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[Music]
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unfiltered emotions is a new mental
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health podcast series featuring Dr
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Michelle M and co-hosted by Humanity
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Rising ambassadors Carrie harness noru
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and Ellen Shin podcast topics include
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anxiety depression suicide ideation
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coping skills meditation breathing and
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grounding exercises access to
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professional help and more youth receive
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professional guidance and also share
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their challenges and coping skills with
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one another tune in as we debunk issues
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in the mental health community and learn
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together about the steps we can take to
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optimize our mental health and overall
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well-being Dr Michelle Mita is the
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founder of therapy Etc a wellness clinic
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in Buffalo Grove Illinois where they
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provide mental health support through
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individual and family therapy
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psychiatric care educational advocacy
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and tutoring mentorship services with
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over 15 years of experience in working
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working with children adolescence
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parents and families Michelle is able to
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provide information and resources in a
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variety of areas that are important to
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teens Kyrie harness is a passionate
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advocate for mental health and invisible
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disabilities from Dilly Texas as a
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Humanity Rising Ambassador Kyrie is
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devoted to driving positive change in
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her community and Beyond through her
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advocacy work she Endeavors to heighten
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awareness and cultivate a supportive
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environment for those grappling with
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mental health challenges and invisible
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disabilities when not spearheading
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initiatives Kyrie dedicates her time to
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exploring diverse cultures seizing every
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opportunity to contribute to the
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well-being of others and leave a lasting
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impact Ellen shrin is a High School
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Junior and Humanity Rising ambassador
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from Illinois who advocates for youth
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well-being and empowerment her work
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focuses on erasing the stigma around
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situations that affect mental health as
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well as heightening awareness about
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cultural diversity and education in her
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free time she loves to play word games
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bullet journal and learn different
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languages so today we're do we're going
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to talk about uh
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suicidality
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and suicidality what is suicidality and
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many other things so um let's start us
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off with uh what is suicidality Miss
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Mita Dr
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Mita um well there are some things that
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you should know when it comes to suicide
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um it is the third leading cause of
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deaths in young people ages 15 to
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24 uh often times four actually boys are
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four times more likely to die from
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suicide than girls however girls are
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more likely to attempt suicide than
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boys guns are used in more than half of
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Youth
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suicides and in the past 10 years
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suicide grades among young people ages
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10 to 17 have increased by More than
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70% treatment for teen depression and
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Suicidal Thoughts can save lives and
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give young people
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hope um
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and I think that it is important to talk
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about this topic as uncomfortable as it
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may be because talking about it brings
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knowledge which can save a life
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right yep so that sounds thank you for
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all the information in the statistics um
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I think it's really important that we
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spread uh like the knowledge about why
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this is a thing so that we can learn how
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to prevent it so on that note so what
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are some things that teens should know
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um about suicide for example like the
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common causes um Etc so what exactly is
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suicide ideation could you please give
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us like a definition of
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that yes so suicidal ideation is a
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really fancy way of saying thinking
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about
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suicide and when we talk about suicidal
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ideation there are there's passive
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SI and active SI both can feel extremely
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scary um pass of the SI is thinking like
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feeling that you'd be better off dead or
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not thinking about doing anything to
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speed up that process right not thinking
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about anything specific that would be
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harmful to yourself but just that
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thinking
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of man if I don't wake up tomorrow I
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wouldn't be bad right or or thinking I I
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know that when I am driving I'm going to
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make safe
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choices but also thinking if I get in a
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vicious car accident and don't make it
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out alive I wouldn't be
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mad so very deep very
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distressing but when we're saying it
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just in general that's called passive SI
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then we have something called active SI
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and that is very very different that's
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when you're thinking about the specifics
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of harming yourself the how the when the
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where um in active SI an individual
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might take actual steps to getting
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lethal means um with an intent to follow
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through so when we are determining
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suicidal risk we need to know does that
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person have protective factors does that
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person have uh a support system does
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that person have family members that
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they can align on best friends that they
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can lean up do they have hopes goals
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dreams
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wishes for themselves for tomorrow right
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so those are protective factors but but
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if those protective factors are not
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there and there's this sense of
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hopelessness then those are some pretty
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serious warning signs that warrant
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attention and
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hope yeah I've I've had some sibling
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both of my siblings actually have been
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to therapy because of uh suicidal
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thoughts and they've both had passive
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Suicidal
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Tendencies which so I know how like
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stressful it can be to either be that
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person or to be around a person like
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that how stressful it is and how
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difficult it can be um but I also know
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how like warning signs are very
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important and what to look out for so
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what are some warning signs for
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suicide that's a great question so I
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like to break it down into talk behavior
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and mood so warning signs of talk when
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someone says that they don't want to be
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a burden to others when they're talking
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about self harm talking about feeling
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trapped having no reason to live
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experiencing unbearable pain um if their
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talk is very
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depressive um Behavior sleeping too much
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sleeping too little aggression acting
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recklessly um so aggression it could be
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physical or could be like verbal like
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being verbally aggressive and swearing
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and belittling or just acting and
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speaking in a way that isn't of their
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character very very different acting
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recklessly um increasing use of
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substances withdrawing and isolating
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Googling or searching ways to harm
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themselves and one of
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the most significant warning signs is
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giving away prized possessions someone
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does that then then that is a serious
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serious cry for a break of
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confidentiality and asking for help um
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but some warnings warning signs for mood
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include depression loss of Interest in
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preferred activities
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irritability rage increased anxiety or
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feeling humiliation embarrass and
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shame so those are talk behavior and
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mood warning
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signs yeah I've definitely um like now
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that I'm really thinking about it I've
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definitely uh feel like having that
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knowledge is going to help us like
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identify of a friend or that someone we
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know might be experiencing something um
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that maybe we or a professional person
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could help them with um so what should
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we do when we notice these warning signs
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like what's a way that we can bring that
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up without being uh like insensible or
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insensitive sorry sure so the first
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thing is
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that this
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is the first thing you should do
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encourage that person to speak to
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someone um encourage them to speak with
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their parents their school social worker
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their school
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counselor
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um and if they don't want to do it then
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this is the time in your life where it
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is okay to break that
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confidentiality where it's okay to break
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that
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that trust so to speak because I would
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rather have a mad friend than a dead
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friend and so if you are genuinely
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worried for someone's
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well-being then talk to your
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parent then you go to the social worker
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or the school counselor and say
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something there are also different
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schools different kinds of programs that
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are set up where you can
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anonymously um report worrisome Behavior
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or um concerns about a peer um so make
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sure that you check in with your school
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Social Services Department to see what
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resources are available for you also you
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can always call
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988 so um
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247 365
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a
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trained individual will be there to
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answer your call and to speak to you at
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any time day or
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night that is very important that there
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is someone there because I do know
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how sometimes like I know I personally
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have problems where I'm like up at like
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2: 3: a.m. and I just like fall into a
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deep spiral of like negative thoughts
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and go to really dark
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places you can text that number as well
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so you can call 988 or you can text 988
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for example you share a a bedroom with a
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sibling and you don't have a space to
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call and speak privately you can text
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that number as
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well Co yep that's defin I agree that's
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definitely something really important to
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know about um and just to kind of Branch
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off of that um if you're noticing that
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someone is um kind of in that kind of uh
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negative head space um do you think we
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should like avoid do you think you
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should try to cheer them up um like to
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like help oh sorry I'm let me start over
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do you think that we should try to um be
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that positive light in their life or go
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ask for a professional adult's help
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right away because I know sometimes
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people may be lashing out but they're
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just missing um that kind of human
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connection and loneliness so when is it
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appropriate to um seek professional
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help that is a really great
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question always be a friend always try
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to be that source of love and light and
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support
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um and connection you're absolutely
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right start off with
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validating right either I know how this
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feels because you know maybe that is a
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lived experience that you share with
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that person or um I don't know how this
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feels for you but I am here
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um
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and sometimes being there for them says
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means saying
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I'm
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worried you need to talk to someone I'm
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worried um if you don't if you choose to
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not go and speak to
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someone then I may right um so it's not
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GNA it's not saying I'm going to go and
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talk to someone right now behind your
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back right have an open conversation let
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them know your concern give them an
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opportunity Unity to seek help
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themselves offer to go with them if you
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feel comfortable doing so
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um offer to go with them to speak with
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their parents just School social worker
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or whatever it may be and say and if
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they say no no no you don't have to do
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that I'll do it I'll do it I'll talk to
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Mom you can say
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when you know by when um and then you if
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they say tonight tonight I'll do it
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tonight and then they you know get to
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school the next day and still haven't
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talked to your mom you can say you know
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this is
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scary you know I I can't even imagine
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myself having to have that conversation
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with my mom I'm really worried though so
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if you're unable to tell your mom
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tonight then I think you or I or we are
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going to have to go to the social worker
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team so like give some
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Grace but also it's not on
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you right the last part of your question
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was and at one and at what point do you
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seek professional help the moment you
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think of
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it right you don't have to suffer a
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certain amount in order to qualify for
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help you don't have to get to a certain
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point to qualify for help um you don't
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even have to be struggling to qualify
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for help just need ask for help and and
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it's there I'd love to actually chime in
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and speak a little bit about language to
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use when talking about suicide because
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the language we used to talk about
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suicide is incredibly
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important um it's not only important to
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know what language to use but it's also
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important to know what language to stay
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away from so we're going to say that
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someone died by Suicide or ended their
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life or took their life
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um but we're not going to say pleed
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suicide or committed suicide or
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successfully whatever because that makes
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it sound like a person had accomplished
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something you know um committed makes it
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sound like the person would broke the
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law right um and it's not a criminal
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act uh also we can say suicide attempt
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attempted suicide attempted to end their
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life but we're not going to say that the
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person experienced a failed attempt or
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an unsuccessful attempt failed and
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unsuccessful makes it seem like the
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person has failed for not being able to
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kill themselves which is not the message
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that we want to portray um so those
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are ways that we could be there to
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connect be there to support to uplift
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and to not shame because language can be
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really really important that old adage
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sticks and stones may break my bone but
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words will never hurt me is very
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incorrect because words definitely
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matter right thank you that's really
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that's a really thorough answer and I'm
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glad that uh more people in the world is
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going to be able to be more um sensitive
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about the way that we talk about um
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suicidality uh speaking of the language
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thing um I just have one thing to add on
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to that so
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this is you do you agree that this is
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like a topic that we shouldn't shy away
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from because I know there there can be a
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lot of controversy because it is a
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trigger for some people but um like
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stringing away completely from these
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types of conversations aren't healthy
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either
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correct yes um that was a really really
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good point and thank you for bringing it
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up definitely talk about it it is
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important to have difficult and UNC
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comfortable
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conversations and um then you said that
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you know that it can be a trigger for
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some
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people triggers
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happen right there are things in life
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that are
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triggering somebody cuts me off on the
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road I can get triggered worried oh my
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gosh I was almost in a car accident you
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know um my friend lashed out and yelled
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at
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me whether I deserved it or not I don't
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know but that could be
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triggering We Can't Stop ourselves from
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feeling
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triggered but it's how intense the
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trigger impacts
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it
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that that needs the support and the help
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and the
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guidance talking about uncomfortable
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things while triggering shouldn't be
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avoided um but if somebody is
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experiencing extreme depression fear
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anxiety or anger or they feel like
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they're out of
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control um or they're starting to hear
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or see things that other people don't um
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or if you know that a friend or or
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yourself hasn't eaten or slept for 3
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days in a
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row um I'm not saying zero but like
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close to not a lot at all if you're at
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three
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days get help if you are concerned get
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help if you're unsure get
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hope great um and one last thing just so
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we can end this with like a this is not
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like a
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final Destiny I don't want to say
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destination but uh just to make sure
00:21:00
that suicidality and thinking about
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suicide isn't like a final um
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Cornerstone in your life uh so what so
00:21:08
what happens when um you do seek help
00:21:12
for having these types of thoughts um
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like what happens when you are in touch
00:21:17
with that professional um like guidance
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an
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adult so what is going to happen is the
00:21:25
the adult in in the immediate
00:21:28
immediate future is going to do a risk
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assessment to
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determine um whether what kind of
00:21:37
support that person
00:21:39
needs and then steps will be taken
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depending on the severity of risk of
00:21:49
harm to self or others
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um and that the you know subsequent
00:21:58
steps looks different depending on the
00:22:02
outcome of that risk
00:22:05
assessment often
00:22:08
times you have to go to an ER for that
00:22:14
evaluation but just because you're
00:22:16
getting a psychological evaluation done
00:22:20
or a risk assessment done it does not
00:22:22
mean that you're going to be
00:22:24
hospitalized it does not mean that you
00:22:27
have to go impatient one does not equal
00:22:31
the
00:22:34
other sure it's an option not going to
00:22:37
lie right it's it's out there for those
00:22:41
that need that level of support but
00:22:44
there's also very very high likelihood
00:22:48
that if the individuals at low or
00:22:51
moderate risk they can be treated in
00:22:53
outpatient setting yeah my my brother
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was actually uh had a psych evaluation
00:22:59
at an ER and was considered an
00:23:01
outpatient at one of the biggest uh
00:23:04
mental health facilities where I live
00:23:07
because of it but like we were all
00:23:11
stressed but getting that help is so
00:23:14
beneficial and I believe he truly is
00:23:16
better for getting that
00:23:19
help these are important conversations
00:23:22
to have thank you so much for having
00:23:26
me
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[Music]
00:23:43
all
