https://www.who.int/campaigns/world-suicide-prevention-day/2022

World Suicide Prevention Day 2022

September 10, 2022

Theme: “Creating hope Through Action”

In the recent 2022 Suicide Prevention Summit hosted by Mental Health Academy, several experts in the mental health field presented on the topic of suicide prevention. The annual event provides resource to the caring profession as they address the increasing rate of suicide.

This topic is timely and relevant for two reasons. First September is Suicide prevention month and secondly, there is an increase of cases of self-harm, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts in our federation. Therefore, the summit was very enlightening, especially the discussion by Dr. Jonathan A. Singer.  He spoke on “Youth Suicide Prevention: Connecting Dots Between Schools and Communities”. 

According to Dr Singer, we are missing the root problems when we look at suicide as an individual issue. We must consider how our community and society communicate the significance of individuals, their value, how much they matter and that this is a world worth living in. 

The data for children ages10-19 is very alarming. The studies show that the numbers of death by suicide among this age group occur during the time of year that school is in session. Compare to the summer and holiday months when the rate decreases. This signifies that the stress such as pass/fail, peer pressure, bulling, and poor self-image are more intensified during school. In addition to the pressures that are associated with school, adolescents are plagued with the prospect of their future adulthood, contending with cultural customs and community challenges.

Cultural customs

There are many types of cultures, family, youth, and social media. Social media is a major influence on the youth culture. It has significant impact on their behavior. Although almost everyone is on social media, not everything is positive. There are instances where the social media platforms have been used for cyber bully. The impersonal aspect of the internet creates an opportunity to people to perpetuate negative and sometimes very scary false information. Research further showed that the effects of social media can be far reaching. 

A significant issue that research revealed is “the use of electronic devices including smartphones for at least five hours a day among teens more than doubled, from 8 percent in 2009 to 19 percent in 2015. The group who spent the most time glued to their phones were 70 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts or actions than those who reported one hour of use per day”. b  

Some cultures create dreadful stigma for behavior that is outside of their norm. Others elevate their family’s reputation and status above the needs, safety, and support of individual family members. That environment fosters a sense of abandonment and rejection instead of help and support. 

Although not specific to any one culture, some cultures are prone to brush off the symptoms of suicide and consider them signs of a personal weakness or moral failings. This sort of idealism can stifle the desire to seek help.

Positive Culture idealism provides coping strategies to individuals; unfortunately, as civilization advances many of these coping mechanisms are lost, unclothing the genetic predisposition of vulnerable groups. Therefore, more local research is needed to identify protective factors that can mitigate the rising incidents of self-harm, suicide ideation and suicide attempts.

Community

The community is one of the most effective protective factors outside of a supportive family. When a person who migrates to a foreign place the sense of belonging is loss and vulnerability is felt. When there isn’t a community that embrace the person, there is the possibility of higher exposure/loss of protection from discrimination. This is faced by younger people of Caribbean origin who move away from their communities and into more diverse occupational and residential areas. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) published an article on youth suicide on August 20, 2020. Data shows that Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among youths. Unfortunately, many more youths are at risk for suicide many are experiencing suicidal ideation, making suicide plans, and attempting suicide. These attempts of making focus on nonfatal suicidal behavior should be a public health priority. Although there isn’t a data base that indicates the prevalence of suicide ideation, many youths are cutting and engaging in other risky behavior that are indicators that there is a need for youth suicide prevention programs in our community. 

In their report, the CDCP showed that during 2009–2019, trends in suicide attempts among adolescents increased overall and among many demographic groups. This estimated frequency of suicidal ideation, suicide plans, attempts, and attempts requiring medical treatment were highest among sexual minority youths and youths who reported having had sexual contact with the same or with both sexes. Some of those issues that are being camouflaged by the desire to die could be root cause that must be addressed. 

It is easy to see that more data is needed to get an understanding of suicide in our federation.  We, as a community need to know the risk and protective factors to determine which suicide prevention strategies are best for each group. The many research and the webinar by Dr. Singer highlighted the importance of a comprehensive approach to suicide prevention, which would provide necessary support to those at risk, decrease suicidal ideation and self-injurious behaviors, and ultimately prevent suicide among youths and save lives.

Sources

a. Maharajh HD, Abdool PS. Cultural aspects of suicide. Thescientificworldjournal. 2005 Sep;5:736-746. DOI: 10.1100/tsw.2005.88. PMID: 16155688; PMCID: PMC5936491.

b. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/suicide-youth-teens-whats-behind-rise/