Today (September 10th) is the World Suicide Prevention Day. The World Suicide Prevention Day (called WSPD for short) is organised by the International Association for Suicide Prevention. The purpose of the day is to raise awareness around the globe to the fact that suicide can be prevented.
Some important numbers More that 800,000 people die by suicide every year. This means there is one person committing suicide roughly every 40 seconds. Suicide is the 15th leading cause of death globally, accounting for 1,4% of all deaths. As the numbers from a lot of countries are lacking, the number might actually be a lot higher.
Some groups of people are at a higher risk of committing suicide than others. Suicide is the leading cause of death for people aged 15-24 in many European countries, though the rate among this age group is globally higher for men than women.
It is also important to note that for every one person who dies by suicide, 24 others have tried to kill themselves. Someone who has tried to commit suicide once before is in the highest risk group fro trying again. When someone commits suicide, the death affects many others, and relatives and close friends to someone who committed suicide has a high risk of committing suicide themselves due to the physiological trauma and stigma associated with this loss.
In many countries suicide is seen as a sin. In 25 countries within the World Health Organization member states is suicide still criminalized, and in 20 other countries, people who attempt to commit suicide can be punished with jail. Suicide normally goes hand in hand with with depression, and depression is the most common psychiatric disorder in people who dies by suicide. In high income countries, 50% of those committing suicide have major depressive issues at the time of death.
While many suicides are related to mental diseases, a lot happen impulsively in moments of crisis where the person has a breakdown in the ability to deal with life stresses such as financial problems or relationship break-ups. Experiencing conflict, disaster, abuse or loss and a sense of isolation - like many have done during this coronavirus pandemic - is also associated with suicidal behavior. The suicide rate is also high among vulnerable groups that are discriminated against like refugees, prisoners and people who are part of the LGBT community.
About the World Suicide Prevention Day World Suicide Prevention Day is an awareness day created by the International Association for Suicide Prevention together with the World Health Organisation and the World Federation for Mental Health. In 2011, it was estimated that 40 countries held awareness events to mark the day, proving that it is indeed an international event and a topic that is taken seriously in many countries. The focus on this day is to raise awareness about suicide prevention. Suicide is a serious public health problem, but it is preventable with early and evidence-based intervention. This has to happen on both national and personal levels. Effective strategies for suicide prevention have to mix public health policy strategies and healthcare strategies.
It is important to know who commits suicide and how in order to try to prevent the suicide attempts. There are many things that can be done to attempt this. However, since it is a very complex issue, suicide prevention efforts has to be a collaboration between many sectors to be successful. Beside the health sector, everything from the medias to education to labour and agriculture, business and law must also play a part.
As suicide and mental health problems are often viewed as taboos, many people who are either thinking of doing or who have tried committing suicide don't seek help and therefore don't get the help they need. Suicide often hasn't been addressed properly because of the stigma around it. This has led to a lack of public awareness about the topic. Even though most countries recognize suicide as a public health issue, only few countries have its prevention as a health priority. Therefore, the World Health Organisation is trying to increase the awareness of suicide which they recognize as a public health priority and to make suicide prevention a global priority.
However, identifying suicidal behaviour can be difficult. But if someone around you says things like how they are fed up with life and don't want to live, it could be a warning sign, and in that case it is best to seek help. Other signs can be the person talking about feeling trapped or alone, having dramatic mood swings or giving away personal possesions or making a will. There are many other potential signs, and just because a person is expressing a certain behaviour doesn't mean they are suicidal. However, taking action in time and helping someone get help may save a life.
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