“I’m going to go now!”
These parting words resounded from a 41-year-old drummer who “jumped” off from 34th floor of a building to take his own life early this year. Last year, a top executive died after falling from 10th floor of his office building. Just recently, a 30-year old male was reported by the police to have died by suicide after he was left by his live-in partner.
The national and local news reports now fill these type of incidents. While some are taken by the mystery or by the horror of their deaths, health institutions are more concerned over the occurrence of suicide in almost all corners of the world and all walks of life.
World statistics now show that close to 800,000 people take their own lives every year. And the World Health Organisation (WHO) tally more number of people attempting suicide.
Primary interventions are initiated by the said institution as cases and incidents related to suicides are rising. This time, numbers are not only coming from high-income countries as 79% of suicides were accounted to have occurred in low- and mid-income countries in 2016.
Not Exempted from the Risk
A third world country like the Philippines then is obviously not free from this rising public health care problem.
While other countries account for higher suicide rate per 100,000 people, the Philippines’ increased rate from 2.9 in 2012 to 3.7 in 2016 is hard to dismiss.
This has more than 3 million Filipinos in the country suffer from depression and anxiety disorder-mental health problems closely linked to suicides in high-income countries, and perhaps in the Philippines too.
In addition, according to WHO a number of suicides happen impulsively “in moment of crisis with a breakdown in the ability to deal life stresses such as financial problems, relationship break-up or chronic pain and illness.” Such maybe related to the cases of the drummer, the top executive, and the heart-broken male.
Moreover, Filipinos are also not exempt from “experiencing conflict, disaster, violence, abuse, or loss and a sense of isolation.” These are things closely associated with suicidal behaviour.
The Philippines is also a place with “refugees and migrants; indigenous peoples; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, (LGBTI) persons; and prisoners. They are vulnerable groups who experience discrimination. Suicide rates are also high among them.
Depressing Mental Health
Clearly, the risk is there. Could even be higher than we thought.
However, we claim, as Filipinos, to have faced the worst adversities in life – from miserable economic crisis to devastating natural disasters, from dismal political turmoil’s to disturbing international territorial disputes – we are not immune to these risks.
Even with an enactment of a Mental Health Law, much work and shaping up is needed not only for the Filipino to cope up with the trying times but for the government through its state agencies to likewise cope up with the demand to monitor, address and prevent suicides.
According to an ABS-CBN investigative report, the Philippines has 60 psychiatric health facilities. However, the country has only about 7% of all public and private hospitals with have a psychiatric unit or ward and there are only two mental health workers per 100,000 populations.
Awareness that suicide is a threat, and that we are doing something to curb or to prevent it from happening is knowledge transformed into action. According to WHO, suicide can be prevented.
October 10 is World Mental Health Day and this year, the WHO will focus its theme in the prevention of suicide. Let’s join the cause.
Sources:
World Health Organisation (WHO)
Philippine Star
ABS-CBN Investigative Group
Gulf News