Ellen Barry
The New York Times
Originally published 21 Feb 24
Here is an excerpt:
Research has demonstrated that suicide is most often an impulsive act, with a period of acute risk that passes in hours, or even minutes. Contrary to what many assume, people who survive suicide attempts often go on to do well: Nine out of 10 of them do not die by suicide.
Policymakers, it seems, are paying attention. I have been reporting on mental health for The New York Times for two years, and in today’s newsletter I will look at promising, evidence-based efforts to prevent suicide.
A single element
For generations, psychiatrists believed that, in the words of the British researcher Norman Kreitman, “anyone bent on self-destruction must eventually succeed.”
Then something strange and wonderful happened: Midway through the 1960s, the annual number of suicides in Britain began dropping — by 35 percent in the following years — even as tolls crept up in other parts of Europe.
No one could say why. Had medicine improved, so that more people survived poisoning? Were antidepressant medications bringing down levels of despair? Had life in Britain just gotten better?
The real explanation, Kreitman discovered, was none of these. The drop in suicides had come about almost by accident: As the United Kingdom phased out coal gas from its supply to household stoves, levels of carbon monoxide decreased. Suicide by gas accounted for almost half of the suicides in 1960.
It turns out that blocking access to a single lethal means — if it is the right one — can make a huge difference.
The strategy that arose from this realization is known as “means restriction” or “means safety,” and vast natural experiments have borne it out. When Sri Lanka restricted the import of toxic pesticides, which people had ingested in moments of crisis, its suicide rate dropped by half over the next decade.
Here is my summary
The article discusses new suicide prevention measures in the U.S., where suicide rates have risen 35% in recent decades. This contrasts with global trends of declining suicide rates.
- It highlights how installing barriers on bridges, buildings, and other high structures can deter impulsive suicide attempts. Many communities are now considering such barriers.
- Research shows most who survive a suicide attempt go on to live their lives and not die by suicide later. This suggests preventing access to lethal means in moments of crisis can save lives.
- Restricting access to highly lethal means like guns and toxic pesticides has significantly reduced suicide rates when implemented in other countries.
- In the U.S., red flag laws that temporarily remove guns from high-risk individuals have been associated with drops in firearm suicides.
- Educating gun owners on safe storage habits is another promising approach, as is providing incentives for measures like locking devices or gun safes.
- Even brief counseling for gun owners has proven effective in getting people to voluntarily store guns securely and prevent access during periods of risk.
In summary, the text highlights several evidence-based strategies for reducing access to lethal means during periods of acute suicide risk, thereby giving people a chance to recover and survive their suicidal crises.
