From Des Moines Register link

Suicide calls rise in Iowa since attacks By LYNN OKAMOTO Register Staff Writer 11/03/2001 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Iowa's suicide and crisis hot lines have seen a spike in calls since the Sept. 11 attacks and have beefed up their staffs.

"I honestly believe that the level of tension for everybody, whether they are conscious of it or not, is higher," said Deb Porter, program director at the Foundation 2 Crisis Center in Cedar Rapids.

Iowans calling the National Hope Line Network, the nation's suicide hot line, are routed to Porter's center because it is the only one in Iowa certified by the American Association of Suicidology.

The Cedar Rapids hot line has seen about a 10 percent increase in calls since the attacks, Porter said. It took 837 calls in September, compared with 758 in September 2000. It took 817 calls in October, through the 24th, compared with 750 for the same period last year.

Porter said that calls from people specifically talking about the hijacked planes that crashed into the World Trade Center and Pentagon have tapered off since the week following the attacks, but that the overall volume of calls remains higher than before.

The Iowa Concern Hotline in Ames also has seen a near-record number of calls. Coordinator Margaret VanGinkel said hot line workers talked to 998 Iowans last month, 12 short of the record set in September 1994. More than 250 of the calls between Sept. 11 and 20 were related to the terrorist attacks.

"I took a call personally from a single gentleman that saw the British playing the "Star Spangled Banner" on TV and started crying," VanGinkel said. "He just wanted someone to talk to because he didn't feel comfortable talking to people at work. That's what we're here for."

Both hot lines increased their staff to respond to the higher call volume. The Cedar Rapids hot line sometimes had one person answering calls from 6 p.m. to midnight; now it has at least two. The Ames hot line doubled the hours of part-time workers from 20 to 40.

It is unclear whether the spike in calls has translated into an increase in suicides. Statewide statistics for September were not yet available this week from the Iowa Department of Public Health.

If calls to the Iowa Concern Hotline are any indication, many of those feeling stressed have not necessarily reached the breaking point. Among calls taken last month, 81 percent were considered to have moderate emotional stress, while 19 percent had severe stress and 1 percent were suicidal.

The same held true in New York City, where the director of a suicide hot line said in late September that despite a wave of depression, there was no spike in suicide rates. The city has between 500 and 600 suicide deaths a year.

Peter Wollheim, director of Idaho's Suicide Prevention and Hotline Service, said the attacks seem to have deepened the sense of hopelessness for those who already questioned their reason to live.

"For someone who is really depressed and has an extremely pessimistic view of the world, these events have been just a capstone for them," Wollheim said. "We've had calls from people who, as part of their depression and their concerns about the world, will cite the terrorist attacks."

Fears about terrorism remain high. A survey taken Oct. 10 to 14 by the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., showed that 69 percent of the 891 adult Americans surveyed had concerns about new attacks, while 52 percent were at least somewhat worried that they or their families could become victims of terrorism.

That echoed results found Sept. 24-27 by The Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll, which showed 69 percent of 729 Iowa adults expected more terrorist attacks on American soil in the coming weeks or months.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Group discussions Hospice of Central Iowa is hosting free group discussions this month to talk about how to cope with the national tragedies.

LOCATION: The Bright Center, 401 Railroad Place, West Des Moines. Call (515) 274-3400 for reservations.

DATES AND TIMES: 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 4, 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 13, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 19, 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 26.

COMMENT: "What I'm seeing is people are talking about it a lot," Deb DeJong, vice president for patient and family care with the hospice, said of the terrorist attacks. "If we keep talking about it, that's a good thing because that's how we deal with some of our anger and some of our frustration and some of our fear."

To get help If you are suicidal or feel like you're in an emotional or family crisis, here are some numbers to call for help:

* NATIONWIDE: National Hope Line Network, (800) 784-2433.

* IOWA: Foundation 2 Crisis Center in Cedar Rapids, (800) 332-4224.

* AMES: Iowa Concern Hotline, (800) 447-1985.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Answers

Yep, it was inevitable. Poor bastards. It's bad enough to be inundated by problems, but to have fear of terrorism pile right in on top, well, it's not easy, to say the least.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Locally, I think I'm seeing more people worried and stressed about the prospect of unemployment: a new round a layoffs is slated for the state jobs. Oddly enough, it's the part-timers they're cutting, while keeping the contract workers. It's cheaper to hire people, like Beckie, for occasional computer projects and not pay them what they're worth (never mind benefits) than it is to keep someone on the pay roll part-time. Senior staff is being bought out.

Yep. The recession has started.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

The one remaining contract worker at Sweetie's firm is about to be let go. Sweetie is working most weekends so he can bridge the gap that will be left but it beats hell out of unemployment. Yep, you're right, with the recent layoff Sweetie had, I worry more about that than terrorism.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

I have one major client right now and I am working 50+ hrs a week to keep up (and not succeeding either). This business helps businesses to generate leads, so their business is doing pretty well.

Like Sweetie, I am afraid to not work this many hours because they may let me go, although I am the only one supporting certain clients and applications, so that does give me some comfort. Luckily, I do get paid for every hour I work, so it does mean extra money that I am putting into preps and other things.

As for suicide, DD just got out of the hospital because of taking too much of her medication. So we had a scare of our own.

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001

Oh beckie. sorry to hear about that added stress.

We all have so much already. but personal stress like that is the worst. Much worse than me and my house, job dangers, and weather.

All of mine are basically monetary.

You take care of yourself first, family second, and the world at large, well, do like the rest, watch and be ready to duck. heh heh

Thinking of you and yours!

-- Anonymous, November 03, 2001