{"id":2181,"date":"2021-08-05T19:49:31","date_gmt":"2021-08-05T19:49:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=2181"},"modified":"2021-08-05T19:49:31","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T19:49:31","slug":"suicide-by-cop-a-mental-health-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/05\/suicide-by-cop-a-mental-health-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Suicide by Cop \u2013 A Mental Health Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Bernadette Joy Graham,
MA, LPC, NCC,
Licensed Mental Health Therapist<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Mental Health Moment<\/strong><\/p>\n

Suicide by Cop \u2013 A Mental Health Crisis<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

By Bernadette Joy Graham, MA, LPC, NCC, Licensed Mental Health Therapist
\n<\/em>The Truth Contributor<\/em><\/p>\n

According to the National Center of Health Statistics there has been a 33 percent increase in rates of suicide by cop just from 1997 \u2013 2017.\u00a0 Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of suicide overall have exponentially increased. For many individuals, completed suicide as well as suicide attempts may seem ridiculous and unfathomable. Yes, life can be challenging on any given day but for other individuals who struggle with emotional and mental instability or experience an extreme life event it can feel as if life just is not worth living.<\/p>\n

I first heard the term suicide by cop<\/em> while in graduate school studying to become a mental health therapist over 20 years ago.\u00a0 This is not a new phenomenon and has been happening across all races, ages and geographical locations.\u00a0 Suicide is taken very seriously by mental health providers and is asked upon assessments and explored if an individual has a family history of suicide or even verbalizes phrases such as \u201csometimes I just don\u2019t want to be here, or I have no reasons to live.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Recently, in July of this year in Toledo, 50-year- old Michael Clifton was fatally shot by law enforcement as 53 rounds were fired as he was deemed a threat by walking down Monroe Street with a handgun first pointing it at his head and then toward officers who first made attempts to de-escalate the situation.\u00a0 Clifton, a Michigan native, reported by various local news media had recently lost his son this past March, was a husband and father to a 10-year-old daughter.\u00a0 His wife reported to media that he had been struggling with mental health issues after the death of his son and was admitted to St. Charles Hospital and later released.<\/p>\n

This one isolated and unfortunate event has ended a man\u2019s life and left a widowed wife, fatherless daughter and a loss to many friends and family. This event has also affected the lives of law enforcement who had to make a swift and most difficult decision to do what they are trained to do\u2026keep the public safe.<\/p>\n

With any suicide, we all ask what could have been done differently to have prevented this incident.\u00a0 What I did learn during my graduate education about suicide is never underestimate anyone\u2019s intent to harm themselves as sometimes the happiest people we know end their lives, and just because someone says \u201cyes I\u2019m okay\u201d is not a sure call to check that box of no intent to harm.\u00a0 Also, while we may want to blame someone or something like lack of care or who dropped the ball, it will not change the course of history.<\/p>\n

Take a mental health moment\u2026\u2026really take one for yourself, friends and loved one\u2019s.\u00a0 The mental health care system is not perfect, law enforcement is not perfect there is more to learn and protocols to change but until we are all honest about our mental health, suicide statistics both self- inflicted and by cop will continue to rise causing more loss of people who needed help.\u00a0 People in crisis don\u2019t stop feeling unstable at 4 or 5 p.m. to be told call back tomorrow or we cannot see your for at least six months.<\/p>\n

A permanent solution to a temporary problem is not the answer and while losing a child is permanent or anyone for that matter, the pain and emotional turmoil can be handled.\u00a0 If you have thoughts or feelings of suicide or have a loved one struggling, remove any weapons from the home or their possession even with the help of law enforcement.\u00a0 Go to the nearest emergency room, call 911, utilize suicide apps or phone numbers.<\/p>\n

First and foremost, if you or a loved one is struggling today, without any help it will only escalate from bad to worse.\u00a0 Prevention is much more viable than intervention. None of us are exempt from life challenges.\u00a0 Suicide is selfish because you will hurt more than just yourself.\u00a0 At the age of 14, my mother died suddenly in her sleep from heart failure, I wanted to die and even had a plan.\u00a0 By the grace of God, I made a vow that I would dedicate my life to helping others who felt that relentless pain of losing a loved one.\u00a0 Use your pain to lessen that of others, that I did not learn in graduate school<\/em>, I learned it through a personal and unfortunate life challenge\u2026.sometimes they do serve a purpose, mine allowed me to find mine.<\/p>\n

Rest in Peace Mr. Clifton\u2026.. \u201cThe reality is that you will grieve forever.\u00a0 You will not get over the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it.\u00a0 You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered.\u00a0 You will be whole again but you will never be the same.\u00a0 Nor should you be the same nor would you want to\u2026.Elisabeth Kubler-Ross<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Suicide help: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (24 hrs) 800-273-8255 (they even have a chat) www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Suicide Apps \u2013 Suicide Safety Plan
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Stay Alive
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Suicide Safe by SAMHSA
\n<\/em>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0MY3\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Bernadette Graham is a Licensed Professional Mental Health Counselor, National Certified Counselor and Certified Grief Recovery Specialist. She is also a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist assisting with weight loss, smoking and other behavior changes. Provide feedback or reach out at graham.bernadette@gmail.com\u00a0 For appointment information please call 419.409.4929 (Telehealth is available for ongoing and new clients at this time as well as in person appointments available on Tuesdays and Fridays only). Office location is 3454 Oak Alley Ct. Suite 300 Toledo, OH 43606 www.bjgrahamcounseling.org<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Mental Health Moment Suicide by Cop \u2013 A Mental Health Crisis By Bernadette Joy Graham, MA, LPC, NCC, Licensed Mental Health Therapist The Truth Contributor According to the National Center of Health Statistics there has been a 33 percent increase in rates of suicide by cop just from 1997 \u2013 2017.\u00a0 Since the COVID-19 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[68],"class_list":["post-2181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2181"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2182,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2181\/revisions\/2182"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2181"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=2181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}