Feb 11, 2009 4:01 pm US/Eastern
Job Loss And Despair: Suicide Hotline Calls Spike
How To Get Help For Yourself Or Someone You Love
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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For some people, the difference between having a job and being unemployed is the difference between life and death.
AP
For some people, the difference between having a job and being unemployed is the difference between life and death.
As our economic crisis deepens we're learning of a spike in calls to suicide hotlines. On average, there are 32,000 suicides in the United States each year and 800,000 suicide attempts.
Abra Kinkopf, in the Chicago office of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), has heard the despair on the other end of the line.
"You usually hear them say they feel hopeless, they feel worthless and they feel lost," Kinkopf said.
Some callers are considering suicide because they have been laid off or fear they will soon be out of work.
So when someone calls and says my life is unbearable, I've lost my job and I don't want to live, Kinkopf tries to get them to keep calm.
Then she tries to help. This is saddest result of the economic crisis: calls to suicide hotlines across the country and here in Chicago are up 20 percent.
Some unemployed callers believe life would be better for their families if they were not around.
As CBS station WBBM-TV reports, it's a situation that calls for compassion.
"That's all part of the major syndrome of clinical depression -- the hopelessness, worthlessness; things are never going to get better. The world would be better off, my family would be better off without me," NAMI Executive Director Suzanne Andriukitis said.
Losing a job is traumatic for anyone, which is why attorney Sally Scott advises companies to lay off workers as humanely as possible.
Be patient and respectful, she says. Answers all their questions and keep security guards at arm's length.
"Don't have security standing outside human resources to escort to them to their desks and then out of the facility. They're not criminals," Scott said.
Still, a sensitive layoff does not calm the fears of mental health professionals about what's likely to happen this year.
"Not only will there be additional suicides and those numbers will go up but there will be a lot more individuals who are seriously depressed," Andriukitis said.
Call-takers have been trained on how to determine whether a suicide threat is serious, and they suggest you know the signs, too:
How specific is the suicide plan? Exactly when does your friend or loved one plan to do it?
How will it be done?
And look for significant changes in that person's situation or mood. Has he lost a job? Does she appear depressed?
There is help for you or someone you know. You can call NAMI at (312)563-0444, or call toll free, (800)SUICIDE.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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