- Hey, everyone.
So today I'm gonna be talking about a little bit more
of a serious topic, and I'm gonna be talking
about suicide and schizophrenia or Schizoaffective disorder.
So I just wanna start this video off by saying
that if you are thinking about or contemplating suicide,
there is help.
And if you are thinking about it, to please call 911,
or to go to your nearest hospital.
If you're just having problems with mental health
and problems with thinking about suicidal ideation,
or that sort of thing, there are helplines available
and you can just Google a mental health helpline
followed by your area.
So schizophrenia is strongly linked to a higher chance
of suicide and suicide attempts.
So one aspect about suicide that I wanna talk about
is the language that we use around it.
So a common term used is that someone committed suicide,
but it's kind of important to take this out of our language
and instead, use terms such as the person
attempted suicide or that they died by suicide.
The term committed comes from when it was against the law
to take your own life, and so, since the laws have changed,
I think it's important to also change the language
that we use around it in order to reduce
that criminal connotation that comes with committed suicide.
So people who attempt or die by suicide are not criminals,
and so it's important to not use the term committed suicide
when referring to them.
So it's a sad reality that up to 40% of people
living with schizophrenia or Schizoaffective disorder
will attempt suicide, and 1 in 10 people living
with schizophrenia or 10% of people with schizophrenia,
will actually die by suicide.
So this is often because they're isolated
and don't receive the support that they need.
So suicide prevention can sometimes feel
a little bit more difficult with people living
with schizophrenia or Schizoaffective disorder
because often, impulsiveness can be a result of delusions
or hallucinations that they're experiencing.
So for example, when I was at the peak
of one of my psychotic episodes, I was being commanded
by voices to kill myself, and I was trying appease
these voices by any means possible,
so I was taking kind of drastic measures
and acting fairly impulsively.
So some common factors that increase the risk of suicide
with people living with schizophrenia include youth,
so typically if you're under the age of 30,
you're at an increased risk, if you are male,
if you are white, if you have never been married,
if you have a higher IQ than typical,
or if you were thriving before your diagnosis.
So if you're doing really well in school,
or had a really good job, or a good family life
before your diagnosis, and that kind of changed
following your diagnosis, you're at an increased risk.
You also may be at an increased risk if you have
a history of alcohol abuse or other substance abuse,
or if you have a history of previous suicide attempts.
Some contributing factors to why someone with schizophrenia
or Schizoaffective disorder may decide to take
their own life can include just a general sense
of hopelessness, or a general sense of worthlessness
that the person may be feeling.
Social isolation is another big one and lacking support
from other people in their life.
So the first, or this first two times
that I attempted suicide, I was fairly isolated,
and this played a, probably a pretty big part
in terms of actually going through with it.
A worsening health can also be another contributing factor.
So if their health is deteriorating as a result
of the illness, that can definitely be a contributing factor
to why someone might decide to take their own life.
Recent loss or rejection can also be another one,
as well as family stress or instability.
Also the fear that their mental health condition
could worsen as another contributing factor.
I think the biggest thing that I want you to take away,
though, by watching this video is the importance
of early intervention.
So for me, when I attempted suicide,
I let it get to a really critical point.
I, I waited to get help, and I isolated myself,
and I, basically, just kept it from people in my life
and from the healthcare professionals
that were trying to help me.
So had I not done this, the situation
may have ended differently, and I maybe would have been able
to get help earlier.
So opening up about your mental health struggles
and your thoughts of suicide can be a really,
really scary thing to do, and can be really difficult
because it requires so much vulnerability on your part,
but it's, it can be done.
It's important to know that there are people
who want to help you and who are able to provide you
with the help that you need.
If you're worried about someone in your life
who you think may be thinking about suicide,
just ask them, do not be afraid to go there.
So if you're struggling with thoughts of suicide,
I just want you to know that I have been there too
and you are not alone in your struggles.
Following my suicide attempt, I went for a period of time
wishing that I hadn't been stopped, but I've gotten
to a point now where I realized one day
that I was extremely happy that my counselor intervened,
and that I was able to be taken to the hospital.
So it's not going to be forever.
So again, if you are struggling with thoughts of suicide,
please reach out to someone, call 911,
or go to your nearest hospital,
or call a mental health helpline in your area.
There are people who are ready and willing to help you
through this.
So thank you so much for watching this video.
If you wanna learn more about schizophrenia
or Schizoaffective disorder, please check out
some of the other videos that I made,
and make sure to subscribe for future videos.
Thanks again for watching and have a great day.
Bye.