Tips to notice warning signs of suicide during the holidays

47 ABC – Tuesday morning, the Cape Henlopen School District mourns the loss of one of their students.

During this time, it can be stressful, painful, and confusing and that’s why we wanted to bring some clarity to the situation and shed some light on suicide prevention efforts.

A therapist from the Life Crisis Center, Chris Bozick, says the CDC has been documenting an increase in suicide. There’s been an uptick in Maryland by almost 9% and 6% in the first state. Plus, suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents.

While the holidays can be a cheerful time for many, that’s not the same attitude for others. But keep in mind, there can be warning signs to look out for when you’re with your loved ones this holiday season.

“There could be changes in the family like maybe lost a loved one, separation divorce, there could be so many things, it can be financial difficulties so many different stressors. You want to look for someone who’s isolating maybe not maybe tearful, using a lot of alcohol or self medicating with drug those can be warning signs,” Bozick tells us.

A change in behavior is a key factor to notice for adults or children. For children, sometimes they will do drawings or journal their distress.

We’re told a big reason why adolescents get into a funk is because of a relationship break up and teens tend to react before thinking.

So the best thing you can do this holiday season is to make sure that your loved one doesn’t feel alone and to show that you care. “You can ask someone are you having thoughts of harming yourself and they will generally be honest and it’s a sigh of relief sometimes and where someone recognizes that they are struggling,” Bozick says.

The Cape Henlopen School District did release a statement:

“We are deeply saddened over the loss of the life of a Cape Henlopen High School student. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family members and friends of those involved.

At this very difficult time, our focus is on providing counseling and support to our students and staff. School, District, and state-level resources have been scheduled to provide as much counseling and support as possible to our entire Cape family.”

If you or anyone you know needs the Life Crisis hotline number, you can call them at 410-749-4357.