Sheri Adler at an American Behavioral Health Systems office in Wenatchee, Wash. At age 72, Adler attempted to take her own life.Jovelle Tamayo for NPR
Dr. Julie Rickard thought her visit to Wisconsin over the Christmas holiday would bring a break from her day job working in #suicideprevention in Wenatchee, Wash.
The visit didn’t go as planned. After a tense fight broke out between her mother and another family member, everyone dispersed. Rickard readied herself for the trip back to the Pacific Northwest.
At the airport, she received a call from her mother, Sheri Adler. This was not out of the ordinary — Adler, like many adoring mothers, always calls her daughter after parting ways.
On the phone, Adler wanted to tell her daughter how much she loved and appreciated her.
“Normally I would think, ‘Oh that’s a sign of #suicide,’ but it was during my layover,” Rickard says. “I had just left her, and my whole life she had always cried when I left and would always say I love you.”
This time was different. “This time,” Rickard says, “it was goodbye.”
When the plane landed, Rickard received another call. Her mother, at age 72, had tried to take her own life.
“I went home, and I guess I just didn’t know how to handle it,” Adler says about the #suicide attempt. “It was just more than I could put together … I just made a stupid mistake. I guess I just wanted to give up, because I felt like I wasn’t a good mom. And that’s all I ever wanted to be.”
The American Behavioral Health Systems facility in Wenatchee, Wash., includes suicide-safe features and positive images of the Pacific Northwest, aimed to motivate patients.Jovelle Tamayo for NPR
Since the attempt in January, Rickard has helped her mother find care. Adler now takes medication and meets with a therapist for #depression and help coping with family issues. They both say she’s doing better.
Still, the episode reflects the vulnerability of a group that researchers call a “forgotten” population, particularly when it comes to the issue of #mentalhealth: senior citizens.
The Risk Among Seniors
Left: Dr. Julie Rickard and her mother, Sheri Adler. Right: Rickard shows suicide-safe features at an American Behavioral Health Systems facility in Wenatchee, Wash., on July 23.Jovelle Tamayo for NPR
Across the country, #suicide rates have been on the rise, and that rise has struck the nation’s #seniors particularly hard. Of the more than 47,000 suicides that took place in 2017, those 65 and up accounted for more than 8,500 of them, according to the #CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention. Men who are 65 and older face the highest risk of #suicide, while adults 85 and older, regardless of gender, are the second most likely age group to die from #suicide.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 47.8 million people over the age of 65 in the U.S. as of 2015. By 2060, that number is projected to reach 98.2 million.
That concerns #mentalhealth experts like Dr. Jerry Reed, who manages suicide, violence and injury prevention at the nonprofit Education Development Center.
“It’s likely that if we have a problem now, we may very well have a problem in the future if we don’t pay attention,” says Reed.
What’s particularly worrying, say experts like Reed, is that when #seniors attempt #suicide, they are far more likely to die than those who are younger.
A kitchen with positive and calming imagery at American Behavioral Health Systems.Jovelle Tamayo for NPR
Research has found that one out of four senior citizens that attempt #suicide dies, compared to one out of 200 attempts for young adults. While the precise reasons for these figures remain unclear, experts suggest #seniors are frailer and thus more vulnerable to self-inflicted injury. They can also be more isolated, which makes rescues more difficult, and perhaps even plan their attempts more carefully.
Why #Seniors Are At Risk
There are myriad reasons that elderly adults are more susceptible to the nation’s 10th leading cause of death.
One of the most prevalent is loneliness. Older adults often live in isolation and may be struggling with the death of a lifelong husband or wife, or with the grief of losing other close family or friends.
Research has shown that bereavement is “disproportionately experienced by older adults” and can often trigger physical or mental health illnesses like “major #depression and complicated grief.” With children often far from home, parents and grandparents can be left miles away, craving the love and human connection family visitation brings.
Aging can also present transitions that are difficult to cope with. Approximately 80% of older adults live with a chronic disease – such as arthritis, diabetes and high blood pressure — and 77% have at least two, according to The National Council on Aging.
As senior citizens lose the ability to complete once routine daily tasks, depression can set in. Physical ailments might end a senior’s ability to drive, read, engage in conversation or other activities that allow a person to stay independent or find meaning.
“Transitions are a very difficult period for someone in life, and if you’re not prepared for that transition, you tend to notice every single behavior that marginalizes or sets you aside from other people,” Reed says.
For Adler, it was a combination of factors that led her to want to end her life. She lives more than 1,500 miles from her daughter, whom she describes as her best friend, and that distance, she says, and the isolation that came with it, proved difficult.
“It helps to be around other people … when [my daughter is] so far away, it just seems hopeless,” Adler says. “And I did something stupid … I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
Rickard, a psychologist, feels that when her mother lost the ability to read books in the aftermath of a stroke, her #mentalhealth was negatively affected and she lost a part of her identity.
Following a rash of #suicides in nearby #seniorcitizens communities, Dr. Julie Rickard in 2012 founded the Suicide Prevention Coalition of North Central Washington State.Jovelle Tamayo for NPR
Adler also says that as an older person, she sometimes feels #stigmatized — she says people avoid talking to her and don’t want to engage. Growing older in America can be “very hard,” she says. “People don’t talk to you.”
Research on #suicide among the elderly is scant, which means loved ones and caretakers are often unaware of the warning signs. But experts say there are certain behaviors that should be considered red flags. These include stockpiling medication, rushing to revise a will, using alcohol or drugs increasingly, altering sleep habits, sharing statements of hopelessness and withdrawing socially.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention also warns of seniors saying goodbye or expressing the feeling of being a burden.
Julie Rickard shows one of the nature images hung up in the American Behavioral Health Systems facility that aim to encourage patients.Jovelle Tamayo for NPR
Following a rash of #suicides in nearby #seniorcitizens communities, Rickard in 2012 founded the Suicide Prevention Coalition of North Central Washington State. The coalition’s work has helped drive down the number of #suicides in the area.
Now, Rickard works as the program director at American Behavioral Health Systems, a provider of substance abuse treatment services. She is also spearheading one of the nation’s only pilot projects to coach physicians and residents in long-term care on the warning signs of #suicide.
Rickard believes that through human contact, medical and psychiatric help, exercise, physical well-being, regular visits to primary care providers and hydration, seniors can improve their #mentalhealth.
A bed designed to help prevent #suicide at American Behavioral Health Systems.Jovelle Tamayo for NPR
“Oftentimes there’s a belief that it’s a normal part of aging for people to feel bad, or to go through loss, or to have lots of death and grief, and to just not recover from their #depression, when in truth it’s very recoverable and it’s something we should be targeting,” Rickard says.
Unfortunately, Rickard says, seniors are often left behind in America.
“If we treated them they wouldn’t feel like they were swimming in the middle of the ocean with no life preserver,” Rickard says.
As for her own mother, she says she hopes she now realizes there is nothing she could ever do to be a “burden” to her. “It’s a gift to me when she asks for help or I get to be there for or just spending time with her,” Rickard says. “And what I hope millions of people hear in this message is that they’re not a burden either.”
If you or someone you know may be considering #suicide, contact the #NationalSuicidePreventionLifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (En Español: 1-888-628-9454; deaf and hard of hearing: 1-800-799-4889) or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
This story was produced and edited for broadcast by Samantha Balaban and Evie Stone.
JamesDonaldson notes:
Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.
Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.
Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space. #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.
James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.
In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.
He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.
James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!
For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:
www.StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
JamesD@StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
1-800-745-3161 (voicemail & fax)
James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.
If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org
