When you suspect that someone may be contemplating suicide, the most important thing you can do is ASK. Many people believe that asking someone about suicide will put the idea into his head, but most studies show that this isn’t true. If you do ask and the answer is yes, you must be prepared to act immediately.
There are many resources that teach you how and when to ask this important question and what to do if the answer is yes. I’ll be outlining several of them in my next few blogs.
Today I’d like to talk about a video series called “Ask about Suicide (ASK),” which you can access here:This is a series of short videos from the Texas Suicide Prevention Collaborative. There are five videos in all, but if you don’t have time to watch them all, I urge you to at least watch episodes 2, 3, and 4. It only takes about an hour to watch all 5 videos, and the individual videos are pretty short.
The first video is an introduction to the series. It also explains what the acronym “ASK” stands for: Ask about suicide; Seek more information and keep safe; and Know where and how to refer.
This video gives a lot of statistics, many of which are out of date or specific to Texas, but there are a few key points that don’t change much over time:
- More females attempt suicide, but more males die by suicide, probably because men tend to use more lethal means than women.
- African American females have a lower rate of suicide, most likely because they tend to have a strong support system.
- Latino youth tend to have a high rate of suicide attempts, possibly because of isolation and a feeling of not fitting in at home or at school.
The second video is “Risk Factors and Protective Factors.” It discusses risk factors in 3 categories: biological/psychological; social/cultural; and environmental. It then goes on to list some protective factors (things that help to reduce the effects of risk factors, such as a strong support system). Finally, the video emphasizes the importance of decreasing risk factors and increasing protective factors to reduce the likelihood of suicide.
Video #3 is “Warning signs.” It discusses warning signs, direct and indirect, verbal and nonverbal. It also addresses the “suicidal zone,” a period of time when risk factors are high and protective factors are low, when the person is at extremely high risk of a suicide attempt.
This suicidal period usually only lasts a few hours or even minutes, but it’s a time when quick action is crucial. Asking someone if he is thinking about suicide, and taking action if he is, can interrupt the suicidality long enough for the crisis to be averted.
The fourth video, “ASK: The 3 Step Process to Save a Life,” is probably the most important of the 5 videos, so if you can only watch 1 video, this would be the one to watch. It outlines and explains each of the 3 critical steps in the ASK process.
The first step is to ask about suicide. The video teaches you how to ask and, just as importantly, how not to ask. For instance, you shouldn’t say, “You’re not thinking about suicide, are you?” It’s also important to be aware of your nonverbal cues when asking this question.
The second step is to seek more information and keep safe. This should be done in a private place.
If someone has told you they are thinking about suicide, you should ask them if they have a plan and if they have access to lethal means. If the answer to either of these questions is yes, the person is likely at an immediate high risk of suicide, and you need to take immediate action.
The video goes into great detail about some of the things you can do. One of the most important things to remember about this step is to never leave the person alone, unless your own safety is at risk. As I said in my last blog, don’t just give the person a number to call and then leave, expecting the person to follow through.
The final step is to know where and how to refer. This step needs to be taken before the crisis occurs. That means researching sources of help in your area ahead of time.
The final video is only about 5 minutes long. It contains the testimony of a young man who used this ASK training to save a life.
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