For All Seasons’ No Matter What…You Matter annual Suicide Prevention Campaign’s goal is to prevent suicide on Maryland’s Eastern Shore through education and increased access to crisis resources. The agency’s 2024 Speaker Series, “Be a Lifeline: Recognizing and Responding to Those at Risk of Suicide,” recently held in Easton and Cambridge, shined a light on how we can each play a critical role in suicide prevention.

Dr. Andrew Moon, a clinical psychologist, whose career has focused on trauma, suicide, and community education, presented in Cambridge. Dr. Moon is currently working with the Department of Defense Office of Force Resiliency at every military installation worldwide.

“Last year almost 50,000 people in the US died by suicide. Everyone is at risk of death by suicide. There isn’t a population, an age group, or a gender that escapes this,” Dr. Moon reported.

“Suicide is complicated and there isn’t a right answer or right way of talking about it. So throw that notion out of your head. If someone comes to you and is explaining that they’re struggling, it’s because they trust you and your only job is to maintain that trusting connection,” he added.

“Keeping that connection means finding someone who’s going to help them spiritually, it may be someone who can help them with their relationships, or their finances, or all of those different pieces.”

Dr. Moon stated that suicide is preventable and that there are things you can do before a person gets to the point of crisis. He stated that one of those things is making sure they have effective coping skills. Similarly, important is to make sure that there is a strong sense of identity, that they feel connected, and that they have relationships that matter to them.

He shared that making sure people feel connected to their community and feel like they have access to the resources that they need is important in prevention efforts before a crisis occurs. “We don’t want to be trying to put these things in place when someone’s in crisis. When someone’s in crisis, we need to stabilize them. We need to get them to a safe place. We need to get them around people who are going to support them,” Dr. Moon explained.

He concluded, “Everyone fits in this picture, whether it’s the prevention phase or the crisis phase.”

Dr. Jeff Thompson, a professor at Columbia University and a retired NYPD detective, spoke in Easton. Dr. Thompson has been partnering with For All Seasons and all of the branches of first responders in Talbot County, to ensure that the first responder community and the veteran’s community have the lifelines that they need in moments of crisis. He noted that nothing gets done without community partnerships like this.

He and Beth Anne Dorman discussed what they called “the anonymous ones” – the leaders in the community and the leaders in the families – whether it be first responders and why they need special support when it comes to suicide prevention.

“These are people whose job it becomes to have it all together. They are the people in our community who are either identifying as those anonymous ones or supporting the people who are the anonymous ones,” Dorman shared.

Dr. Thompson stressed that real strength and real resilience among this group of people are acknowledging that if it’s really heavy, you don’t have to figure it out by yourself, but can use professionals to help you.

“When we talk about fighting the stigma in first responders, military, and people in life in general, how about we acknowledge that’s what real resilience is? It is reaching out for help when you need it, and not belittling people if they are in therapy which perpetuates stigma,” he stated.

“Also, I’ve noticed a lot anecdotally, at least with first responders. We’ve done a lot of great work, reaching out to each other and checking in with each other. I think a great example of this is the peer support work we will be doing next month here in Talbot County with first responders,” he said. “But I think one of the areas we really need to make a lot more inroads on, is checking in with ourselves. If we’re going to talk about suicide prevention, it’s not just prevention, it’s the proactive aspects daily – how we take care of ourselves each day to help prepare us for crisis moments,” Dr. Thompson shared.

Dr. Thompson said that the biggest warning sign of suicide is someone making suicidal statements like, ‘I don’t want to live. I can’t take this anymore. I want to die.’ He stressed that you have to check in with that person and reiterated that you don’t plant the idea of suicide by asking them the question, ‘Are you feeling suicidal?’

“If suicide is a complex issue, our actions are complex. We have to prioritize being in people’s lives and checking in on them is important. That means seizing the awkward and getting comfortable with the uncomfortable,” he added.

“No one travels alone, we all travel together,” he concluded.

For All Seasons provides 24-hour crisis hotlines, same-day crisis appointments, and expert mental health services for anyone in need, regardless of ability to pay. Most importantly, if you need suicide prevention resources and a step-by-step conversation guide, visit https://www.nomatterwhatyoumatter.org/. For All Seasons’ 24-Hour Crisis Hotlines are English 410.820.5600 and Español 410.829.6143. English/Español Text is 410.829.6143. For the National Suicide & Crisis Hotline: Dial 988.

 

Captions:

#1: Pictured left to right are members of the For All Seasons Board of Directors at the For All Seasons Suicide Prevention Speaker Series event in Easton including Alexa Seip, Melissa Kelly, Linda Booze, Beth Anne Dorman, Ronald Frampton, and Len Wolf.

 

#2: Pictured is Dr. Jeff Thompson, a retired NYPD detective and professor at Columbia University, who spoke at the Avalon Theatre as part of the For All Seasons Suicide Prevention Speaker Series.

 

#3: Pictured is Dr. Andrew Moon, a clinical psychologist currently working with the Department of Defense Office of Force Resiliency at every military installation worldwide, who spoke at the Packing House in Cambridge as part of the For All Seasons Suicide Prevention Speaker Series.