Preventing Suicide in Eagle County

Living in a place as magnificent as the Vail Valley brings many wonderful things to our lives, however, it does not protect us from the tragedy of suicide. On December 25th 2014, Scotty Lamothe, the brother of local realtor and SpeakUp ReachOut Board Member Corey Lamothe, committed suicide after a 14-year struggle with depression, addiction and suicidal thoughts. On September 12th we will remember Scotty and many others who have been lost to suicide at the SpeakUp ReachOut Community Walk and Heartbeat Memorial Balloon Launch in Eagle and the First Annual Scotty Lamothe Memorial Golf Tournament in Vail. 

According to the most recent statistics available, Colorado ranks seventh in the nation for completed suicides and Eagle County has one of the highest rates of suicide in the state of Colorado. While we don’t have the data to explain exactly why these elevated rates of self-harm occur here, we do know that the group at highest risk for suicide is white men between the ages of 25 and 54, a demographic well represented here in our mountain community. Other risk factors include unemployment, which can be a significant problem in our area where good jobs can be hard to find and are often seasonal, relationship loss, financial problems, depression or other mental illnesses, substance abuse, owning a gun, aggressive or impulsive tendencies, lack of access to mental health resources and perceived stigma about talking about suicide or reaching out for help.  While many people, establish permanent homes in the Vail Valley and become involved and connected members of our community, others may be at risk due to the isolation and lack of social support that can come from second home ownership, transience, and being distant from family and lifelong friends.

SpeakUp ReachOut was founded in 2009 to provide suicide prevention education and resources for Eagle County. We meet at the Avon Municipal building on the third Thursday of every month at 4pm. If you’re interested in getting involved, you are welcome to join us. Find out more by checking out our website, www.speakupreachout.org.

It is unsettling to realize that most suicidal individuals do not actually want to die. They just want to end their pain and they feel they have run out of options. The good news is that suicidal crises tend to be short-lived and that suicidal intent or risk can be detected early and lives can be saved. When suicidal people survive an attempt, they are usually relieved and grateful for their rescue. Services available in our community for the assessment and treatment of suicidal behaviors and their underlying causes include private practice psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and psychotherapists, as well as school counselors and clinics. Mental heath services are covered by health insurance and some practitioners and clinics provide sliding scale fees based on ability to pay. If you would like help but aren’t sure where to begin, talking to your physician is a good first stop. If you or someone you care about is in immediate danger, call 911, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-800-273-TALK or Colorado Crisis Services at 1-844-493-TALK.

Sadly, talking about suicide still carries a stigma. People used to avoid talking about other serious health problems, like cancer, and this veil of secrecy only compounded the suffering of affected individuals and their families. Open dialog leads to solutions, support and constructive conversations. It’s time for open dialog about this serious, preventable, public health crisis. Talking about suicide will not encourage people to consider suicide. Instead, it can save their lives.

This week is National Suicide Prevention Week. This year’s theme is “Preventing Suicide: Reaching Out and Saving Lives.” Please join your friends, colleagues, neighbors and SpeakUp ReachOut in drawing attention to suicide prevention and reducing the number of lives shaken by needless, tragic and preventable deaths. You can make a difference. Come walk with us on September 12 as we remember, reflect and revitalize hope. You can register online or just come by the Dusty Boot at 8:30 am to register onsite.

If you or someone you care about is in immediate danger, call 911, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, 1-800-273-TALK

Jill Squyres, PhD is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Eagle. She is also on the Board of SpeakUp ReachOut. She can be reached at 970-306-6986 or drjsquyres@mac.com

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Redefining yourself and embracing possibilities or why exactly did I move from Texas to Colorado anyway?

This spring, my family and I moved to our own little corner of paradise. After 22 years in San Antonio Texas, I relocated to Eagle Colorado, a small town in the Rocky Mountains near Vail. We’ve been here for almost 9 months. I still wake up each morning with a smile on my face and the vague desire to pinch myself to prove I’m not still asleep and dreaming.  “Yes, I REALLY do live here.  WOW!”

When I was young I thought a lot about where I wanted to live someday. My dream was to live someplace with no winter where professionally I could be a “big fish in a medium sized pond". I also wanted to have a really great house, something I came to jokingly refer to as "house lust."  Of course, I also wanted (among other things) a wonderful husband, wonderful kids, wonderful friends, good health, money in the bank and career success.  But this second list was more general because it wasn’t location specific.  

I knew I couldn’t have everything on my list if I stayed in California.  San Antonio appeared to fit the bill reasonably well so I moved there in 1990.  Over time, I found myself growing tired of the constant heat, the rather generic suburban life style and engaging professionally in that “medium sized pond”.  It was time for a little soul-searching and I began re-evaluating my dreams.  I’d always thought of myself as a beach person.  When I lived in California, I was only a short bike ride away from the Pacific.  Of course, when I settled in San Antonio, I had to make peace with the fact that it took much more effort and planning than hopping on my bicycle to get to the coast.  I came to accept that while I did indeed love the ocean, it was pretty easy to visit wonderful beaches so it was perfectly fine not to live near one.

 I found myself waxing nostalgic about fall and spring and bright clear winter days.  In particular, I yearned for the crunch of leaves underfoot and cool autumn nights hinting of a winter that was just around the corner.   I missed the warmth of toasty fires in the fire place, the wonder of snow flakes falling, the fresh clean smell of coldness and the pleasant feeling that comes when chilly cheeks begin to warm upon stepping into a heated house.   I longed for the promise of a spring filled with young plants emerging from cold damp soil, gentle rain, burgeoning flowers and that clean fresh scent of newness that permeates springtime air.  I missed the comforting rhythm of the seasonal march and the pleasant anticipation of the changing weather, activities and scenery that come with each new season. I came to realize that I was ready for four seasons again, so long as winter wasn’t bitterly cold. I’d always loved playing a mental game in which I would ponder questions like, “beach person or mountain person”? Well, I’d enjoyed the beach when I was young, now I wanted the mountains.  Specifically, I wanted scenery and skiing.  

The other locale question I’d often asked myself was “urban vs rural.”  When I was a child, living in New York City, I had always dreamed of living in a pretty suburb or a small friendly semi-rural town.  When I made my decision to move away from Los Angeles in my 20s, San Antonio had seemed to offer a very nice compromise.  It is a big city that feels like a small town.  We were fortunate enough to live close to where we worked with woods in back of our house and a park with hiking and biking trails just one block away.  But, it was still very suburban in what I eventually came to see as rather bland. I was ready for something a little more rural where I could be closer to nature.  I’d never lived in a small town but  I’d always been charmed by them. I am very happy to be living in one now. So far, its all I had hoped it would be.

Making a life transition of this magnitude involved a great leap of faith.  We had comfortable lives and successful careers in San Antonio.  Sometimes though, you have to take a chance and try something new.  I don't recommend taking foolish and ill-consdered risks. But, I also don't recommend sticking to what you know simply because its comfortable and you've never made the effort to question where you stand and consider alternatives.  Ideally, you should be happy where you are, but you should still maintain your sense of possibility and wonder. Be open to options you haven't yet considered.  And if all roads seem to point in the direction of change, be brave and take a chance.  At the end of their lives, most people don't regret the things they did, they regret the things they didn't do.  So dwell in possibility and try something new if it seems right for you, even if it involves risk and change. Of course there are no guarantees in life, but if your experience turns out anything like mine has, you will be so glad you did.

Check out my website: drjillsquyrespsychologist.com

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