By Jessica Setnick, MS, RD, CEDRD, Remuda Ranch at The Meadows Senior Fellow
Imagine the worst physical pain you have felt in your life. Was it
childbirth? A gunshot wound? Appendicitis? A broken leg? Third-degree
burn? Motorcycle crash?Now imagine the worst emotional pain you have ever felt. Have you lost a loved one? More than one? Sent a child overseas to war? Supported a friend during a slow death from cancer? Witnessed a tragedy? Been betrayed? Left at the altar? Put a lifelong pet to sleep?
In any of these situations, you may have experienced pain so
intense that, at least for a moment, you wanted to die. A pain so severe
that you would consider any option to escape or make it stop.
But something kept you from ending your life.
Either you knew you could get help, you had hope that the pain would fade, you could see a future some day without pain, your survival instinct kicked in and pushed you onward, you knew that you couldn’t willingly leave those who love and depend on you, or you were protected by people who knew of your pain and who kept you safe until you healed.
This is the tragedy of suicide: that at the same time that someone is suffering such intense emotional grief and pain, he or she also has no hope that it will fade, has lost the ability to see a future without pain, believes that others might be better off without them, and does not share the pain with someone who can help.
This is why we must end the stigma of eating disorders. Too many people are suffering in silence, perhaps not even knowing that their pain has a cause, a treatment, and a way out. They are blaming themselves for the pain they experience, the pain they believe they are causing their loved ones. They either believe that death is the best or only option, or the pain is so overwhelmingly severe that they feel compelled to end it permanently.
Every suicide causes ripples of pain. Every person lost is a tragedy. Numbers are irrelevant in the face of a life cut short. But for purposes of education, statistics about suicide and eating disorders tell a horrifying story.
The suicide rate among American veterans has made news recently because it is twice as high as the national average. Yet the suicide rate among women with anorexia is 30 to 50 times higher than average, depending on the source. Up to 25 percent of deaths from eating disorders come from suicide.
It is National Suicide Prevention Month, but every day is suicide prevention day. Everyone is at risk, since depression and eating disorders often go unseen. There is no test for identifying suicide risk, but the American Association of Suicidology created the Is Path Warm? acronym to help you spot risky behaviors:
If someone you know with an eating disorder is exhibiting these behaviors, call Remuda Ranch at 1-866-390-5100 for help.
But something kept you from ending your life.
Either you knew you could get help, you had hope that the pain would fade, you could see a future some day without pain, your survival instinct kicked in and pushed you onward, you knew that you couldn’t willingly leave those who love and depend on you, or you were protected by people who knew of your pain and who kept you safe until you healed.
This is the tragedy of suicide: that at the same time that someone is suffering such intense emotional grief and pain, he or she also has no hope that it will fade, has lost the ability to see a future without pain, believes that others might be better off without them, and does not share the pain with someone who can help.
This is why we must end the stigma of eating disorders. Too many people are suffering in silence, perhaps not even knowing that their pain has a cause, a treatment, and a way out. They are blaming themselves for the pain they experience, the pain they believe they are causing their loved ones. They either believe that death is the best or only option, or the pain is so overwhelmingly severe that they feel compelled to end it permanently.
Every suicide causes ripples of pain. Every person lost is a tragedy. Numbers are irrelevant in the face of a life cut short. But for purposes of education, statistics about suicide and eating disorders tell a horrifying story.
The suicide rate among American veterans has made news recently because it is twice as high as the national average. Yet the suicide rate among women with anorexia is 30 to 50 times higher than average, depending on the source. Up to 25 percent of deaths from eating disorders come from suicide.
It is National Suicide Prevention Month, but every day is suicide prevention day. Everyone is at risk, since depression and eating disorders often go unseen. There is no test for identifying suicide risk, but the American Association of Suicidology created the Is Path Warm? acronym to help you spot risky behaviors:
- Ideation (threatening to hurt or kill oneself)
- Substance abuse (increased or excessive substance use)
- Purposelessness (no reason for living)
- Anxiety
- Trapped (feeling there’s no way out)
- Hopelessness (about the future)
- Withdrawal (withdrawing from friends, family, activities)
- Anger
- Recklessness
- Mood changes
If someone you know with an eating disorder is exhibiting these behaviors, call Remuda Ranch at 1-866-390-5100 for help.
