DETROIT (AP) - Suicide is a top cause of death nationally, underscoring the importance of acting quickly to help people in trouble, mental health experts said as National Suicide Prevention Month began.
"By knowing the signs, changes in behavior or expressions of suicide, you can intervene and get the person to some help. Suicide is always about ending pain, usually emotional pain," said Tony Rothschild, president of Pontiac-based Common Ground Crisis Center.
Nationwide, suicide is the ninth leading cause of death among all age groups and the third leading cause among people ages 15-24, show figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics.
"You see them across the age specter," said Rothschild, whose agency evaluates children throughout Oakland County and who was a consultant for Oxford schools after more than a dozen students attempted suicides in about a year.
Some attempts stem from biological depressions, or with teens, because they're too young to handle overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, said Dr. Jimmie Leleszi, chief of psychiatry at Children's Hospital of Michigan.
"While they're in this dangerous area, they may need short-term hospitalization or intensive counseling. Medications at times are helpful," Leleszi said.
"Depression and anxiety are painful. You wouldn't expect a child to have an arm set without relief."
Tara Fuller, 20, of Wayne County, said counseling and medication helped ease her out of a deep depression in 1991.
"I was staying in my room. I wouldn't go out, I wouldn't do anything. I wouldn't eat," she said.
Fuller's advice to people who feel overwhelmed: "It's real good to talk to someone and get help."
With teens, parents should watch for talk about suicide and changes in behavior, such as sleeping all the time, Rothschild said.
"When they make the decision to kill themselves, they tend to be up in spirits" and may begin giving away prized possessions, he said.
Attempted suicides have gradually increased over the last 30 years, and more of them end in deaths, mostly because guns are now used more often, he said.
People who have someone depressed in their household should keep guns locked up, he said.