.
Don't be afraid to talk to someone. If your family is not supportive, find a trusted friend to talk to. Start counseling with a social worker or counselor who remains unbiased . Affordable access to mental health and addiction services is key to prevention of suicide. Untreated depression and other mental illnesses are the leading causes in individuals taking their own lives according to the Department of Human Services.
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