Please use this information as a reference guide and store it somewhere safe. Snip this column out of the paper or print it off of the North Star website. Consider saving the contact numbers in your phone right now.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, the time to act is now. Here are some of the available options:
- Call 911
- Call or visit the new Garrett Lee Smith Clinic located in Oleai, (next to the former Borja’s Funeral Home). It is open weekdays from 7:30 am to 4:30 pm. They have two counselors ready to help and specialize in services for youth, ages 10 to 24. (664-HOPE or 664-LIVE)
- After-hours and on weekends, call CHCC Hospital 234-8950 or go directly to the Emergency Room (ER) for immediate help
- Call or visit the Community Guidance Center (Navy Hill) at 323-6560 for more resources
- Call the National Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK or visit their website for a free, online chat
- Call a friend, relative or a member of the clergy
Life is precious. If you are in pain or despair, you are not alone and help is available. Don’t wait to act; it helps to talk.
10 Most Common Warning Signs of Suicide
- Extreme mood swings and/or personality changes
- Increased fixation on death, suicide and/or violence
- Withdrawal from family and friends
- Communicating feelings of hopelessness, such as saying they have “no reason to live”
- Communicating a desire/plan to die by suicide
- Giving away belongings/items of special meaning or significance
- Obtaining a weapon or other means of lethal self-harm
- Increased alcohol and/or substance abuse
- Engaging in risky and/or dangerous behavior
- Loss of interest in people, things, places and activities they previously cared about
Misconceptions & Facts About Suicide:
- It’s not a good idea to talk about suicide because talking about it might influence someone to commit suicide.
FACT: Talking about suicide openly can make a real difference. Ignoring it can lead to devastating consequences.
- People who talk about suicide don’t follow through.
FACT: Almost all who die from suicide had spoken about it beforehand. Take joking about suicide seriously.
- A person attempts suicide in order to get attention.
FACT: It is better to pay attention to the signs than to assume you know someone’s reasons for behaving the way that they do. If someone has already attempted suicide, they are more likely to die from suicide in the future.
- If a person who was suicidal seems to be feeling better, they are no longer at risk.
FACT: Sometimes a person who was suicidal and/or depressed and has finalized a suicide plan will appear to be doing better because they feel that relief is imminent; in fact they are still very much at risk.
- If someone has made up their mind to end their own life, nothing can change it.
FACT: Studies of suicide survivors tell a different story: many admit to feeling ambivalent about their plan to end their life up until the last second and will often admit to regretting it as soon as they took “the leap.” Survivors say they just want their suffering to end, not their lives.
Garrett Lee Smith (GLS) Clinic, Saipan: 664-HOPE (4673) or 664-LIVE (5483)
CHCC (Saipan) 234-8950
National Suicide prevention hotline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Online chat at: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
