16/09/2016
Some facts about su***de in Grenada.
WHO has designated September 10th this year as the world su***de prevention day. For many years this day has been designated as a day to raise awareness in the society and to educated people about su***de and its prevention. The theme this year being Connect, Communicate and Cure.
Why is the subject of su***de and its awareness and prevention so important?
Of late in our society, the Caribbean at large and Grenada in particular is experiencing an increased and alarming numbers in attempted su***des. Statistics will definitely support this.
One can speculate a number of reasons for this upsurge in suicidal attempts and some actual suicidal deaths. For many years su***de was relatively unknown or was a rare occurrence.
Risk factors: Can be mainly 1.Society. 2. Community. 3. Individual
1. Some of the societal factors that might contribute to an increased suicidal behavior according to international health organizations could be barriers to accessing health care, easy availability of the means of su***de and stigma associated help seeking behaviours.
2. In the community the important factors as we have seen in the recent times is relationship conflicts, sense of isolation especially among younger age group, lack of purpose of life and I believe sexual identity. Many young people we see are lost in the vast sea of information available both on the internet and the social media (mostly spurious and false) and become very confused about their own identity and sexual preferences. This I believe leads to some really strange and odd behaviours leading on to self destructive states.
Sense of isolation and lack of self confidence, materialism as advertised on American media and importance to self can lead to such behaviours.
Trauma and abuse (Physical, emotional and sexual) can be contributing factors.
Natural disasters like hurricanes and earthquakes may also be contributing factors.
Other factors like war and conflicts may also be factors leading on to suicidal behaviours.
3. As an individual some of the risk factors are psychiatric problems, previous suicidal attempts, drug and alcohol use.
Again I would stress relationship problems among youth as the number one factor leading on to self destructive behavior as a solution to end all problems.
The majority of su***de or attempted su***des occur between the ages of 25 and 44 in the Caribbean. Although we have seen a lot of younger age group people like 17 or 18 attempt in the very recent times. Females seem to attempt a bit more than the males, but it looks like it is equaling out in the recent times. Completed su***de rates are always higher in males.
The overall su***de rate has increased in the region between 1990 and the present time. The reasons as discussed above are materialism, lofty and unrealistic goals, failures, interpersonal relationship problems and easy availability of the means of doing harm to self. (Example: harmful chemicals like insecticides, prescription meds, guns and knives etc.)
• Suicides are preventable. For National responses to be effective, a comprehensive multi-sectorial su***de prevention strategy is needed.
• It is important to identify the risk and protective factors that are related to suicidal behavior.
• An effective strategy for preventing su***des and su***des attempts is to restrict access to the most common means.
• Early identification of mental health problems, harmful use of alcohol and substance use, are key interventions to reduce the risk of su***de.
Communities play a critical role in su***de prevention, they can provide social support to vulnerable individuals, fight stigma and support those bereaved by su***de.
Dr. Narasimhan Prabhakar.
Professor ,St.George’s University
