Facing Suicide

(piano music) - I think depression maybe started when I was around 15, 16.

I thought about suicide more than one time.

Two times where I actually had a plan and two times where I seriously thought about this would be the best way for me.

It is so pretty out here.

- [Narrator] Fonda Bryant was suffering from depression and her family was worried.

At times like this experts say there may be signs your friend or family member is at risk of suicide.

- The signs of suicide varies by the population, but there are some common things.

If you find an individual, whether it's a child or a spouse or a friend who's starting to now not do the things that you know they love to do, that should begin to signal to you that something is different in their life.

And we see people start to change their behavior.

They start to not eat.

They start to express thoughts like I don't want to be here or they might even express I want to die.

Or life is too difficult for me, I can't go on, these sort of expressions, it's important that we pay attention to them.

- I think the biggest sign to look out for is if they're just not themselves.

I mean, if you can definitely tell that they're acting different, they're not talking as much, they're kind of isolating themselves.

- That means now they're really in their rooms, right?

They're really locking themselves off, all the things they used to bring them joy, don't bring them the same level of joy.

And at all times they might begin to express and this is important, I'm fine.

I'm fine.

- Anybody talking about a sense of being hopeless, like there's no hope anymore for them, there's no future for them or that there's no purpose for them to be alive.

No reason for them.

they don't have anything left to contribute to their family, to their friends, to society, or to the world.

- I had just had it.

And my mind was telling me, if you just go to sleep, everything will be over with.

But before I did that, I said, man, somebody's gotta know about my pain.

And I call my Aunt Spanky.

And I simply said, you can have my shoes.

That's all I told her.

- That was an instant indication that there was something wrong.

'Cause we are serious about shoes.

I eventually asked her, was she planning to hurt herself?

And she said, yes.

- [Narrator] Aunt Spanky saw a sign that made her worry Fonda might be at risk, so she took a critical step.

She asked the question and when her fears were confirmed, she quickly got Fonda help.

- The critical thing is to ask them directly, ask them very clearly, are you thinking about suicide?

Do you just wanna die?

Do you not wanna live anymore?

And I know that's really hard and I know people don't do this often and they don't like to do it, they're uncomfortable with it.

Even doctors don't like to do it.

- Ask the question.

I think it's important to continue to ask the question, continue to probe and don't feel guilty about that.

Try not to feel guilty about that.

- [Narrator] Now a suicide reduction activist, Fonda uses her experience to help others recognize the signs of suicide.

- And if you're here, that means you wanna help someone else not to go through that pain that you have to put... - [Narrator] Prevention experts say you don't need to be a doctor to recognize that someone may be at risk.

If you are considering suicide or if you or someone you know is in emotional crisis, please call 988.

Call or text 988 for confidential, free crisis support.

(warm music)