Knowing Suicide Warning Signs Key To Prevention

The tragic and public death of teenager Abraham Biggs brings to light two social phenomena that continue to be poorly understood: the threat of suicide and how to prevent it; as well as the so-called bystander effect, which is exaggerated by the detached nature of communication via the Internet. Suicide is often used as a cry for help -- a call to put an end to intolerable emotional pain.

Many might see those who talk about killing themselves as just crying wolf, but there is a clear way to differentiate between those who truly intend to follow through from those who haven't reached that breaking point.

Biggs had a plan: a well thought out, calculated strategy carried out in front of a wide online audience. A professional would have known that his suicide letter posted on another site, a Webcam set up and history of depression were clear indications that he meant business.

Unfortunately, the basics of suicide prevention aren't common knowledge to enough members of the public.

Often times we see ourselves as being helpless to influence someone in such dire need of help. However, asking the simple question, "Do you have a plan?" can save someone's life. Anyone planning suicide needs swift and professional help and should be under that kind of care until they can be stabilized....

Morton M. Silverman of The National Suicide Prevention Resource Center, in Newton, Mass., says, "Most sociologists would agree that suicidal planning is a key variable to elicit and evaluate as part of a clinical assessment for imminent risk for suicide."

Most suicide prevention specialists would want to intervene before suicidal planning emerges or before planning "goes too far."

Of course this does not address the most powerful contributing factor to Biggs' untimely death, which in my opinion is the bystander effect.

The term bystander effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress; it was a phenomenon made famous by the Kitty Genovese murder.

With so many people watching Briggs online, no one even bothered to alert authorities until 12 hours later, probably assuming that someone else would take action first. Perhaps they felt communicating with Abraham directly online might steer him away from overdose, but again, Biggs needed the help and supervision of professionals.

As discussion of mental illness continues to be a taboo subject within the African-American community, we should not be surprised to see more cases like this in the future. The only way to change this will be by removing the stigma about mental illness, educating the public about recognizing warning signs and realizing that you, as an individual, can save lives.