World Suicide Prevention Day: ‘Changing the narrative’, saving lives

Suicide has become a major global health challenge, taking away thousands of lives every years and leaving millions with self-harm thoughts.

Unfortunately, mental health has long been seen through the lens of widespread stigma, shame, and misunderstanding.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the stigma associated with suicide is the main roadblock in preventing suicidal deaths.

People who grapple with suicidal thoughts feel ashamed or terrified in seeking professional help because of the responses based on disgrace and cowardness.

As the result of self-restricted/ imposed silence, more than 720,000 people across the world die from suicide every year.

In 2021, suicide was the third leading cause of death among 15-29 age youngsters. Globally, around 73 percent of suicides occur in low-and-middle income countries.

Suicide rates around the world

In the USA, 23 men out of every 100,000 died from suicide in 2021. 6 out of 100,000 females took their own lives in the USA.

As per 2021 statistics, the top five countries with highest suicide rates include:

• Greenland (59.6 per 100k)
• Guyana (31.3 per 100k)
• Lithuania (27.9 per 100k)
• South Korea (25.8 per 100k)
• and Russia (24.1 per 100k)

According to WHO, African region experienced the highest suicide rate across the world, that is 11.2 suicides per 100k population in 2019. The rate was higher than the global average of 9 per 100k population.

World Suicide Prevention Day’s theme: ‘Changing the Narratives on Suicide’

Each year on September 10, different communities and organizations join hands, aiming to raise awareness on the issue of suicide and self-harm.

World Suicide Prevention Day is arranged by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP).

This year’s theme titled “Changing the Narratives on Suicide”, shed light on the urgent need to make a paradigm shift from stigma-based and biased behaviours to more compassionate ones.

The theme also urges societies and governments to create a safe environment to talk about suicide and suicidal behaviour openly.

Strategies for suicide prevention

Suicidal behaviour is a result of an interaction between a number of factors such as cultural, social, biological, environmental, and psychological. Thus, effective measures to prevent suicide should be formulated.

• In order to avoid the risk of self-harm, the establishment of protective surroundings with effective policies and limited access to lethal substances should be done.
• One must counter the stigma surrounding suicide by checking in with loved ones and giving them safe space to talk about their mental issues.
• Promoting the healthy connections can also be effective in preventing suicidal behaviour.
• Improving the access and delivery of suicidal care along with mental therapies will also change the course.
• On national level, communities and government must collaborate to develop evidence-based approach to prevent anathema of suicide.