Crisis Issues
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CRITICAL INCIDENT AND INTERVENTION TOPICS
FlameThink, Inc. takes crisis to heart. Our articles will discuss numerous crisis topics.
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FlameThink, Inc. will address two critical areas of concern:1. Critical Incident Stress Management 2. Suicide Intervention Skills 1. Critical Incident Stress Management - along with providing thought provoking articles on topics pertaining to stress and stress management, it is our intent to establish, coordinate and conduct Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) training opportunities in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, and eventually state wide. 2. Suicide Intervention Skills is a very personal topic for this director. I have taught Suicide Prevention courses for 28 years. Additionally, I have taught Suicide Intervention courses for over five years. Suicide cuts across ethnic, economic, social and age boundaries. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers in the U.S. In the D/FW area, suicide has been the second leading cause of death among teenagers two out of the past seven years. Nation wide, suicide has been on a steady increase for nearly 20 years. In the U.S. military, the number of suicides is at its highest level since records were kept (records date back as far as 1864). The greatest frustration facing this issue is society's refusal to address it. Suicide is a preventable public health problem, and while we will never eliminate every suicide attempt, communities can take steps to reduce them. Suicides will not decrease if our communities continue to ignore them. On the contrary, the rates will continue to sky rocket until society addresses the issues of suicide. Currently, the following issues are found among individuals who commit suicide. 1. Bullying - in my years of experience I have found that this is the number one reason why students commit suicide. Survivors of suicide tell us they felt there were no recourses left except for extreme measures to eliminate the torment of being bullied. As a result of this harassment, bullied children some times fall into the "homocidal-suicidal" category being determined to take their tormentors with them. In many cases, the bully evades the attack and other "unintended" individuals become victims. Some suicide survivors reveal they chose drastic actions because parents and the education system simply refused to correct the actions of the bully and offered no form of self-esteem/self value support. 2. Isolation - some "at risk individuals" simply felt unwanted and trapped in an undesirable situation. 3. Family Abuse - mental, physical, drug and alcohol abuse are factors in driving an individual toward "at risk behavior." 4. Family Issues - divorce, blended/mixed family issues, and critical health issues among family membes have been cited as reasons for "at risk behavior." 5. Financial Hardship - economic instability and lack of a foreseeable resolution is a factor in suicides. 6. Experiencing traumatic events - for some, experiencing traumatic events can lead to a sense of hopelessness and helplessness thus propelling the person toward "at risk behavior." 7. Seeing no reason for living - having a lack of and/or no sense of self value or purpose is another factor causing "at risk behavior." Suicides damage more than the families who loose a loved one. Suicides damage communities and reveal the glaring short comings of how we operate as a community. Another reason suicides rates are high is the lack of adequately trained indiviudals who can perform basic intervention. While most communities and schools offer some form of Suicide Prevention Programs, relativley few incorporate a Suicide Intervention Program. Suicide Prevention and Suicide Intervention are not the same! It's time for the Dallas/Fort Worth areas to understand and grasp this fact. It's time for the D/FW area to address the Suicide issue, and it's time for our communities to declare war on the plague of suicide. For interested individuals, organizations and/or schools, Flame Think, Inc. intends to coordinate and conduct Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). Please log-on and email me if you are interested in finding out more. |
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Thursday, 17 January 2013 07:36 | Author: Patrick Steiert |
  
Responding to recent violent events (December 2012 – January 2013) I am compelled to share some thoughts. Such horrendous tragedies shatter multitudes of lives like a rock hurled against a window rendering it into shards. As our nation attempts to move beyond these events, I am stirred to remind readers a new battle ensues for the survivors of these tragedies, namely the battle of reoccurring memories. These memories can be comparable to shards of glass which at first glance appear to be worthless hazards.
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