Oregon Public Broadcasting

A new report from Oregon Public Health shows suicides are on the rise in the state again after declining in the 1990s.

Oregon’s suicide rate is  35 percent higher than the national average. The study is timed to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day, Friday.

The latest numbers, which are from 2007 show among the states Oregon ranks 10th in the number of suicides per capita.  Middle aged women showed a sharp increase in instance of suicide. 

Even so, Lisa Millet with Oregon Public Health says men are still three times more likely than women to die by suicide.  And she says more often than not unrecognized mental health problems play a role.

Lisa Millet: “We’ve got literally thousands of men walking around with undiagnosed and untreated depression for instance.  Depression is evident in about 70 percent of suicide cases in the state.  And among men rates of receiving treatment are really low.

Millet encourages people to be on the lookout for warning signs from friends and loved ones.  Those could include talking about suicide, giving way cherished possessions, and signs of hopelessness. 

She says it’s important to communicate with people in trouble and to assist them in getting help.