World Suicide Prevention Day

So today is the International Day to prevent Suicides.

I do realise that this is quite a taboo topic for many yet we all know someone who has committed or attempted suicide.

At the most, some people reading this have attempted suicide or might actually be contemplating it.The 10^th of September is World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD), which is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP).

One of the major aims of today is to raise much needed awareness on suicide and to offer hope that suicide can be prevented.

There are a number of activities globally been done to commemorate today and to remember those that have been lost due to Suicide and also to lend a hand of hope to those who are suicidal.

According to  World Health Organisation (WHO) over 300 activities in around 70 countries were reported to IASP, including educational and commemorative events, press briefings and conferences, as well as Facebook and Twitter coverage.

Suicide is the willful taking of ones own life that is killing yourself.

The WHO gives some statistics just to put things in perspective.

Every year, over 800,000 people die from suicide; this roughly corresponds to one death every 40 seconds.

Suicide was the second leading cause of death in the 15-29 years age group in 2012 globally and was the fifth leading causes of death among those aged 30-49 years in the same year.

The last statistics available are those from 2012 where apparently for each adult that died of suicide there were over 20 others who made suicide attempts.

Despite preconceptions that suicide is more prevalent in high-income countries, in reality 75% of suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries

Suicide is complex with psychological, social, biological, cultural and environmental factors involved.

Studies show that interaction also called Connectedness is crucial to individuals who may be vulnerable to suicide.  

Studies have shown that social isolation can increase the risk of suicide and, conversely, that having strong human bonds can be protective against it.

Reaching out to those who have become disconnected from others and offering them support and friendship may be a life-saving act.

If a loved one suddenly becomes a recluse that could be a warning sign.

The  WHO released a report on suicide in its ground breaking publication called  The World Suicide Report 

“Preventing Suicide: A global imperative”.

Link: 

In 2012 1346 Zambians committed suicide of which 433 were female and 913 where male.

The polarity in the statistics between men and women is actually a global concern.

According to Psychcentral a collaboration between Lund University in Sweden and Stanford University, showed that the rate of suicide among men is almost three times that of women.

According to Forbes a British study found that the suicide rate was ten times higher in men of lower socioeconomic status than in affluent men

Link:
 The situation is worsened by the fact that there is no national strategy towards combating suicide by providing counselling.

Mental health and depression that are among the leading causes of suicide in Zambia are still not talked about openly.

Hospitals that provide counselling have some stigma attached to them for example Chainama which for many people is basically a place to go to when you have become “mad”.

The fact that we do not have proper facilities or policies for mental health places us at a high risk level.

Many Zambian are indeed battling clinical depression yet do not know how to tackle it or how to seek help.

In my next blog I will tackle the issue of mental health and depression extensively.

But for now please remember that if you have suicidal thoughts, you must seek help, talk to someone or seek help.  Remember Robin