Written by Anne Moss Rogers, Suicide Prevention Speaker
One of the signs of someone who might be living with depression and even suicidal thoughts is a person who visits the school nurse, the doctor, ER or urgent care often. Research has shown a large percentage of those who visit the ER are at risk of suicide. (Do keep in mind that everyone who has depression isn’t suicidal and every person who has suicidal thoughts isn’t necessarily living with depression.)
It’s not because “it’s all in their head” or psychosomatic
It’s not because “it’s all in their head” or “psychosomatic” but more than depression lowers the immune system and they catch whatever is going around or take risks which makes them more prone to accidents. In the case of my son, all of that was true but because of extreme anxiety, he’d tighten his muscles even while he slept which led to sore muscles, phantom moving pains in his back, and debilitating headaches. And then there were the panic attacks which he thought meant he was dying before we worked on strategies for that.
I knew the first name of every school nurse at every school my son Charles went to. They had me on speed dial back when there was such a thing. They didn’t even know I had an older son but they knew (and loved) Charles. He was also at our primary care at least four times more often than my older son throughout the years.
Unfortunately, since the pandemic, school administrators hyper-focused on “loss of learning,” will encourage the school nurse to get the kid back to class ASAP, not allowing for an opportunity for that child to unload. That’s why I think we need more school wellness centers to be the triage for the low-hanging fruit—kids who just need to be heard and where they can reflect and take a minute in an atmosphere designed for that. This prevents people from getting into a crisis.
Workplaces should have a place like that, too. Imagine what that would do to productivity and retention.
In memory of my son Charles, the funniest most popular kid in school who lived with depression, and addiction and died by suicide in 2015 at the age of 20.