Just a heads up, this episode talks directly about suicide.

This is NPR's Life Kit. I'm Rita Chatchity. I cover mental health for NPR.

And today we're talking about something that's long been a taboo topic. Suicide.

According to the most recent data from the CDC, after two subsequent years of decline,

suicide deaths rose by about 4% in 2021, compared to the year before. That's when more than 47,000

people died by suicide. And the increase in these deaths was the highest for males aged 15 to 24.

But here's the thing about suicide. Research shows that it's preventable.

And a national survey showed that Americans know this and they want to help somebody who may be at

risk. But they might not know how to help. A lot of times folks feel like suicide prevention is

only something that professionals can do. That's Dick Quincy Lizin. He's a psychologist and

has struggled with thoughts of suicide himself and he chairs the lived experience division of the

American Association of Suicideology. Lizin says, certainly, getting help from a mental health

professional is very important. But there's so much each one of us can do before a loved one gets

to the point of being in suicidal crisis. And often it is that simple stuff of showing that you

care and showing up for somebody and being there for them. But there's also a lot of things that

people without any type of psych training can do. This episode will help you identify the warning

signs that someone you know or love may be thinking about dying and how to keep them from going

further down that path. Let's start with how can you tell if a loved one might be feeling suicidal?

Lizin says, watch out for certain warning signs. Most obvious is probably just talking about death

and talking about suicide, bitching at either casually or even if there's jokingly or specifically

talking about it for themselves. Then there are the less obvious signs, like sudden changes in behavior.

For example, if your friend is usually cheerful and you notice that they've been grumpy lately.

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