During the virtual event Monday, attorneys spoke about their experiences with depression and suicide and shared ways that lawyers can help their colleagues deal with these issues.
Chris Ritter, director of the Texas Lawyers' Assistance Program, which helps attorneys cope with substance abuse and mental health issues, said that 80% of people who get treatment for depression and attempted suicide recover, so it's crucial for lawyers who are depressed or suicidal to get professional help.
"The average is over six years before the average person gets professional help for depression, and to me, that is why I wanted to emphasize the importance of getting connected to a professional," Ritter said. "In just a few weeks, everything can change. Life can look different."
The webinar was led by Ritter and Meridith Carpenter-Black, managing attorney at Black & Associates Legal Group and a licensed professional counselor.
Here are four ways that Ritter and Carpenter-Black said attorneys can prevent depression and suicide in the legal profession.
Know the Signs
People often say they noticed an individual behaving differently before that person attempted suicide, but they didn't know and they wish they would have known that person was depressed, according to Carpenter-Black.
Carpenter-Black said that attorneys or their colleagues may be depressed if they are isolating themselves from other people, frequently absent from work, showing more self-doubt than usual or overreacting to situations.
Other signs of depression are crying, chronic fatigue, difficulty concentrating on work, substance abuse, irritability, feeling hopelessness, physical pain and suicidal thoughts, the presenters said.
"If you start seeing things like that, someone missing work a lot without explanation, it's OK to call and check on someone," Carpenter-Black said.
Ask Your Colleagues, 'Are You OK?'
Terry Bentley Hill, a criminal defense attorney in Dallas, said at the event that if she is walking through a courthouse and sees someone sitting on a bench in tears, even if it's a stranger, she will ask that person, "Are you OK?"
Bentley Hill, who lost her 14-year-old daughter and first husband to suicide, said that a friend who once attempted suicide told her that he wouldn't have gone through with it if just one person had asked him that day if he was OK.
"The minute he told me that, I thought, 'We have to stop minding our business. We have to ask the question, are you OK?'" Bentley Hill said.
Carpenter-Black said people should ask a person about suicide, adding that research shows this can help them.
"It doesn't plant the seed of suicide in someone's head who's never thought about it," Carpenter-Black said. "What it does is show the person that you've noticed what's going on with them. You care enough to have noticed what's going on with them."
Attorney Sara Giddings, a suicide survivor, added that if lawyers only say to their colleagues "You don't seem like yourself," their co-workers can easily just respond "I'm fine" or "I'm OK."
"It's the 'have you thought about killing yourself' that makes me think, 'I'm not doing as good as I thought I was showing people I'm OK,' and then, I examine what's really going on, and hopefully, that leads to another conversation," Gettings said.
Listen To Your Colleagues
If you have a colleague who is depressed or thinking about suicide, listen to that person, the panelists said.
Ritter said that if someone talks about being suicidal, it's important to observe them to determine if they need immediate medical attention.
"The most important situation is if they say yes, they are thinking about it, they have thought about it, and they described they even had a plan ... stay present as long as it's safe to do so and ... get 911 involved," he said.
Carpenter-Black said that people who are depressed are not looking for a solution; they are looking for conversation.
"They are looking for someone to tell them, 'Hey, I'm not crazy,' that these are things that people go through," she said.
If a lawyer is personally depressed or suicidal, that person should talk to someone and not stop trying, according to attorney Anne Ritchie, who has bipolar disorder and is a suicide survivor.
"Never stop looking. Call a stranger. Talk to anybody. Don't say this is the last person I'm going to try. Say, 'I'm going to try one more person. I'm going to try calling one more person. I'm going to go to the drug store and I'm going to talk to a complete stranger. I'm going to pick up the phone and call the suicide crisis line. I'm going to call somebody. I'll call 911, I'll call whoever, but I'll get some help," Ritchie said.
Connect Your Colleagues To Help
Many resources are available for attorneys who are depressed or are thinking about suicide, the panelists said.
Bentley Hill said everyone should know the number to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK.
"You can also text 'hello' to 741741, and you're going to be able to talk to someone who knows about depression, suicidal ideation and anxiety disorder, and they can help you in that situation," she said.
In addition, each U.S. state has a free, confidential, 24/7 lawyers assistance program, or LAP, that can help attorneys, law students and judges find a therapist or someone else to talk with them, according to Ritter.
LAPs, sometimes called lawyers concerned for lawyers or lawyers helping lawyers, also offer professional resources, peer support, group support and therapeutic opportunities, Ritter said.
"We're losing people in our profession and in our families to depression and suicide, and it must stop," he said.
--Editing by Brian Baresch.
Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified Sara Giddings. The error has been corrected.
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