WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY: EXPERT ADVOCATES FOR COOPERATION TO PREVENT SUICIDE

The Mental Health Expert noted, “suicide is a leading cause of death globally in all age groups, and it is responsible for more than 800,000 deaths annually, this translates to one suicide every 40 seconds, one million people commit suicide globally and 90% of it is caused by depression’.

“Suicide is the highest cause of death in young people particularly between the age of 10 – 19 years old, for every suicide, it is estimated that about 135 other persons, such as either suffer from intense grief or are otherwise severely affected. This means that every year, 108 million people are profound impacted by suicidal behavior’, he said.

“We need to be interested in anybody who want to commit suicide so that  we can help them to get out of depress state, most people don’t want to die, but their failure to reach out to get help is what makes them to commit suicide’.

The Medical Doctor  pointed out that different types of mental health include, moody, psychosis, anxiety,  stressing that mental health can affect anybody, either young or old, and rich or poor.

“Early detection and appropriate treatment of mental health and substance problems will prevent most suicides from occurring, suicide prevention is most effective if everyone in the community works together and prevention strategies are incorporated.

Penpushing further reports that, he reiterated that common challenges young people face which can cause mental illness include low self-esteem, difficulty with interpersonal relationship, peer groups, academic pressure, temptation to try drug, bullying, internet addiction, relationship difficulties, and family challenges to mention few.

The guest lecturer stressed further that what someone can do in helping someone in emotional pain includes asking them about their problem, keeping them save, listening carefully to them and acknowledging their feelings, helping them to connect with the right people such as nurses, social workers, psychiatrist, and staying connected with them.

“People should understand that failure and challenges are part of life, they should invest in good social network and build relationships, they should stay away from drug and always do regular exercise, they should also talk to someone if they have difficulties, and develop emotional intelligence’.

“You can raise awareness about suicide as a global public health problem, show compassion and care to those who are in distress in your community, you can reduce stigma associated with suicide, suicidal behavior and mental health problems, share your own experiences and let people who are struggling know that they are not alone’.

Penpushing also reports that in similar vein, Dr. Olatunde Ayinde, a Consultant Psychiatrist at the University of Ibadan,  noted that 9 out of 10 people committing suicide has a mental related issues or other health issues such as psychological issues, social pressure, and genetic issues, adding that if all these mix-up together, it can leads to committing suicide.

Hear him, “People attempting suicide are people who are in distress, emotional, and social problems, they can’t help themselves because the whole thing is in the brain because most people has psychic pains, pressure in the brain, so they need help, lot of care and attention.

“Today is a day that has been set aside to talk about mental issues that affect all the people, we try to bring together stakeholders who has to do with mental health issues to discuss mental issues that affect us so that all of us can go out to prevent mental illness and promote good well-being, and to enable us to treat mental health issues whenever they occur.