Suicides in Larimer County climb 30 percent

Nick Christensen was dutifully shoveling his grandparents' sidewalk when he heard his 6-year-old sister's screams.

It was a sunny March day by St. Paul, Minnesota, standards. A fresh layer of snow had fallen. The family had just returned from church.

Christensen's dad had stayed at home that Sunday morning.

"I think we had a feeling something was amiss," Christensen said.

His father, who Christensen said "burned out way too soon,'' was 31 years old when he died by suicide.

As an executive officer and spokesman for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office, Christensen, 47, is no stranger to traumatic events.

From the front lines of some of the region's most devastating moments — from fatal floods to hellish wildfires — he's been tasked with sharing disaster details with the world. But talking about those catastrophes on national TV pales in comparison to his 35 years of grappling with his father's suicide.

A successful businessman first and government official second, Christensen feared the blemish of a past marred by a family member's suicide on his personal record. He chose to bury that deep inside him.

He feared people might think less of him if they only knew — a mindset he's now on a crusade to change.

"It's a sign of strength and wisdom to seek help," he said. "Just like during a fire or flood, if any of us thinks we know all the answers, we're making a big mistake. We need to seek out the expertise to get the job done."

Christensen is far from alone in Larimer County when it comes to being affected by suicide. At least 80 people — the highest on record — died by suicide in Larimer County last year, according to coroner's office records analyzed by the Coloradoan.

That number is poised to climb pending toxicology results from several other deaths and the completion of the office's annual report. It is also is about 30 percent higher than the number of suicides within the county in 2013 and well past a previous high of 69 such deaths in 2012.

Suicide rates across the country have steadily climbed in recent years, and Colorado has consistently been among the states with the highest suicide rates. Those with the highest rates are almost exclusively in the West, and Colorado over the past two years has averaged more than 1,000 suicide deaths.

Statewide numbers from 2014 will not be finalized until later this year, but preliminary 2014 data from neighboring Weld County also noted at least a 10 percent uptick in deaths by suicide.

Mental health specialists still have no clear explanation why area rates here are so high. Theories range from rugged Western ideals to individual struggles with depression — possibly tied to the economy or maybe to feeling broken in a region that proudly boasts about its image as a desirable place to live.

Within those 2014 figures are nuggets in which Christensen and mental health care providers are all too well-versed. The average and median age: mid-40s. The percentage of men: 74. The most common means: gun, followed by strangulation and drug or alcohol overdose.

(Scroll down for more data on suicide in Larimer County.)

"We have great resources. Do we access them as much as we should? No. Nobody wants to be labeled," said Linda Maher with the Alliance for Suicide Prevention, a local group fighting an uphill battle to raise awareness and lessen the fear.

"You are not what that is. It's (mental illness) what you have."

Christensen described his father as "gifted in a lot of ways" both physically and mentally, but a man who struggled with alcohol and drug abuse, coupled with an ongoing divorce. He'd spent time in various institutions and was supposedly on the mend.

As the days passed after his death, the kids went back to normal life in Southern California. It's rare for people to take enough time to grieve a loved one who dies by suicide, especially compared to those who die by disease or accident, Christensen said.

"I think of myself as a near-miss in this case in that it impacted me, and I felt the trauma, but I coped with it at a very young age by taking control of my life," he said, referencing "David and Goliath" by Malcolm Gladwell.

Although he shines in public, he admits being guarded and introverted. Christensen, who has two children, lacked intimate relationships with friends and eventually went through a divorce of his own. Until about five years ago, he dodged conversation when people asked about his father. He quietly went about his business and thought he needed to finish the things his father couldn't fulfill.

He pushed back against help — perhaps among his biggest mistakes, he said.

"I think mental health is just starting to turn the corner and really come out of the Dark Ages of really not talking about it and stigmatizing it as opposed to just taking it head on."

If people can do that, even just one step at a time, it's hopeful, Christensen said. He knows his story isn't unique. He knows the number of people affected by suicide is climbing. But he also knows the value of counseling and of finding someone to talk to — of keeping his mental health in good shape much like physical conditioning. Sometimes, people get a mental health cold, something many simply call a "bad day."

"I think our society as a whole is becoming more accepting of a lot of things,'' he said. "Mental health is just one of those, but it's one where that acceptance and understanding, I think, can go a long, long ways."

Why the high rate?

There's no clear explanation for why people die by suicide, but maps show a consistent trend on where: The states with the highest suicide rates are all in the West. Theories run the gamut from inadequate access to mental health care and economic correlations to emerging science about the effects of living at higher elevation to the persistent ideal of rugged individualism in Western states.

"I keep hoping as the economy recovers that we're going to see a slight change in the numbers," said Jarrod Hindman, violence and suicide prevention section manager at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. "Anecdotally, I now kind of think we're going to stay at high rates."

Final statewide suicide numbers for 2014 won't be available until later this year.

A 26-member commission has been tasked at the state level to set priorities and determine where public-private partnerships can be bolstered to improve mental health services. While strategic plans won't be formalized until later this year — and with funding uncertain — initial areas that need the most help include added follow-up resources within hospital emergency rooms as well as heightened training for teachers, primary care doctors and others.

Signs of suicide

•Threatening to or talking about wanting to hurt or kill oneself.

•Looking for ways to kill oneself by seeking access to firearms, pills or other means.

•Talking or writing about death, dying or suicide when these actions are out of the ordinary for the person.

•Hopelessness.

•Feeling rage, uncontrolled anger, seeking revenge.

•Acting recklessly or engaging in risky activities.

•Feeling like there's no way out.

•Increasing alcohol or drug use.

•Withdrawing from friends, family, society.

Reporter Jason Pohl covers breaking news and law enforcement for the Coloradoan. Follow him on Twitter: @pohl_jason.