ROANOKE, Va. – Tens of thousands of Americans die by suicide every year. In Virginia, it’s the second leading cause of death for children and adults ages 10 to 34. But there are ways for you to help.
10 News spoke with Sheila Lythgoe, the community prevention initiatives coordinator at Blue Ridge Behavioral Healthcare. She said families should be on the lookout for behaviors like withdrawal, isolation, giving away belongings and increased substance use or misuse.
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If someone in crisis opens up to you about their mental health struggles, listen nonjudgmentally and be intentional about checking in with them and following up.
“A lot of times when people are struggling, we don’t reach out. We’re not reaching out for support. So we need to be, as a community and neighbors and friends and family, recognizing when they’re struggling,” said Lythgoe.
She said you can offer to bring someone dinner, help watch their children or even mow their lawn.
If you notice someone needs help, Lythgoe said you can also call the new suicide prevention lifeline - 988 - and ask for advice on how to help someone in crisis.
“That’s what it takes, is educating ourselves about what we can do to make a difference. Because we can all be a part of this in helping prevent suicides. It takes all of us as a community to help people that could be struggling. Or you yourself could be struggling,” said Lythgoe. “Where can we reach out? And there’s lots of resources that are available.”
You can call 988 to reach the new suicide and crisis lifeline 24/7. You can also text “HOME” to 741741 to chat with someone.