DEVIN LAWRENCE ENAD
Worldwide Preventable Tragedy: Suicide
According to the World Health Organization, mental, neurological, and
drug use disorders account for more than 10% of the worldwide illness burden.
Suicide fatalities in the Philippines reached 3,263 in 2018, accounting for 0.54
percent of overall deaths, according to the most recent WHO statistics. Suicide
rates among teens and young adults in the Philippines were alarmingly high.
Suicide is a worldwide issue that affects all parts of the world, not only high-
income countries. In reality, low- and middle-income nations accounted for more
than 77 percent of global suicides in 2019.
Most of us can't comprehend the agony that leads up to suicide, let alone
the sorrow that follows. When a young person dies, the devastation is much
more severe. The general population, including the majority of parents, are,
nevertheless, alarmingly ignorant of the incidence of suicide among young
people. This is due in part to the fact that there was virtually no public health
policy on the subject until recently; in part to society's reluctance to discuss both
suicide and the mental illnesses most directly responsible for it; and in part to a
widespread belief that suicide is highly idiosyncratic in nature. We comprehend,
to some extent, the mental conditions of individuals who commit suicide are
because of despair, sadness, irritation, restlessness, and utter hopelessness. The
victims' legacies—notes, diaries, psychiatric autopsies, and professional
interviews with those who have survived serious suicide attempts—have taught
us a lot about the suicidal experience. Today, we are fortunate to have effective
treatments for the mental disorders most often associated with suicide, including
a variety of antidepressant medicines, lithium, anticonvulsant medications,
psychotherapy, anxiety meds, and therapies to treat and prevent psychosis.
Few listeners may know how high a toll suicide exacts during the
adolescent, college, and early adult years. Although suicide is finally being
recognized as a public health concern, we are still doing far too little to prevent
this "preventable tragedy." Understanding Suicide, which stems from this
speech, has the potential to enhance hopeful improvements in public and
political understanding of the epidemic of loss known as suicide. We are certain
that we can eliminate this "preventable catastrophe”. We know a lot about
suicide, but not nearly enough. What we do know isn't being communicated as
effectively as it could be. We need to raise public awareness of how common a
killer suicide is, as well as the symptoms and treatments for depression and the
other mental illnesses linked in suicide. Families, schools, churches and
synagogues, instructors, and university administrators all have more to learn
and accomplish. We require a society with its eyes open to this preventable
tragedy, a society that does not tolerate the intolerable.
REFERENCES
Who.int. 2021. WHO Special Initiative for Mental Health. [online] Available
at: <https://www.who.int/initiatives/who-special-initiative-for-mental-health>
Who.int. 2021. WHO Special Initiative for Mental Health. [online] Available
at: <https://www.who.int/initiatives/who-special-initiative-for-mental-health>
World Life Expectancy. 2021. Suicide in Philippines. [online] Available at:
<https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/philippines-suicide
