This seven-letter word is the fourth leading cause of death among young people.
Every year, more than 700,000 people die due to this seven-letter word.
The seven-letter word usually occurs in low-middle income countries.
Window shopping of documents on sight revealed that the seven-letter word affects up to 135people to some degree every person lost.
The Ghana Psychological Association(GPA) further established from the Ghana Health Service documents what mess the seven-letter word has caused: About 417 people attempted this seven-letter word between January and June, 2021. Can you guess this seven-letter word?
It was also noted that averagely, 26people attempted this seven-letter word in each region of Ghana, with more attempted cases at the Southern half of Ghana compared to the Northern part of Ghana.
Any clue to this seven-letter word because it has caused a mess in the Ashanti and Eastern regions of Ghana than the other regions?
SUICIDE is the seven-letter word!
Due to the alarming rate, the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) initiated and teamed up with the World Health Organisation (WHO) on September 10, 2003 to set a day to create awareness and prevention of suicide, hence, September 10 dedicated every year as World Suicide Prevention Day.
This year’s theme is Creating Hope Through Action. And the goal is to shine a light on the issues in hopes of reaching people who are struggling before it is too late.
Most people think about this seven-letter word when depressed, in alcohol use disorder state, in a state of inability to deal with life stresses like financial problems, relationships break-up, chronic pain and illness, experiencing conflict, abuse, violence, disaster, a sense of isolation and discrimination.
One key thing we must note is when one feels hopelessness and thinks the world has come to an end, it is a very important warning sign of this seven-letter word ( SUICIDE). In addition to this, one may isolate or withdraw from people, talking or writing or thinking about death like one may say he or she is traveling to a place we will not see him or her again, look at me for the last time, I will miss you and others. All these are warning signs; kindly assist the person as soon as possible.
Suicides are preventable but how we deal about it is the problem. Stigmatizing and tabooing suicide lead to lack of awareness which is a major public problem. Some societies see suicide as a taboo to discuss openly. However, the Bible says for lack of knowledge, my people perish! It is arguable important that we discuss to be aware of psychological and economic impact of suicide on our society and how to prevent that. It also helps others to know when, where and how to seek for help in a state of hopelessness.
The most common method of SUICIDE include the use of pesticides, firearms, certain medications and others. It is a duty on us as responsible society to limit access to these things.
Sometimes, media way of reporting SUICIDE may be a contributory factor to alarming rate. The media is to INFORM, EDUCATE and ENTERTAIN, hence after informing the public about the suicide case, educate the public on the preventive measures. The media should be responsible in reporting suicide cases.
Parents and guardians should foster socio-emotional life skills in adolescents. Additionally, the at-risk community especially the youth should be felt connected , and reminded that they’re not alone in their struggles.
The Ghana Psychological Association (GPA) as well as the Mental Health Authority and other Mental Health advocates seem to suggest that criminalization of SUICIDE ATTEMPTS is one of the main purpose of loosing the fight on prevention of suicide. They are of the view that people who are in mental state disorder, who instead of to be given medical attention after attempting suicide is treated as a criminal by the state. This has even made the GPA to describe this situation as wicked law. It is therefore as a matter of fact to decriminalize suicide to help the hopelessness by giving them medical attention rather than the criminal treatment. Lastly, those affected by SUICIDAL behaviors should be identified early, assessed , managed and followed up on them.
In conclusion, suicides are preventable, and it is our collaborative effort to revive the optimism in the pessimistic person. Together we can!
Credits;
Ghana Psychological Association’s Press Release on World Suicide Prevention Day, dated September, 10, 2021.
Kwasi Omaro 