If you’ve been to a cardiologist, orthopedist, or general practitioner in the last few years, you probably noticed that you were asked mental health questions that at first glance seem well outside their scope of practice. Those questions may very well have been the result of a national Zero Suicide Initiative.
Studies have shown that an estimated 96% of people who have either died by suicide or have taken suicidal action have been to a doctor of some kind in the previous 12 months. And while that doctor may not have been a mental health practitioner, founders of the Zero Suicide Initiative have been actively seeking to get ALL aspects of medical care involved in the statistical elimination of suicide. All specialties are encouraged to ask their patients a set of questions that speak to their mental health, and are training those same doctors on how to respond should the answers to the questions indicate a concern.
While suicide is far from being the only possible outcome of a mental illness, it is without question the most serious. And the hope is that all behavioral health providers will sign on to the Zero Suicide Initiative, providing their training and expertise to medical specialties no matter how far removed they may seem from mental health. The prevalence of mental illness and mental health concerns makes it a societal imperative that we all look for a way to offer those gifts we have to the cause. If you’re looking for a way to help, call your local provider today. If you need help now, the National Suicide and Prevention Lifeline is 988.
