Signs
SUICIDE
PREVENTION
RESOURCES
Continued from Page 13
• Lines for Life, 800-273-8255,
or text 273Talk to 839863
• Community Counseling Solu-
tions, 541-575-1466
• David Romprey Oregon Warm
Line, 1-800-698-2392
• Military Helpline, 888-457-
4838, or text MIL1 to 839863
• Oregon Youth Line, 1-877-
968-8491, text to 839863 or
email youthL@linesforlife.org
• National Suicide Prevention
Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK
• Spanish Language National
Suicide Prevention Lifeline,
1-888-628-9454
• Crisis Text Line, 741741
• Alcohol and Drug Helpline,
800-923-4357, or text Recov-
eryNow to 839863
• Suicide Prevention Resource
Center, sprc.org
• SafeOregon reporting line,
844-472-3367, or email tip@
safeoregon.com.
Experts have found some
patterns in suicide numbers.
Suicide attempts, for exam-
ple, tend to peak on Mondays
and fall away through the rest
of the week. More than a third
of suicide victims told oth-
ers of their intentions, while
another third left a note. About
20 percent had a history of sui-
cide attempts. Nearly a quar-
ter were believed to have con-
sumed alcohol in the hours
before their deaths.
About one-third of sui-
cide victims in Oregon from
2003 to 2012 had experienced
a crisis within the prior two
weeks, including problems
with an intimate partner, phys-
ical health, family stress, other
relationships, lost jobs or prob-
lems at work, financial diffi-
culties and criminal charges or
other legal difficulties.
Suicide statistics also help
professionals understand cir-
cumstances behind suicide
ideation, attempts and suc-
cessful completions. Dave
Dalton and Emily Moser,
counselors for Lines For Life,
advise people to look for the
positive. Even in their dark-
est hours, people contemplat-
ing suicide can be reminded of
bright spots in their past, even
small ones, Dalton said.
Ninety percent of peo-
ple who have attempted sui-
cide end up dying later in life
of something else entirely,
Moser said. Talking to people
about their suicidal thoughts
will not make the situation
worse, Dalton said — a third
of the people who call Lines
for Life are calling for other
people.
The time span from recog-
nizing warning signs to a sui-
cide attempt can be very short,
Dalton said. Signs include
loss of a job, spouse or close
friends. A person contemplat-
ing suicide might talk about
unbearable physical or psy-
chological pain or severe
anguish. Some have already
been diagnosed for depression
or have alcohol or drug abuse
problems.
SIGNS TO
WATCH FOR
• Can’t enjoy anything
• Anxiety or panic
• Insomnia
• Hopelessness or despair
• Homicidal ideation
• Psychotic disorder or com-
mand hallucinations
• Personality disorder
• Mood disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Substance use, abuse or
withdrawal
• Impulsivity, aggression or
anti-social
• Ongoing medical illness,
including chronic pain
• Recent or anticipated loss of
relationship, finances, health
or home
• Loss of support or increasing
isolation
• Perceived burden on others
• Legal issues or incarceration
• Local suicide cluster or expo-
sure to one through media
• Access to lethal means,
including firearms
New online health tool provides mental self-care resources
By Chris Olwine
For the Blue
Mountain Eagle
The digital revolution
has allowed people with
physical ailments to learn
more about their condi-
tions by visiting web-
sites, such as WebMD,
for the past 10 years.
As more people
seek health care infor-
mation and options
online, the develop-
ers of myStrength saw
an opportunity to bring
self-care resources to
the behavioral health
community.
This online platform
invites users to set up an
account and begin navi-
gating topics and tools of
self-care immediately.
A
personal
myStrength account is a
private and secure way
to access hundreds of
guided activities and
tools to manage stress,
boost your mood and feel
inspired to take on the
day.
Tools include mood
trackers, guided pro-
grams targeting anxiety,
depression, sleep distur-
bance, stress and sub-
stance use, articles and
expertly created videos.
Thanks to the efforts of
Eastern Oregon’s own
Greater Oregon Behav-
ioral Health and their
provider network, this
online service is offered
to Eastern Oregon Coor-
dinated Care Organiza-
tion members and the
greater Grant County
community.
“It’s easy to set up an
account and took me less
than 5 minutes,” a recent
user told Chris Olwine,
the Certified Community
Behavioral Health Cen-
ter program manager for
Community Counseling
Solutions in John Day.
Any adult with a
smartphone,
mobile
device or computer can
use the program, with the
restriction that partici-
pants must be 13 or older.
Michelle Deming, a
counselor at Commu-
nity Counseling Solu-
tions said, “Any time we
can get more resources to
the people we serve, the
better.”
This resource isn’t
just for people accessing
behavioral health care
or seeing the doctor. The
licenses are also made
available to the general
public through a separate
access code.
These
personal
accounts are confidential,
secure and only viewable
by the individual who set
up the account.
To learn more about
this online resource,
visit
gobhi.org/mem-
bers/wellness. This page
hosts an introduction to
myStrength as well as
directions.
EOCCO
members
and Grant County resi-
dents will simply need
to enter an access code,
which they can obtain by
contacting Community
Counseling Solutions,
541-575-1466, or Grant
County Health Depart-
ment, 541-575-0429, at
528 E. Main St., Suite E,
John Day.
Chris Olwine is a
licensed clinical social
worker and the Certified
Community Behavioral
Health Center program
manager for Community
Counseling Solutions in
John Day.
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