Society 'must reach out to cut suicides'

 

A THAI commits suicide every two hours, with the youngest recorded victim 10 years old and the oldest 93. 

The Public Health Ministry revealed the alarming statistic yesterday to mark World Suicide Prevention Day, and recommended a guideline on how to cut down on the numbers. 

For instance, don’t ignore or call someone stupid if they say they want to kill themselves. 

“We have to reach out and save lives,” Public Health Minister Piyasakol Sakolsatayadorn said. 

Across the world, more than 800,000 people commit suicide each year – a number expected to reach 1.5 million by 2020.

“In Thailand, about 3,900 people end their life each year. The suicide rate is the highest in the North,” Piyasakol revealed.

He said Thailand was trying to keep the suicide rate at no more than 6.5 per 100,000 people. The 2014 figure was 6.08 per 100,000 with a peak of 8.2 in 2001.

Piyasakol has instructed the Mental Health Department to spearhead efforts to prevent suicides and pay special attention to depressed and impulsive people.

Department director-general Jedsada Chokdamrongsuk said the common causes of suicides were family conflicts, chronic health problems, jealousy and heartbreak. 

“About 3 per cent of men who took their own life also harmed others. In women, it is 2 per cent,” he said. 

Piyasakol expressed concern about the relationship between the rising popularity of social media and the suicide rate, as foreign research revealed the greater access there was to the online world the higher the number of suicides. 

There are about 16 million social media users in Thailand, he added. 

Jedsada said nearly half of suicide victims signal their intent to kill themselves before doing so. “Such a signal may come in the form of posts on social media too,” he said. 

Posts like “we may never see each other again” and “this is the last post” could be an indication someone intends to commit suicide, he said. 

“These days we have found that people who commit suicide tend to post farewell messages on Facebook, describing how they were suffering and showing picture of guns or any tool used for suicides,” he said

Jedsada added if people detected such signals, they should never take them for granted.

“Here’s the guideline about what we should do if we detect a signal. When coming across a signal, do not challenge [the person], taunt or make indifferent comments. Also don’t share or post pictures of people who have committed suicide or their relatives,” he said.

He said upon detecting a suicide signal, people should try to discourage the person from taking their life, talk to the person more and ask people close to them to help or call the Mental Health Department’s 1323 hotline.