Call to amplify mental health awareness

Tanaka Mahanya and Ashley Mujoma

FOR Youths By Youths (FYBY), in partnership with Youth Empowerment and Transformation Trust (YETT), have urged people to amplify mental health awareness.

Mental health disorders and suicidal thoughts have largely been blamed for the deaths of people between the ages of 15 and 35 years.

In a statement, FYBY executive director, Wilbert Jena, said, every year 703 000 people took their own lives and more attempted suicide.

“People with severe mental health conditions die prematurely. 

“Youth suicide constitutes a major public mental health problem.

“Youths, especially adolescents, are by nature a vulnerable group to mental health problems. 

“While suicide is relatively high among youths, its prevalence increases significantly throughout adolescence and adulthood.” 

He said, although youth suicide rates had slightly decreased in other regions of the world such as Europe, suicide and other mental health disorders still ranked as a leading cause of death among young people.

 “It is responsible for a substantial number of premature deaths and a huge amount of intense suffering and societal loss.

“Each suicide is the result of various complex situations that are unique and interplay between numerous contributing factors leading to failed interventions.

“Every mental health disorder has dire effects that affect families and has long-lasting effects on the people left behind.

“Depression and suicides have a ripple effect that impacts on economic growth, families, friends, colleagues and communities,” he said.

He said young men particularly committed suicide in huge numbers due to responsibilities placed on them, but the general public remained largely unaware of these disturbing statistics.

“Many productive and vital youths are falling under the radar, with no one to speak for them because they do not speak up and our communities have little knowledge on mental health. 

“Most youths tend to ignore their stress entirely or deal with it by engaging in self-destructive actions such as abusing drugs, alcohol, promiscuity, social media bullying or a myriad of other risky behaviours.

“They may suppress their feelings until they erupt in irritability, anger or hostility,” he said.