Participants: Stephen Campbell
Series Code: WM
Program Code: WM000377
00:38 Hello, and welcome to "Wonderfully Made"
00:41 Our topic today is "Crisis Intervention" 00:46 My name is Dr. Stephen Campbell 00:49 and I'll be your host for today 00:53 You don't have to go very far to realize that 00:57 our world is in a state of crisis... 01:01 and many individuals are experiencing terrible times 01:05 You can look at the daily paper or television 01:09 and see many senseless killings, teens getting killed 01:16 on their way to prom, disasters, earthquakes, diseases 01:22 and so forth... 01:25 It is important to keep in mind that Christians are not 01:30 immune from crises 01:32 And in spite of our religious beliefs, and our faith in Jesus, 01:36 we are also going to be exposed to many crises in our lives 01:41 Crisis is something that we are going to face regardless 01:47 of what we do in our lives 01:49 Some of you who are viewing this program today may be 01:53 experiencing one... And trying to determine 01:56 what can I do to handle this crisis. 02:01 Crisis intervention, of course, is a very important topic 02:05 because we are all going to be dealing with someone 02:10 who is in crisis at some point in the future... 02:13 and we need to be prepared to help 02:17 Jesus talked about the terrible things that are going to happen 02:21 before His coming, and it was felt that before things get good 02:28 ...they're going to get bad, especially for Christians. 02:30 So that we should be ready to handle crises in our lives 02:36 Crises can be looked at from 2 perspectives... 02:42 We can look at crises from a situational perspective 02:46 and we can look at crises from a developmental perspective 02:50 If you have a sudden death, or an earthquake, 02:54 or disaster of some kind... 02:56 those types of crises are considered situational 03:01 There are also developmental crises... 03:05 and these are the ones where people experience stress as 03:09 a normal development of life. 03:12 For instance, a child who is going through puberty 03:14 will experience some crisis... 03:16 Someone who is going through menopause 03:19 may experience some crisis 03:22 And sometimes, older adults may experience crisis 03:25 when they are of age. 03:28 It's important to keep in mind that a crisis 03:34 can affect you in many different ways 03:37 Stress is usually the trigger for most of the 03:41 crises in our life... 03:43 And since stress is part of our lives, we are unable 03:46 to get away from those. 03:48 People can cope with stress in many different ways... 03:51 They can cope with it in a positive way, 03:54 or they can cope with it in a negative way 03:57 The same thing exists with crises 04:01 If someone is faced with a crisis, and they attempt to 04:06 solve that problem in a positive way by reaching out 04:09 for help, or looking at the pros and cons, 04:13 they are able to come to the conclusion that will resolve 04:17 the conflict in a positive way. 04:20 Some individuals, however, may choose to cope with the 04:23 crisis in a negative way, and may turn to drugs and alcohol 04:28 so that they can cope with the stress, or somehow 04:33 HIDE from facing those problems. 04:36 Others, may become mentally ill 04:39 because of depression... 04:42 they will no longer be able to function 04:45 And others, may even turn to suicide 04:49 Now, some of us may feel that this topic is not an 04:52 issue for Christians because our religious beliefs protect us 04:57 from thinking of suicide. 05:00 However, we know that suicide affects everyone... 05:07 regardless of age, regardless of sex, 05:10 regardless of nationality. 05:13 I think it would be very important for us to look at 05:16 some statistics before we can get a good idea 05:20 as to what's happening as far as suicide is concerned 05:25 in the world... 06:01 Let us talk briefly 06:02 about this first set of statistics... 06:04 Most of the deaths that were reported during the year 2002, 06:10 were deaths that were verified by suicide. 06:14 But, as you know, there are many deaths that have been 06:18 categorized as accidental because of lack of information 06:24 even though they may have been suicide in nature. 06:28 So these numbers are somewhat underestimated. 06:33 We'd like to look at the second set of statistics which is 06:38 coming from the "National Institute of Mental Health" 07:21 Let us talk briefly 07:22 about this set of statistics... 07:24 Now keep in mind, that people who die with HIV/AIDS 07:33 in the United States, may be somewhat limited compared to 07:39 those who die with HIV/AIDS in other parts of the world 07:43 We do have medications that help prolong life 07:47 so that is reason to understand why there may be more 07:51 suicide deaths in the United States, than those 07:54 who died from HIV/AIDS 07:56 However, this does not hold for other parts of the world 08:00 where medications for HIV may be limited 08:05 The next set of statistics that I would like to talk about 08:09 is coming from the "Center for Disease Control and Prevention" 08:44 Let's elaborate a little bit on the statistics 08:49 that has to do with seasonal disorder. 08:52 Now as you know, wintertime is the time that the weather 08:59 tends to be gray, and people tend to become more depressed 09:03 As a matter of fact, there is something known as 09:06 "seasonal depressive disorder" 09:08 Yet still, suicide rates are lower in the winter! 09:14 One of the reasons for that is that people may stay more 09:18 indoors, and spend more time with family members. 09:21 Whereas, during the spring, life seemed to be more exciting 09:26 ...people have the tendency of spending more time outside 09:29 and the person who is feeling depressed and withdrawn 09:33 may feel a sense of loneliness... 09:36 And that makes the season a little more prone 09:39 to suicide ideation 09:42 Now, not all suicide can be prevented... 09:48 But, a lot can be done to prevent suicide if we understand 09:54 what to look for... 09:56 No 2 individuals react the same way to a stressful situation... 10:03 And, of course, we cannot read minds 10:06 So that you cannot determine exactly what a 10:10 person is going to do when a crisis presents itself. 10:16 In the United States, about 90% of all the suicides 10:21 seem to be related to some type of mental disorder. 10:28 This does not mean that people who commit suicide 10:32 are mentally ill. 10:34 What that means is that people who commit suicide 10:38 may experience some of the same type of emotional suffering 10:44 that someone may have who is mentally ill... 10:49 especially depression, where you see a lot of feelings of 10:53 hopelessness, feelings of helplessness, 10:56 and a sense of despair. 11:00 Not only mental health, and substance abuse problems 11:07 result in suicide ideation... 11:10 Sometimes deep and disruptive social factors have an impact 11:17 that can cause the person to turn to suicide as a solution. 11:22 At present, many of our young people and young adults 11:28 are dealing with the stress associated with social factors. 11:32 We have seen a breakdown in our communities... 11:37 where people in the inner cities are living in fear because of 11:40 crime and violence 11:41 They feel a sense of being trapped, and not finding 11:46 any way out. 11:48 We are seeing breakdown in relationships... 11:51 in divorce in our society. 11:54 Also, people having to be on the move all the time 11:58 We are seeing also economic depression, 12:05 and this is worldwide... 12:07 Many people are unemployed. 12:09 Poverty is considered a very serious problem worldwide... 12:14 And one of the fastest growing populations right now 12:19 are single mothers. 12:22 We are seeing a lot of young people who are getting 12:25 an education, and unable to find jobs where they can 12:30 take care of themselves... 12:32 resulting in having to live at home with their parents 12:35 and experiencing a lot of conflicts, 12:38 and end up with a lot of stress and depression. 12:42 There are also social factors that are political in nature... 12:47 and these are the ones that will cause people to become refugees 12:51 These are the ones where you're going to find ethnic cleansing 12:55 These are the ones where you're going to find a lot of people 12:59 being persecuted. 13:02 As you can see, social factors are very important to take 13:08 into consideration when we start looking at suicide. 13:16 I would like to talk, at this time, about some of the 13:22 other issues that may impact a person's life 13:26 and may cause them to attempt suicide. 13:33 We know that there are many risk factors, 13:36 and these risk factors are factors that we are going to be 13:41 exposed to regardless of who, or where we are. 13:46 For instance, if there's a death in the family, 13:49 and the person is unable to look at that objectively, 13:54 and go through the different stages of grief, 13:57 and move on with their life... 14:00 the death of a loved one can certainly cause a person 14:04 to consider suicide... that is definitely a risk factor 14:08 Also, someone who is suffering from a mental illness, 14:12 and not receiving treatment... 14:16 that can also be a risk factor for suicide. 14:21 The person who is feeling totally alone, 14:25 and not feeling connected with anyone... 14:28 feeling as though they are not loved by their family, 14:31 friends and relatives... 14:33 can also be at risk for hurting themselves. 14:38 The person who is unemployed... 14:42 The person who is feeling as though life doesn't have meaning 14:46 The person who is depressed most of the time and 14:50 withdrawn from society... 14:52 The person who feels that life is worthless is also someone 14:57 who could be at risk for suicide. 15:00 There are also what I call positive factors in the 15:03 person's life that can prevent them from thinking about suicide 15:08 When there is a certain amount of connectedness 15:11 with family and friends... 15:14 The child who feels that he or she is loved by their classmates 15:19 feels as though their parents care about them 15:23 The child who feels that he or she has confidence in themselves 15:28 and has social skills... 15:30 That person will be less likely to have suicidal thoughts 15:35 and ideation. 15:37 The adult who is feeling as though 15:41 their life is being productive... 15:42 to have good friends, having to be married... 15:48 these are also considered to be positive factors that 15:51 would prevent someone from taking their life. 15:54 Research has also shown that people who are religious 15:58 have very strong cultural beliefs, 16:02 and are able to respect the values of their society 16:06 They are also less likely to think about suicide. 16:12 Keep in mind that people in the United States 16:14 are more concerned with preserving life, 16:19 and also feel that God is the giver of life 16:23 and this should be protected. 16:25 This value and belief is not held around the world... 16:30 And this is one reason why people in Eastern Europe 16:34 and other parts of the world may have a higher 16:37 incidence of suicide than the United States. 16:41 I would like to talk about the many myths and facts 16:46 that have been held for many years about suicide... 16:53 The first one that I would like to address is... 17:30 This is a very important point to keep in mind... 17:35 that people who are suicidal, would not change their minds 17:41 because you talk about it... 17:44 However, not talking about it, would not give an 17:50 opportunity to find out what the person is thinking or feeling. 17:55 The second myth that is very important for us 17:58 to keep in mind is that suicide happens without warning... 18:05 That is also false... 18:20 Let's talk about this for a little bit... 18:23 Many times, the clues and warnings that the individual 18:28 gives... they are so subtle that most of the people 18:32 tend to miss them, and we are going to be talking about 18:36 some of those in a few minutes so we'll understand more 18:40 clearly that suicidal people always give us clues 18:45 that they are going to hurt themselves. 18:48 Let's look at the next one... 19:10 What this is telling us is that about 80% of the individuals 19:15 who commit suicide do talk about it... 19:19 inform someone that they were thinking of hurting themselves 19:25 That's a very high number. 19:28 People do not commit suicide without letting individuals 19:33 know how they feel, and that's important to keep in mind 19:37 If someone is listening very carefully, 19:41 they can pick up from the words that are being used 19:45 and the mannerisms, and different things that a person 19:48 does... to tell them that they are really hurting, 19:52 and need help with whatever stress or 19:55 conflict that they are having. 19:57 Let us look at the next myth... 20:34 Let's talk about this one... 20:39 People talk about suicidal feelings because they need help 20:47 Very few individuals really want to die. 20:50 Apparently, it is instinctual for us to live... 20:55 That is something that has been programmed in us by God. 20:59 Life is precious! 21:02 If you look at the behavior of teenagers, 21:05 they do have a higher rate of suicide attempts 21:10 Many may see that as a cry for help. 21:14 However, if in doing so, someone is not there to help them, 21:20 it may result in that person ending their life. 21:26 We have heard many times, where people may plan 21:29 suicide knowing that someone would be there at a certain 21:33 time to rescue them... and some of them are rescued 21:38 But since we cannot control events all the time, 21:41 many times, these individuals may end up losing their life. 21:45 Let's look at the next myth... 21:54 In spite of all the things that we know, there is no specific 21:58 suicide gene that has ever been identified in determining 22:05 or contributing to the expression of suicide. 22:12 However, we know that sometimes suicide may take place 22:17 in families, and that behavior is pretty much learned. 22:21 A person may see a relative commit suicide, 22:26 and they may also decide that that may be something 22:29 that they should do... 22:31 But it's not necessarily inherited. 22:35 The last myth that I would like to talk about... 22:38 is one that I think parents need to be aware of, and that is... 23:11 We have to keep in mind that suicidal adolescents may 23:19 quicker-talk to their friends and their peers, 23:23 instead of their parents if there are conflicts at home. 23:28 And, many times parents are busy trying to take care 23:34 of their families, and may miss a lot of the subtle information 23:38 that's being shared. 23:41 However, it is very important for parents to pay strict 23:45 attention to the adolescents knowing that they're going 23:49 to have many changes in their behavior, and many mood swings 23:55 that may be normal, but also may give clues that they're 24:00 hurting emotionally. 24:03 Now we have been talking about crisis intervention 24:07 for a few minutes now, and we have looked at a number of 24:11 important points that I'd like to talk about here before 24:14 we conclude this program... 24:17 The first thing that we have to keep in mind 24:19 is that we are living in very troubled times... 24:23 Crisis is part of life. 24:27 Many individuals are experiencing crisis 24:29 on a daily basis, and some may cope with them in a 24:33 positive way by seeking help... 24:36 But others... may cope in a negative way 24:39 turning to drugs, alcohol, ending up with mental problems 24:45 ...Or maybe even considering suicide. 24:49 We know that there are many risk factors that we have to 24:53 keep in mind when we start looking at suicide 24:57 ...such as death of a loved one 25:00 or having a mental illness... 25:03 But there are also positive factors that can prevent 25:07 individuals from taking their lives such as having 25:11 a sense of connectedness with their family... 25:14 feeling as though they can be confident in achieving their 25:17 goals in life... having friends and classmates 25:21 who respect them, and having teachers who can 25:24 be helpful at times. 25:26 It's very important that we keep an eye on the elderly... 25:30 since suicide increases with age, 25:34 and men over the age of 85 are the highest risk 25:39 for suicide in this country. 25:42 We need to pay attention also to the fact that 25:47 without intervention, many individuals can end up 25:51 hurting themselves. 25:53 We have to have a helping relationship... 25:56 We have to be willing to pay attention to those 26:01 who come to us, express concern, and have a 26:07 helping attitude. 26:08 As Christians, we should be empathic... 26:12 We should be understanding 26:15 We should do whatever we can to help someone 26:19 who is in crisis. 26:21 You don't have to be a professional, pastoral counselor 26:27 or mental health professional to help someone who is in a crisis 26:32 People who help those usually have qualities that Christians 26:39 should have... 26:42 Crisis intervention is a serious issue... 26:46 Suicide is one of the leading causes of death for individuals 26:51 age 15 to 24 26:55 It is very important that all who work with children 26:59 keep in mind that boys between the ages of 15 and 24, 27:06 are at risk, and even though girls may have more 27:11 suicide attempts, boys do have more completion. 27:16 In closing, I'd like to talk a little bit about 27:19 some of the things you can do if someone should 27:23 come to you and express suicide ideation... 27:27 It's very important that you keep calm, 27:31 that you be open about asking the questions, 27:35 as to whether or not suicide is something that 27:37 they are thinking about, and keeping in mind that 27:41 if you feel that you're unable to help, 27:44 that you get professional help so that this individual 27:47 will not have any problems as far as hurting themselves 27:53 I encourage you to continue to look at these additional 27:57 programs that will come dealing with this topic 28:00 And may God continue to richly bless you 28:03 as you reach out to those who are experiencing crisis. 28:08 Remember, you don't have to be a professional 28:11 to help someone who is in a crisis, 28:14 and the most important thing is to be a good listener 28:19 ...show that you care 28:22 and you'll be able to save a life. |
Revised 2014-12-17