Teaching Suicide Warning Signs First Step to Prevention, Speaker Says

In the years after the suicide of radio personality Mark Farell's brother, Farrell said he also struggled with bouts of anxiety, depression and intrusive thoughts. 

"I thought about running in front of the train while I was waiting for the subway," he said at Tuesday's suicide prevention forum, sponsored by BoroSAFE.

Farrell said this experience—a familiar one to many people when watching trains, walking on bridges or standing on high cliffs—is called an "intrusive thought," a sudden notion that when acted upon, often leads to suicidal death.

For Farrell, it also marked the point at which he was willing to finally discuss his ongoing battles with anxiety attacks and insomnia with another person—and when he started to make headway in those battles.

"There's still that stigma that going to a doctor—a psychologist, a psychiatrist or just a licensed social worker—but it helps," Farrell said. "I was one of those who thought the four-letter word you shouldn't use in public was 'help.'"

Farrell shared his experiences with an audience of more than 100 area students, parents, school and social workers at the forum, hoping to highlight the warning signs and steps to take when someone may be having suicidal thoughts.

And with about 50 students at Hillsborough High School atempting suicide each year, he said it's crucial for the community to learn to recognize someone struggling and to act.

"Be on the lookout for which ones of your friends may be having a tough time," he said. Though he warned many people will not open up when feeling suicidal, and may even be resentful, he added "The worst thing you can do is to say nothing about it."

The key signs of adolescents he noted were:

• Declining grades; 
• Giving away things that have personal meaning; e.g., favorite collectibles, gifts;
• Weight loss;
• Lack of interest in things usually drawn to;
• Change in personality.

Common causes of adolescent depressions are broken relationships, bullying, not meeting parents' expectations academically, and feeling they don't fit in with other students.

"Genetics has a lot to do with it; alcoholism can have a lot to do with it, too," Farrell said. 

Farrell's talk opened the forum, which also included a panel of students in the Hillsborough High School "Sources of Strength" group, and parent Donneta Johnson, who spoke about the death of her son Jonah.

If anyone is experiencing suicidal thoughts or is depressed, they can call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.