On September 10, the World Health Organization celebrates World Suicide Prevention Day with the aim of raising awareness of its dangers, as estimates indicate that more than 700,000 suicides occur annually.
In 2019, suicide was ranked the fourth cause of death among those aged 15 to 29 years in the world, but it may also occur at any other stage of work.
And it unfolds Numbers One in 100 deaths is caused by suicide around the world, which rates higher among males than females loses A person lives every 40 seconds because of it, causing tragedies for families around the world.
Every year, the organization renews its call to confront suicide through “ Reviving hope through actionTo encourage and remind people that “there is an alternative to suicide,” and to assure them that everyone “cares about supporting them.”
People most at risk of suicide
The World Health Organization supports that many suicide cases occur suddenly as a result of “crisis moments when a person’s ability to deal with life’s pressures collapses,” whether financial, social, or health problems, noting that there is no proven direct link between suicide and psychological disorders such as depression or alcohol abuse. .
She says that there is a link between suicide and areas where conflicts, disasters, violence and abuse are common, as rates are higher among the most vulnerable groups that suffer from discrimination, such as refugees, immigrants, indigenous minorities, or even homosexuals or transgender people, and prisoners.
Methods of suicide vary, including using pesticides, especially in agricultural areas and low-income countries, or hanging or firing gunshots.
Suicide prevention
And it is determined the organization A set of measures to protect individuals at risk of suicide and reduce their thoughts about ending their lives through:
• Restricting access to means of suicide such as “pesticides, weapons, or even some medications.”
• Communicating with the media to provide information directed at those contemplating suicide to discourage them from committing it.
• Directing the media and social networks to play a lesser role in promoting manifestations of suicide, through greater dissemination of success stories in recovering from mental health challenges and suicidal thoughts.
• Enhancing social and emotional life skills, especially during adolescence.
• Trying to monitor and identify individuals who have suicidal behaviors in order to intervene early.
• Directing official authorities to place the fight against suicide within comprehensive health strategies in different countries.
Dr. Nagham Al-Anazi, a specialist in psychological treatment, says that it is difficult to determine a comprehensive treatment for disorders that lead to suicide, but there are measures that can be taken within several levels, whether official or family, to reduce suicide.
She added in an interview with Al-Hurra website that suicide may be a behavior that has accompanied humans since ancient times, but the changes taking place in current life make it a phenomenon in some societies.
Al-Anazi recommends a set of recommendations, including:
• Developing government programs aimed at reducing the causes of suicide, especially among young people, by providing them with job opportunities.
• Opening psychological treatment centers to identify and deal with people who have suicidal tendencies.
• Developing social programs to deal with the problems of adolescents and making them aware of the disorders they may be exposed to.
• Guiding families and educating them to recognize any signs warning of suicidal tendencies, and encouraging them to bridge the gap between parents and children, especially those in their teenage years.
• Launching community campaigns that motivate everyone to consult psychotherapists without feeling fear or shame.
Sociologist Hague Abdul Hussein said that the increasing number of suicides in Arab countries “clearly indicates the role of social factors,” pointing out that “most of the suicides are young people, and there are increasing numbers of elderly people who are entering into this evil cycle.”
In her response to Al-Hurra website’s inquiries, she called for the importance of “paying attention to the harsh conditions that these people suffer from, which are represented by a number of factors, the most important of which is the economic factor, especially the lack of job opportunities that enable young people to make their way in life, in addition to the social pressures that they are subjected to.” Its impact encourages suicide, and for the elderly, loneliness and abandonment by family and loved ones can be considered among the main factors at this level.
Iraq.. Several suicides within days, one of them involving a teenager
Iraq recorded several suicide cases during the past 24 hours, including one of a 17-year-old teenage girl, according to local media.
Al-Hussein warned that ignoring the problem of suicide means “it will grow and society will lose new lives if it remains ignorant of the suffering, demands and requirements of people, young people and others,” especially in light of the growing role of social media networks in enhancing the feeling of differences and injustice between classes.
She stressed the importance of societies paying attention “to the problems and needs of young people, caring for them, containing them, and helping them overcome their ordeals, and working to reintegrate them into their social circles, starting with the family, school, college, and the work field.”
Suicide in Arab countries
And she points data The World Health Organization published it in 2019 until Rates Suicide has been on the decline since 2012, reaching 4.2 out of every 100,000 people, down from 4.6 out of every 100,000 people in 2012.
This rate is lower than the global rate of 9.2 out of every 100,000 people.
In terms of ranking among countries, Egypt came first in the Arab world in the number of suicide cases, recording 3,799 cases in 2016, outperforming Arab countries in which there are conflicts and wars.
Sudan came in second place with 3,205 suicides, followed by Yemen with 2,335 suicides, Algeria with 1,299 suicides, Iraq with 1,128 suicides, and Saudi Arabia with 1,035 cases.
Suicide is not the solution
We were in our teens when we were shocked by the tragic suicide of movie star Romy Schneider in 1982 due to severe depression that struck her after the death of her child by drowning. We did not understand at the time, while we were in the midst of our enthusiasm for life, the meaning of depression and how it could overcome a woman like her, who was considered one of the most beautiful beauties of French and international cinema, and at that time possessed all the reasons for glory, love, and money that made us believe that she would forget sorrows and bring eternal happiness.
Psychologist Sarah Nizar says that suicide cannot be considered a “societal phenomenon” in Arab countries, as recorded cases are still much lower than the global average.
In response to Al-Hurra website’s inquiries, she stressed the importance of alerting families if suicidal tendencies appear in any of their members, and urging him to see psychological specialists so that they can help him overcome these thoughts that may take a person’s life.
There are “multiple causes of suicide that are shared by most stable societies, such as economic, familial, emotional, and social problems; however, (post-conflict societies) additional, more obvious causes appear, as suicidal behavior is frequently associated with conflicts, disasters, violence, abuse, or loss and feelings of isolation,” according to what Sociology professor Talal Mustafa confirmed.
Mustafa added in an interview with Al-Hurra website that “suicide rates are increasing among vulnerable groups that suffer from discrimination, such as refugees and immigrants,” noting that “contrary to popular belief, psychological problems in post-conflict societies worsen after those conflicts stop and things calm down, and they increase.” Then there are cases of suicide, depression and psychological problems.”
He identified six reasons that may have a direct relationship in motivating suicide:
1- There are many needs that are not met, other than feelings of despair and loss of hope that conditions will improve. The repercussions of psychological problems also play a major role in enhancing the desire to commit suicide, especially in some medical cases such as war injuries, or some psychological illnesses.
2- The high rates of death and loss in wars and conflicts lead to mass death becoming a recurring situation, and scenes of blood, pain, and body parts become normal sights, with which the fear of death or killing is broken and becomes acceptable, whether for the individual or for others.
3- Poverty and mismanagement of resources are among the causes of the outbreak of conflicts that deplete the country’s economic and human resources, and their results may cause the emergence of incompetent governments that often manage the country poorly and increase people’s suffering instead of alleviating it, and with the rise in poverty rates and the collapse of the economy, an atmosphere of despair and frustration prevails. ; Especially in the case of a blocked horizon, a lack of opportunities to invest energies, and the absence of any indicators of improvement.
4- Wars often cause a disruption in the structure of society, transforming it into confused, hybrid groups conflicting with each other, driven by interests and fueled by mismanagement and the desire for supremacy.
5- Drug trafficking rates are increasing in post-conflict societies, taking advantage of the state of security chaos, as the demand for it increases as a result of the deteriorating psychological state of some segments of society that want to escape and withdraw from their problems instead of confronting them, which may raise suicide rates. It removes inhibition, so the user is temporarily freed from his fears and does things that he may not dare to do in his conscious states.
6- Wars are accompanied by unnatural conditions and high rates of violence that cause many psychological problems, the most prominent of which is post-traumatic stress disorder. War societies may cause adolescents to mature early and push them to assume adult roles. But at a huge, often invisible cost of stress, exhaustion, depression and burnout.
He explains that “the founder of contemporary sociology, Emile Durkheim, confirms that the highest rate of suicide is among non-religious, unemployed, and unmarried people.” These are realistic indicators in Arab societies, as he puts it.
“A death every 11 minutes”… “signs” of suicidal desire that you should pay attention to
Around the world, an average of about 800,000 people die annually due to suicide, and in 2020, there were about 1.2 million attempts.
Mustafa added, “On the Arab level, the economic factor can be considered the most prominent, especially since many Arab citizens at home are losing hope in the possibility of living as citizens within the minimum limits, with their inability to secure daily living requirements.”
He warns of the growth of “psychological manifestations that may be considered a catalyst for suicide, including psychological disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia, borderline personality, etc., as a result of the surrounding circumstances of wars and displacement, and the resulting crises, which are widely present in most Arab societies, which have become a dark tunnel with no end.” For him, ending life is the solution, especially for young people with high energy who feel helpless and afraid of the future.”
Globally, suicide is a priority problem in the World Health Organization’s program of work to close gaps in mental health.
Under the WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2030, Member States of the Organization committed to working towards achieving the global goal of reducing the suicide rate in countries by one third by 2030.
2023-09-09 18:27:03
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