Suicide in the World: Urgent Need to Address Mental Health

 

Suicide in the World: Urgent Need to Address Mental Health 

High rates of suicide in men, women and even adolescents stresses the urgent need to address mental health problems.

Suicide has emerged as a complex problem for today's world.  About 700,000 people die by suicide each year, more than half of whom are under the age of 50.

If we take this number further, it is found that 15 to 19 Year-old die in the world.  Suicide is a problem in old age, however, suicide is less than the tenth leading cause of death in this age group.

Studies have built up enough grounds to say that secondary school and university students commit suicide the most, which also shows how alarming this problem is.  Especially the fluctuations in the physical and thought processes of adolescence, identity crisis, confusion, etc. add complexity.

Suicide is the 15th leading cause of death overall, and low- and middle-income countries bear nearly 80 percent of the world's suicide burden, with twice as many men as women.

A look at failed suicide attempts gives a sense of just how serious the problem is, presenting a twenty-fold larger picture than suicide itself.  About 10 people commit suicide in every 100,000 and 3 people in 1000 fail.

After understanding the network of such numbers, it is natural to feel the need to understand the reasons and circumstances of suicide.  Mental problems are the leading cause of suicide.  About 90 percent of suicides are related to existing mental problems or having experienced mental problems at some time.

Among mental problems, depression is the leading cause of suicide.  But the common comment in the society that depression leads to suicide is not completely true.  However, 50 to 65 percent of suicides are due to depression.  Therefore, if we or any of us have depression, we must be careful without panicking.

Suicidal thoughts often increase as the severity of depression increases.  Depression doesn't necessarily have to have severe suicidal symptoms.  Even when psychologists test for depression, they look at how many suicidal symptoms there are, based on which we can clearly understand the signs of depression and suicide.

During depression, there are physical symptoms such as feeling sad, losing interest in things that you used to like, not sleeping or sleeping too much, lack of sexual desire, feeling like you have no strength in your body, feeling sorry for yourself, headaches and neck pain, and dizziness.

Another major cause of suicide is personality disorder.  About 30 to 40 percent of suicides have been found to be due to personality disorders.  Among the personality disorders, borderline personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder have been found to be more associated with suicide.

Persistence in risky actions such as self-injury, excessive fear of rejection from others, unstable relationships, excessive emotional turmoil, feelings of emptiness and excessive anger are common symptoms of borderline personality disorder.  The symptoms of personality disorder include not being able to have a stable relationship, doing things like hurting yourself or others, not wanting to take responsibility in various aspects of life, not being kind to others or not feeling sorry for your mistakes, and repeatedly doing things that are against the social order and the law, etc.

Common eating disorders, anxiety and severe schizophrenia have also emerged as causes of suicide.  But for this reason, the possibility of suicide is numerically low.

Having more than one mental disorder adds to the complexity and increases the likelihood of suicide.  If there have been previous suicide attempts in a family, members of such families may be motivated to commit suicide.  It quadruples the chance of suicide.  And even when suicide instruments are readily available, the likelihood of suicide attempts increases.

In order to look deeper into the psychological causes of suicide, it is necessary to look at the internal and external environment of any person.  What is the inner state of a person?  What is his relationship with society?  These questions are important.

The inner state of any person is very important.  If a person feels that he is a burden on others due to financial problems, quarrels, failures in various fields etc., then he develops a sense of self-pity.  Awakens a sense of the pointlessness of one's existence.  This increases the chances of suicide over time.

This also adds complexity if a person feels isolated from others and begins to suffer from not being able to develop meaningful relationships with others.  At the same time, he develops suicidal behaviors to suppress his inner pain.  It can also lead to suicide over time.

If any person has such thoughts in his mind or starts showing such behaviors, then taking it as a high risk, it is necessary to take adequate steps.  Based on the psychological therapeutic method, how a person views the problem is more important than any problem.  Ideas developed in such a background that people find beautiful, in time therefore lay the foundations of great problems.  I suppress something today, it explodes tomorrow.  Today I avoid a small thing, tomorrow it turns out to be a tiger.  There are many things that we need to consider.

Scientists discovered that mental illness, like other diseases, is a disease caused by a malfunction of the body's central nervous system.  About 15 percent of the world's population appears to suffer from some form of mental illness, mild or severe.  Mental illness is a major problem in today's human society. Unless mental health services are good, health services remain incomplete.  In order to make health services effective and efficient, it is absolutely necessary to give equal emphasis to mental health services.

What is the solution?

Increasing social awareness, especially related to mental health issues, is very much needed these days.  Economically poor countries bear the brunt of the maximum number of suicides.  The reason for this can also be considered the lack of social awareness regarding mental problems.

Even in the twenty-first century, people who are suffering from mental problems have to live in isolation from the society.  In our society it is still difficult to openly say that you have a mental health problem, especially for women.

Due to the attitude of seeking treatment only when severe problems are found, most of the people with problems have not been able to get proper treatment.  Therefore, increase in social consciousness is the main need of the moment.

There should be sufficient grounds for society to accept people with mental problems.  What kind of treatment should be sought for what problem, what are the treatment methods, what are the related specialists etc., knowledge should be disseminated.

If the problem is solved when it is small, there is no need to get into a risky situation like suicide.  Apart from this, attention should be paid to adequate treatment arrangements, provision of psychologists, counselors and psychiatrists, identification and protection of people in risky situations, access to adequate helplines, emergency rescue services, proper management of economic and social welfare of people in trouble, etc.

Studies have also shown that suicides have decreased by preventing the easy distribution of deadly substances such as poisons and drugs and banning the places where people jump to death.

Finally, suicide is becoming a very complex issue in the world.  The concern is not only the numerical growth, but the loss of a large youth force from the world is more painful.  This has raised the question of how it will affect the future of the family, society and country.

In particular, there is a need for proper treatment, rehabilitation and management of people with mental problems.  It is equally important to increase the level of public awareness.

No one commits suicide if they are thinking about suicide.  Various studies have shown that people often attempt suicide after a long period of thought.  One should not tamper with a sensitive matter like human life.

If a person expresses suicidal thoughts, it is advisable to take immediate action.  At least everyone should have the knowledge and environment to express suicidal thoughts no matter who is around them.  Just expressing a thought or feeling can save a precious life.

Mental health explains the social and emotional state of a person.  In order to live a healthy life, to do what we want, to be happy in life, to strengthen relationships, to easily blend into new environments and to face the challenges that come in life, our mental health should be healthy.  If a person is mentally healthy, it helps us to deal with the problems and difficulties that we face throughout life.