admin
Andile Tshuma
Mental illness and suicidal thoughts can affect anyone, of any age, from any background, at any time.
Similar to physical illnesses, people do not choose to have mental health problems and need the appropriate care to get better.
On Monday, police revealed some chilling statistics on the number of people who have taken their own lives so far this year.
According to police, 129 people are reported to have committed suicide in the first three months of 2019, a 42 percent increase from the same period last year, when 94 suicide cases were recorded.
National Police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the statistics were worrying and showed that many people were suffering from social problems.
“Between January and March in 2018, a total of 94 people are recorded to have committed suicide. Of that figure, 74 people took their lives by hanging, while 20 ended their lives by poisoning with substances such as pesticides and overdosing medication. In 2019, the figures of people who committed suicide ballooned to 129, with 87 people ending their existence on earth by hanging, while 42 people committed suicide by poisoning with drugs and other poisonous substances,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
He said few cases of railway suicides were reported as well but did not have actual figures although he highlighted that railway suicides were also on the increase.
“These cases of people ending their lives are an indication that we have a lot of troubled souls in our communities. We implore members of the public to seek help when facing challenges in life. There are churches, relatives, victim friendly unit in the police service available at police stations nationwide,” said Asst Comm Nyathi.
He said growing cases of mental illness may also provide answers to the surge in suicide cases. Domestic problems are also common of late among other social problems, which often lead to fights that fuel suicide.
He said some elderly persons sometimes ended up taking their lives when they felt neglected by their children or grandchildren not giving them attention or assistance.
Mental illness and suicidal thoughts are common amongst people, particularly among teenagers and it can be difficult to know if a child is suffering from it as they often keep it to themselves.Scores of people suffer from mental health illnesses without even realising it. Children especially may fail to articulate what they feel.
According to the World Health Organisation, Zimbabwe is ranked number 19 in the world in terms of deaths by suicide, with suicide deaths reaching 1 641 or 1,30 percent of total mortalities in the country.
Adults may experience feelings of depression but be ashamed to speak to a health professional or brush them aside and pass them off as something minor until it is too late.
Ingutsheni Central Hospital clinical director Dr Wellington Ranga said it was vital for everyone to undergo psychological evaluation on a regular basis to ensure that all mental illnesses are diagnosed early and treated.
Dr Ranga said mental health was overlooked in Zimbabwe as very few people recognised the need for professional counselling if going through any social and psychological challenges.
He said members of the public do not seek help when going through challenges that threaten their psychiatric wellbeing, leading to conditions such as depression, which contribute to the rise in suicide cases countrywide. “People don’t take mental health issues seriously. There’s a lot of stigma around mental health issues. People assume that the only mentally ill people are those that are dirty and cause havoc in the streets yet quite a lot of people are leading seemingly normal lives yet suffering from different types of mental ailments,” said Dr Ranga.
He said more females contemplated suicide than men although more men actually execute successful suicides.
Dr Ranga said studies showed that more women attempted suicide as an attention seeking mechanism and most successful suicides in females would have been attention seeking drills gone wrong.
The psychiatrist said there were three main factors that led most people to suicide; a chance of mental illness, depressive illness or substance abuse.
Dr Ranga said other factors were defence or coping mechanisms in which a person would have failed to contain or cope with a particular situation or experience.
“I strongly advise people to take mental health issues seriously. It’s not only people admitted to psychiatric institutions who have mental ailments so if someone has problems, they should seek help,” he said.
In the African context, men are socialised to stomach all their problems and brave through them like “real men”.
They are taught that men do not cry, they stay strong and remain valiant even when they are broken inside.
Psychiatrists and other mental health experts continuously inform members of the public about the need to keep their mental health in check.
Highlighting a series of suicide cases in the city over the past few months, a psychiatrist who refused to be named for professional reasons said most of his patients were in denial and would refuse to take depression medication as a result of fear of stigmatisation.
“People are afraid of being stigmatised and stereotyped as mad and will do whatever it takes to stay away from us. When they come for help, most times the situation would be so bad we would have to admit them into an institution. Some would be contemplating suicide,” said the pyschiatrist.
Contact Family Planning and Counselling Centre director, Ms Thenjiwe Ngwenya, said it was important for families to seek counselling as a group or as individuals when going through emotional crises.
“Suicide is a worrying trend in the country and as a behavioural expert, I would say that someone thinks of taking their own life after having failed to find a way to solve a conflict with self or with any external factor; be it another person or a situation. It’s always better to talk to someone. We have trained professionals who can assist families free of charge if they can’t afford to pay for the counselling service,” said Ms Ngwenya.
She said men and women were equally in need of counselling yet statistics in Zimbabwe show that less people considered professional counselling necessary.
Bulawayo provincial education director, Mrs Olicah Khaira, responding to a recent pupil suicide case, said suicide was becoming a disturbing trend among school going youths.
“We’re worried about this growing trend of children resorting to ending their lives when facing various challenges in life,” said Mrs Khaira.
She advised pupils and parents to make use of guidance and counselling officers that are available in every school.
According to family relationship experts, teenagers who commit suicide may be more vulnerable as a group to respond impulsively to interpersonal challenges.Younger children are also more likely than their older peers to have relationship problems with family members or friends, and much less likely to have troubles with girlfriends or boyfriends.
It is important to ask children directly about suicide if there is a safety concern.
Parents, school personnel, and healthcare professionals need to know the warning signs of suicide like sudden withdrawal from friends or activities, extended unhappiness or increasing aggressiveness or irritability and what steps to take when these signs are present.
We all can never really be certain about the next person’s mental health state or emotional wellbeing. However, we can effect some change if we try and reach out more to our friends and relatives and take seriously any warning signs of a person depressed or showing signs of suicidal behaviour. – @andile_tshuma
Online Reporter