World Suicide Prevention Day
WHO. Who? No, WHO – the World Health Organisation. In 2003, they promoted World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD), held annually on 10th September. Over time, this has organically extended to Suicide Month to raise more awareness. A dark, sensitive, and even controversial topic, I know, but one that needs to be discussed.
Robin Williams, Kurt Cobain, Caroline Flack, and this month, Ricky Hatton, are among the tragic celebrity deaths by suicide that we speak about. But what about the thousands of people we don’t know who have families? I personally have recognised over the years the complexity surrounding the subject of suicide, having experienced it second hand through my friendship circle. I began to recognise that many charities, such as NAMI and Mind work to help people acknowledge and break the taboo surrounding this vital issue globally.
The Samaritans say, 'Suicide is not inevitable. You can intervene to help someone with suicidal thoughts. You could save a life.' However, suicide is a very complex issue with many layers, reasons and issues that we can’t all fully understand. It often results from the interaction of multiple elements, such as neurobiology, personal and family history, stressful events, and sociocultural environment. Given its severity, a key focus must be on identifying the underlying psychological processes that may lead to suicidal thoughts and behaviour. These things can always be looked out for and potentially save a life. A report held by The Samaritans said that 60% of people reported that someone close to them, like a friend or family member, had interrupted their suicidal thoughts, and14% said a stranger or an unknown person had done so. Of course, this does not mean that if you lose a loved one to suicide, you should carry guilt forever.
The primary factor leading to suicide is unbearable mental pain. Other psychological aspects, such as inherent personality traits, emotional regulation, and childhood trauma, also seem to play roles. Whatever the individual has gone through is incredibly sad, and I hope the (slow) rise of speaking out about suicide and mental health can help save lives. So, putting off a blog I had in mind about treating employees and clients with respect and care, this topic is related in some ways. How we treat others can influence the outcome of behaviour and decisions. However, remember that you are not responsible for others' decisions. All you can do is look out for signs – within yourself, too!
I hope this message can help minimise mental health stigma – even if only slightly. For more information and content about this subject, please check out the charities within this blog.
Cheers for reading.
David
#SuicidePreventionMonth #mentalhealthawareness #managedbyera #worldhealthorganization #suicidemonth
