SUICIDE IS AVOIDABLE
Suicide is taking one’s own life. The sad thing is that most cases of suicide could have been quite easily prevented if the warning signs had been picked up.
Death is the worst possible outcome of most serious diseases when they have run their full course and death by suicide is probably the equivalent for serious mental health issues which seem to be on the rise. In the US alone, the suicide rate saw a 24% climb between the years 1999 and 2014.
According to WHO suicide data, more than 700,000 people die by suicide every year. That is one person every 40 seconds. Other studies put this figure at 800,000 and for every suicide, there are roughly between 20 to 25 unsuccessful attempts. Suicides are illegal in most countries, which means these figures are even possibly underestimated since they could be mistaken for unintentional injury.
Suicide is the leading cause of death after unintentional injury and homicide in the 15-24 age group, and causes a great deal of pain to hundreds of thousands of people all over the world.
Anyone can see that we have a major problem on our hands but what makes it worse is that finding a solution to this global issue is less straight forward than many other issues.
Suicide is most commonly caused by a loss of hope for the future. People may find themselves in difficult situations which feel like stale mates and they may feel that the only way out is by ending their lives. This is often not the case. Most suicides are committed by people who flirt with suicidal thoughts, are dealing with chronic depression and other mental illnesses, and in most cases, suicide is an impulsive decision and not objectively planned.
Most suicides are caused when psychological myopia prevent victims from seeing the broader picture and only focus on the stress-causing factor that they immediately face. That is the reason why suicide seems to be the best solution they find.
Most people who commit suicide are unable to handle their circumstances objectively, and very often, there are thousands of people going through similar experiences that do not resort to suicide. This is because it’s mostly not the situation in itself that leads to suicide, but the state of mind of the person when said issue arises.
This is the reason why mental health care is important and people with mental health issues should not be stigmatized. US multi-medal gymnast, Simone Biles suddenly dropped out of the 2021 Olympic games, and cited that this was in order to seek mental health care. She was collapsing under the pressure from the rigorous training and preparation for the games, and said she no longer felt like she was doing this for herself, but only for others.
Biles is quoted to have said “There is more to life than just gymnastics.” She was met with a lot of support those around her. This an instance where things went the right way. She carried the mindset that would have saved many who died from suicide, that life is more than whatever issue is pressing them down. The support and understanding that Biles was met with is heartwarming and would be encouraging to anyone in the same shoes. The point made is that mental health is priority and when met with the right support can save thousands of lives.
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