Kerry McCluskey
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (Mar 13/00) - Between 1981 and 1999, 411 residents of the North took their own lives. Most of those people resided in Nunavut.

That number is roughly equivalent to the size of the community of Kimmirut.

Suicides in Nunavut 1981-1986 -- 40 suicides 1987-1991 -- 70 suicides 1992-1996 -- 100 suicides 1997 -- 26 suicides 1998 -- 28 suicides Jan 1, 1999-March 31, 1999 -- three suicides April 1, 1999-Dec 31, 1999 -- 17 suicides Jan 1, 2000 - March 10, 2000 -- three suicides Source: a compilation of government statistics

Had they lived, had they found another solution to their problems, they would be part of our families. They would be contributing members of our new territory, they might have held positions in the Government of Nunavut and they would have witnessed the negotiation of one of the world's historic land claims.

Instead, they chose suicide.

While we grieve for those we have lost, it is extremely important that we also begin to make the changes necessary to end the cycle of suicide.

Caroline Anawak, a longtime suicide prevention worker in Nunavut, said the key to ending suicide is in educating ourselves and talking openly about it.

"There is a perception that you can't do anything about suicide or that there's shame or a stigma. You see this code of silence that kicks in, which is breeding grounds for more suicide," said Anawak.

"It's impossible for this to be kept under the table any longer. Fear has driven the silence and people have become numb. People have become intimidated and they're afraid to say anything in case it triggers someone else," she said.

That belief is both deadly and dangerous.

"Talking about it has never, ever increased the suicide rate. Talking about it has never made somebody do it. Showing concern and worry and love and energy has never pushed anybody over any lines," she said.

It's that kind of determination that has driven Anawak, and many others in Nunavut, to work on developing programs and manuals that they hope will one day put an end to suicide.

Called the Peer Counselling Manual, Anawak's version encourages people to learn to manage their problems and develop coping skills.

She said too often in the North she saw people pile one problem on top of another until they created a mountain of stress which seemed too big to solve.

"I've named it avalanche thinking. You can hear it when people speak. 'My girlfriend is giving me a problem, I owe money at Northern, I hate my parents being on my back, I'm having problems in school, I don't have any money for rent.' All of a sudden, people have rolled their problems together," said Anawak.

The lack of coping skills that allow avalanche thinking to occur may have been modelled by their own families and friends and until they learn what she calls snowball management, they are unable to control their ways of reacting to their problems.

That, she said, is when the route of suicide begins to look appealing.

"We're trying to teach people that every problem is separate and becomes the size of a snowball you can hold in your hand. You only link those that have something to do with each other," she said.

Along with stressing the need for learning healthy coping skills, many of today's suicide prevention strategies also focus on taking the time to heal from loss and grief.