ADDRESSING SUICIDE

Jul 23, 2017 Editorial, Features / Columnists

In Guyana, many people have committed suicide for various reasons. But according to experts, one of the major causes for suicide is depression. Contrary to public belief, suicide is a complex human tragedy that has the potential to happen to anyone
The Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO) has placed suicide among the leading causes of death in Guyana among young people between the ages of 15 and 29, and the number one cause of death of men under the age of 45.
Even more disturbing is the fact that for every person who commits suicide, more than 20 others have attempted and failed. According to PAHO, in Guyana, between 15 and 20 percent of the population or roughly 115,000 to 155,000 persons are in need of mental health services. However, the country has only a few full-time psychiatrists and fewer than 200 beds in the Psychiatric Hospital. It is no surprise that on a per capita basis, we have the highest rate of suicide in the world.
Clearly suicide is a serious problem in Guyana. Living with depression could impact one’s ability to cope due largely to diminished self-esteem and feelings of despair. Such a state of mind has resulted in persons not being able to socialize, and unintentionally become isolated from friends, colleagues and family.
Many turn to excessive eating, alcohol and drugs for comfort. These feelings tend to exacerbate a sense of anxiety, fear and helplessness.
Studies have shown that most people who attempted suicide do not want to die, instead they are looking for a way out to solve their problem and to rid themselves of the emotional pain which is unbearable.
They are desperate and tormented as they struggle daily with the debilitating effects of depression and the stigma associated with mental illness. The stigma and the fear of rejection and of being judged by others have prevented many from opening up to relatives and friends or seeking treatment for their suicidal tendencies.
People with mental illness do not want their family or their colleagues to know that they are suffering from such illness. They have refused to seek help because of fear of being stigmatized or ostracized from society. Educating the public about mental illness could raise awareness and hopefully make a difference in reducing societal stigmatization and the taboo associated with mental illness, suicide survivors, and the families of those who have committed suicide.
We do not stigmatize against smokers who have died of lung cancer or diabetics who have succumbed because they did not monitor their sugar intake. Yet those with mental illness are stigmatized repeatedly even though the complexity of the problem is enmeshed in our social, psychological, and cultural environmental.
Suicide is preventable, but it is the taboo, stigma, misconceptions and adverse comments which are preventing people from seeking help. When someone commits suicide, their families have to endure the pain and suffering of their loss. So rather than being judgmental or issue hurtful words or snide remarks to them or to those who have attempted suicide, we should instead express our empathy to the grieving families.
Even though the suicide rate is high in Guyana, the government alone cannot prevent it. It needs the eyes and ears of everyone to do so. However, over the years, the government has developed several effective suicide-based strategies on its own to reduce the number of deaths by suicide.
In 2010, when deaths by suicide had peaked, the government extended training to priests, teachers, and police officers to help identify people at risk of committing suicide, especially in the Berbice area.
Recently, the Ministry of Health established a suicide-prevention hotline.

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