#060- Addressing Suicide Among Older Adults with Yeates Conwell, MD

Suicide is heart breaking and tragic. Today's guest, Yeates Conwell, MD, geriatric psychiatrist and leading expert on suicide among older adults is on the podcast to guide us in understanding late life suicide and how we can help older adults who may be suicidal.

With older white men over 85 having the highest rates of suicide, more than any other age group, it's essential that we have tools for addressing and preventing elderly suicide.

Here's what we'll cover in this episode:

• Statistics about older adults and suicide?
• Why do older white men have the highest rates of suicide?
• Among older adults, what is suicidal behavior mainly associated with?
• How to help older adults who may be suicidal?

Here's a peek inside the episode:

• [05:19] Late life suicide is trend all around the world. Dr. Conwell sheds light on statistics about older adults and suicide.
• [09:59] Learn what may be contributing to older white men having the highest rate of suicide.
• [13:54] Ageism affects the mental health of older adults, including access to mental health care and our own attitudes about mental health as we age. Learn more about this phenomenon here. 
• [21:23] Learn the 5-D framework for understanding suicide risk in older adults: Depression, Disease, Disability, Disconnectedness, and Deadly means. 
• [29:21] Struggling to have a difficult conversation with your older loved one? It may be simpler than you think. Learn more. 
• [35:35] Primary care providers have an important role in suicide prevention
• [40:19] Next steps if your older loved one is making statements about suicide.
  

If you or someone you know is in crisis or struggling with thoughts about harming themselves or others, please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255

Click here to visit the show notes page to learn more.
Click here to listen to the podcast

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