To get help
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
A phone conversation with our 15-year-old granddaughter reminded me of how far we have come in our awareness of suicide. She is part of a team at her high school that is raising awareness and prevention of self-harm during September, which is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.
I first became aware of suicide soon after graduation from high school when a classmate fatally shot himself. He had always appeared cheerful and concerned with the welfare of others. During college, a graduate student acquaintance jumped to his death from a chapel tower. In medical school the suicide of a resident physician briefly shocked us. A female classmate killed herself soon after graduation while in the early months of her internship. During a shared rotation in pathology, I had noted white scars on both of her wrists. If we had only known how to reach out.
A revered role-model died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound during my early years of clinical practice.
The topic of suicide or our own mental health was never raised during our medical training. At a time when several of us were grieving the loss of a young patient, a junior faculty member told us, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” As students and trainees, we felt that acknowledging depression or even suicidal thoughts would be viewed as a sign of weakness that would disqualify us from medical careers. I suspect the same attitude prevailed in many other educational and vocational arenas.