How to handle a suicidal person
Sep 16, 2007
PATRICK, a 27-year-old father of two, became withdrawn and would occasionally talk to himself. He complained of poor appetite and lost weight. Patrick told a colleague that he was crushing under the weight of debts and was planning to kill himself. His colleague, however, brushed it off as mere talk
By Jamesa Wagwau
PATRICK, a 27-year-old father of two, became withdrawn and would occasionally talk to himself. He complained of poor appetite and lost weight. Patrick told a colleague that he was crushing under the weight of debts and was planning to kill himself. His colleague, however, brushed it off as mere talk and never revealed the plans to anybody. Patrick committed suicide a week later.
Patrick’s case is just one out of 3,000 people who the World Health Organisation (WHO) report says commit suicide every day. With such spine chilling statistics, the world ought to wake up and face the reality of suicide afresh.
The focus of World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10) this year was on suicide prevention from youth to old age. According to WHO, for every person who commits suicide, 20 or more may attempt suicide. Suicide might appear like an individual’s problem, but for a family or friends affected by suicide or attempted suicide, the emotional impact may last for many years.
How to help a suicidal person?
Psychologists believe that suicidal thoughts do not develop overnight. Deborah Ojiambo, a counseling psychologist, says suicidal thoughts are often a climax of severe depression.
She says most people contemplating suicide battle with several painful emotions that make them depressed. There is anger, hurt, negative thinking, poor self-esteem and guilt underlying suicidal thoughts.
Ojiambo observes that people rarely commit suicide without sending signals. Erwin Stengel, in his book, Suicide and Attempted Suicide, classifies suicidal ideation (thought) into two categories: Active and passive.
In active ideation, the person has the desire and a concrete plan to die, while in passive ideation, the person has the desire, but no plan to bring about death. In either form, there is a need to be alert to suicidal messages if a life is to be saved.
What causes suicidal thoughts?
Bill Blackburn in his book, WhatYou Should Know About Suicide, offers various reasons for this:
To escape from loneliness, depression, academic or work difficulties, financial pressures and conflicts with people. To such people, death is an escape route.
To punish survivors who are likely to feel hurt and guilty. This is common with teenagers who want to punish their strict parents and lovers whose relationship has turned sour.
To manipulate others and gain attention, using suicide threats.
To join a loved one who has died. This occurs when grief continues endlessly and the bereaved sinks into depression.
To avoid suffering and effects of a dreaded disease, especially when they anticipate suffering as a result of an incurable disease.
Handling a suicidal person:
Since most victims give clues about their intentions, watch out for the following:
Mention of suicide in their conversation. In active ideation, the person will have plans of how to die. In some cases, especially under serious depression, the person loses sleep.
Do not judge or blame the person. Avoid any arguments or preaching sessions with them, just listen to their feelings.
Inform a close family member so that they can keep an eye on the person. Seek help from a counsellor, clinical psychologist or psychiatrist as soon as possible.
A person with suicidal thoughts might not know they need help. Any attempt at punishing, shaming or belittling them only makes them withdraw and carry out their plans behind closed doors.
THE first worldwide comparison of depression with four other non-fatal chronic diseases shows that feeling seriously blue is the most disabling of all.
Combing through self-reported health data on 245,404 adults from 60 countries, World Health Organisation (WHO) researchers recently found that about 3.2% of those surveyed had experienced depression over a year.
This was a bit lower than for asthma (3.3%), arthritis (4.1%) and angina (4.5%), and higher than for diabetes (2.0%.)
But the results of a quality-oflife index called the “global mean health score†showed that depression was, by a significant margin, the most difficult to bear. Individuals burdened with diabetes returned an overall satisfaction score of
78.9 and a score of nearly 80 for
the three other chronic ailments.
Respondents with no chronic diseases scored 90.6 on the 1-to-100 scale. For those suffering from depression, however, the score was only 72.9. “Our findings are consistent with earlier studies that have shown a high degree of association between depression and disability,†commented lead author Saba Moussavi.
The study, published in the British journal, The Lancet, says depression accounts for the greatest share of non-fatal disease burden, accounting for almost 12% of total years lived with disability worldwide. The researchers called on doctors to be more alert in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition, noting that it is fairly easy to recognise and treat.
They also note that even if the prevalence of depression is similar to the four other chronic physical diseases, the lifetime risk (people who cycle in and out of depression) is five to 10 times greater.
AFP
PATRICK, a 27-year-old father of two, became withdrawn and would occasionally talk to himself. He complained of poor appetite and lost weight. Patrick told a colleague that he was crushing under the weight of debts and was planning to kill himself. His colleague, however, brushed it off as mere talk and never revealed the plans to anybody. Patrick committed suicide a week later.
Patrick’s case is just one out of 3,000 people who the World Health Organisation (WHO) report says commit suicide every day. With such spine chilling statistics, the world ought to wake up and face the reality of suicide afresh.
The focus of World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10) this year was on suicide prevention from youth to old age. According to WHO, for every person who commits suicide, 20 or more may attempt suicide. Suicide might appear like an individual’s problem, but for a family or friends affected by suicide or attempted suicide, the emotional impact may last for many years.
How to help a suicidal person?
Psychologists believe that suicidal thoughts do not develop overnight. Deborah Ojiambo, a counseling psychologist, says suicidal thoughts are often a climax of severe depression.
She says most people contemplating suicide battle with several painful emotions that make them depressed. There is anger, hurt, negative thinking, poor self-esteem and guilt underlying suicidal thoughts.
Ojiambo observes that people rarely commit suicide without sending signals. Erwin Stengel, in his book, Suicide and Attempted Suicide, classifies suicidal ideation (thought) into two categories: Active and passive.
In active ideation, the person has the desire and a concrete plan to die, while in passive ideation, the person has the desire, but no plan to bring about death. In either form, there is a need to be alert to suicidal messages if a life is to be saved.
What causes suicidal thoughts?
Bill Blackburn in his book, WhatYou Should Know About Suicide, offers various reasons for this:
To escape from loneliness, depression, academic or work difficulties, financial pressures and conflicts with people. To such people, death is an escape route.
To punish survivors who are likely to feel hurt and guilty. This is common with teenagers who want to punish their strict parents and lovers whose relationship has turned sour.
To manipulate others and gain attention, using suicide threats.
To join a loved one who has died. This occurs when grief continues endlessly and the bereaved sinks into depression.
To avoid suffering and effects of a dreaded disease, especially when they anticipate suffering as a result of an incurable disease.
Handling a suicidal person:
Since most victims give clues about their intentions, watch out for the following:
Mention of suicide in their conversation. In active ideation, the person will have plans of how to die. In some cases, especially under serious depression, the person loses sleep.
Do not judge or blame the person. Avoid any arguments or preaching sessions with them, just listen to their feelings.
Inform a close family member so that they can keep an eye on the person. Seek help from a counsellor, clinical psychologist or psychiatrist as soon as possible.
A person with suicidal thoughts might not know they need help. Any attempt at punishing, shaming or belittling them only makes them withdraw and carry out their plans behind closed doors.
THE first worldwide comparison of depression with four other non-fatal chronic diseases shows that feeling seriously blue is the most disabling of all.
Combing through self-reported health data on 245,404 adults from 60 countries, World Health Organisation (WHO) researchers recently found that about 3.2% of those surveyed had experienced depression over a year.
This was a bit lower than for asthma (3.3%), arthritis (4.1%) and angina (4.5%), and higher than for diabetes (2.0%.)
But the results of a quality-oflife index called the “global mean health score†showed that depression was, by a significant margin, the most difficult to bear. Individuals burdened with diabetes returned an overall satisfaction score of
78.9 and a score of nearly 80 for
the three other chronic ailments.
Respondents with no chronic diseases scored 90.6 on the 1-to-100 scale. For those suffering from depression, however, the score was only 72.9. “Our findings are consistent with earlier studies that have shown a high degree of association between depression and disability,†commented lead author Saba Moussavi.
The study, published in the British journal, The Lancet, says depression accounts for the greatest share of non-fatal disease burden, accounting for almost 12% of total years lived with disability worldwide. The researchers called on doctors to be more alert in the diagnosis and treatment of the condition, noting that it is fairly easy to recognise and treat.
They also note that even if the prevalence of depression is similar to the four other chronic physical diseases, the lifetime risk (people who cycle in and out of depression) is five to 10 times greater.
AFP