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The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) said Hidalgo County had the highest per-capita suicide rate in the state 2013-17 at 64.8, followed by Catron County at 56.2, Taos County at 36, Sierra County at 36.1, Quay County at 33.2 and Grant County at 32.4. The lowest was Harding County, which reported no suicides. Bernalillo County’s suicide rate was 20.8 per 100,000 and Santa Fe County’s was 23.7. NMDOH said “20 New Mexico counties had age-adjusted suicide rates that were significantly higher than the 2016 U.S. rate.”
New Mexico was fourth among all states in suicide rates per capita in 2017, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, averaging 23.3 per 100,000.
“Since 1995, New Mexico suicide rates have been consistently 1.5 times higher than national rates,” according to NMDOH. “From 2006-16, suicide deaths increased in New Mexico by about 25 percent compared to a 23 percent increase in the U.S.”
Suicide death rates in New Mexico are at least 50 percent higher than U.S. rates during the last 20 years, NMDOH said.
In 2017, suicide was the ninth leading cause of death in New Mexico, according to NMDOH, the second leading cause for persons aged 5-34 and the fourth leading cause of death for persons aged 35-44. Suicide accounted for 15,048 years of potential life lost, fourth after unintentional injuries, cancer and heart-disease deaths, NMDOH said.
In New Mexico, 56 percent of suicides were by firearm, 21 percent by suffocation and 18 percent by poisoning. Among unsuccessful suicide attempts, 75 percent were by poisoning, 16 percent were by cutting/piercing and one percent was by firearms.
The highest per capita suicide rate by state was Montana, at 28, followed by Alaska at 27.9, and Wyoming at 26. New Mexico was fourth at 23.3, Idaho was fifth at 23.2 and Utah was sixth at 22.7. The states with the fewest suicides per capita were California at 10.5 per 100,000, Maryland at 9.8, Massachusetts at 9.5, New Jersey at 8.3 and New York at 8.1.
The national Centers for Disease Control reported that about 10.6 million people seriously considered suicide in 2018, 3.2 million people made a plan to commit suicide, 1.4 million attempted suicide and more than 48,000 died. Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S; one person dies by suicide every 11 minutes. The national suicide average rose from 10.4 to 13.5 per 100,000 people from 2000 to 2016.
The World Health Organization lists the U.S. suicide rate at 13.7 per 100,000, which it says is the 34th highest in the world, among 183 countries listed. Guyana was the highest at 30.2 per 100,000, Lesotho second at 28.9, Russia third at 26.5, Lithuania fourth at 25.7 and Suriname fifth at 23.2. The bottom five were Jamaica at 2, Grenada at 1.7, the Bahamas at 1.6, Antigua/Barbuda at .5 and Barbados at .4. The U.S. had the fifth highest suicide rate among wealthy countries.
Editor’s note: This is the first in a series of articles about behavioral health in Doña Ana County. The series will focus on a wide range of issues related to behavioral health in our communities, and it will spotlight programs and care providers who are making a difference in our area.
By Mike Cook
Las Cruces Bulletin
In any given year, more than 40 residents of Doña Ana County will likely commit suicide, said Rev. Margaret Short, Ph.D., who is director of pastoral care at Memorial Medical Center (MMC). That’s a little under the New Mexico average, but well above the national average.
Department head and professor Satya Rao, Ph.D., of New Mexico State University’s College of Health and Social Services Public Health Services, said she is particularly concerned about suicide ideation among young adults and children.
“We need to focus a lot of attention on young people and really understand the disconnectedness they feel,” Rao said. “They are so lost in technology. If I can find the answer in my smartphone, why in the world would I talk to anyone?’”
The result is often isolation, Rao said, leaving the individual with a connection to technology but not to other people. He or she may not know where to turn for help with feelings that come out of isolation, which sometimes include thoughts of suicide.
Many young people need to be reminded regularly “that someone is looking out for them,” Rao said. “A lot of us feel that we are invisible.” The reliance on self-sufficiency and the uniquely American commitment to self-reliance “really comes in the way of good mental health sometimes,” she said. “Life can be so vulnerable. We have to rely on others to help us through.”
Isolation is not confined to young people, Rao said. Her conversations with staff and volunteers for the city’s meal-delivery program show that many older people are “so happy to see this person” delivering their meals “because they don’t have the means to go out.”
The Las Cruces-based nonprofit Southern New Mexico Suicide Prevention and Survivor Support Coalition that Rao and Short belong to has created a brochure about available services that is now provided to people getting meal deliveries, Rao said.
When she speaks at employee orientations at MMC, which include housekeepers, nurses, physicians and department directors, Short said she talks about “how to be intentional” in looking for signs that a patient, a co-worker or a hospital visitor is struggling emotionally.
It only takes a moment to make sure someone is doing okay, Rao said. When you check in, she said, “be intentional, be purposeful. Be extra sensitive and caring. Ask that extra question” to really know if a friend, family member, co-worker, classmate or even a casual acquaintance isn’t doing well and could use help.
Rao also advises looking out for difficult circumstances in a person’s life, including divorce, losing the custody of a child, health issues and other trauma-inducing events.
“By asking a few questions, we can truly understand what is going on,” she said. Alcohol and drug abuse can also be factors.
When you check in with another person, know that you don’t have to go it alone, Short said. Trained psychologists and social workers sometimes have that same fear, she said, because they aren’t sure how to proceed. “There’s help available,” she said.
If you discover that someone needs help, go with or take him or her to a mental health professional or a hospital emergency room, Short said, and/or help that person “work out a plan” to receive care.
Rao said she has escorted a number of students to the NMSU counseling center, and Short said she often has accompanied people to MMC’s family clinic to get help.
Just helping someone to realize that he or she is not alone is a “major benefit,” Short said. Many people with suicidal ideation are unable to discuss the issue with family or close friends. “They feel so alone,” she said. And no matter your age or how long you’ve been dealing with an issue, “it’s never too late,” Short said.
“There’s someone who truly cares,” Rao said. “It’s amazing what that can do,” Short added.
Preventing suicide requires a community effort, both said, which includes families, educators, religious leaders and elected officials working together.
Adult Suicide Survivor Support Group
This is a free, peer-led group open to any adult survivor of suicide (including someone who has experienced the death by suicide of a friend or loved one). It meets 4:30-6 p.m. the first and third Monday of every month at Mesilla Valley Hospice, 299 E. Montana Ave. The group is facilitated by the Southern New Mexico Suicide Prevention and Survivors’ Support Coalition. Meetings are confidential and provide a safe place for a person to express his or her feelings about suicide.
Getting help in Las Cruces
Warning signs of suicide
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