Why do people commit suicide? Can it be prevented?
Keomi
Jun 21, 20235 min read
According to an online article published by The Straits Times, it was said that 114 people were saved from suicide attempts from April 2022 to February 2023 in Singapore. (Ang, 2023).
Of which, 44% of the people who wanted to contemplate suicide were aged from 20-29 years old whilst 38% came from as young as a primary 4 kid.
SOS (Samaritans Of Singapore) has a team of 20 crisis-support staff who works all around the clock to ensure that the 24-hour hotline is working to support high risk cases which usually happens at wee hours where most social services were closed.
It was said that SOS had managed to intervened in some high-risk suicide cases by preventing the suicidal individual from succeeding at attempting the suicide. There was a surge in the cases where every 3 days, SOS had to intervene 1 suicide attempt.
According to the news article, in 2022 where the pandemic was starting to ease off, the number of incoming calls to SOS was doubled the number as compared to the year 2020. (Ang, 2023).
It is then concluded that there were many reasons that contributed to the rise in the suicidal thoughts amongst the nations and one of which is definitely the loss of jobs.
Other than loss of jobs, could there be other contributing factors that would lead one to attempt to end his life?
Although many of us have raised awareness of mental health illnesses, we do not exactly know how that affect a patient who is having those illnesses and how it can impact them. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, one common mental health illness - depression was the root of half of the suicides that occurred. (Schimelpfening, 2021).
Another common underlying cause for suicide is bipolar disorder - which not many people understand what kind of mental health illness is that. According to Read, nearly 30% of those diagnosed with bipolar disorder will attempt suicide at least once in their lives. The statistics has also shown that people with bipolar disorder has twenty times higher suicidal rates as that of the general population. (Read, 2020). This makes bipolar disorder a dangerous mental health illness which has the highest tendency to suicide attempts.
Suicide is not a topic that we could simply just brush it off like that and place it under the carpet. It's crucial that all of us are well aware of the risk factors of suicide, whether or not a person has mental health illnesses.
It's important to know the warning signs - the red flags of despair as any healthy individual who has fallen into the "hopeless pit" will attempt to end his life. We must stay vigilant so that we are well prepared to help any loved ones who are in crisis and need a listening ear for that moment of distress.
Experiencing trauma is already distressing, having to relive the moments of being abused physically or emotionally takes a toll on the mental health of those victims. PTSD, commonly known as Post-traumatic stress disorder.
PTSD occurs after a person have been through a traumatic event which then affects the person's daily abilities to function. It could leave the PTSD patient constantly feeling afraid and isolated. This is because whilst the rest of the world continued with their lives, PTSD patients were still stuck in their past and reliving those moments of abuse all by themselves.
The painful memories can stir up so many negative emotions and it's not a surprise that many patients suffering from PTSD would also be diagnosed with depression.
According to an online article, it was known that 23% of those who have experienced physical assaults had attempted suicide at least once in their lifetime. (Tull, 2020).
It is also stated in the article about the co-relation between the PTSD (Post Trauma Stress disorder) and increased risks of suicide attempts. This is partly due to the fact that people who have suffered from trauma often fall into depression after being assaulted physically.
Why do people who doesn't want to die try to attempt suicide?
Well most people have the clear mind to seek help when required, some of us out there find it difficult to open up to others about the problems they were encountering and needed to find an outlet or a way to ask for help. Their suicide attempt is not a cry for attention but rather a cry for help.
We will probably never understand one's circumstances totally. It might even be surprising to see some people struggling in their lives when their social media profiles were showing otherwise. Thus we might never know why someone attempted suicide or even successfully committed the act of suicide. Their lives could look perfectly alright but they probably did not feel that way. (Schimelpfening, 2023).
According to Blanchfield, suicidal ideation is common amongst the major population. "I don't want to live like this but I don't want to die" - does this line resonate with you? You're not alone.
The reasons behind the suicidal ideation could be major life stressors, unresolved childhood traumas and untreated depression. (Blanchfield, 2022).
Suicidal ideation means that the individual is thinking of taking his own life. According to statistics, 9% of the general population experienced suicidal ideation in their lifetimes. However, only 14% had attempted to commit suicide. In addition, the rate of completed suicide is lower than usual. It is known that for every 31 attempts, only one of which is completed.
Why do we feel this way?
According to Janel Cubbage (licensed therapist and suicidologist), feeling like you don't want to live but you don't want to die means that something is hurting. It could be an indicator for emotional pain and the desire for change to happen in your life. It could be a sign of feeling powerlessness in your circumstances as you do not have any control over the things that was happening. It can be distressing in such times where feelings of powerlessness could turn into hopelessness which would make one feel that it is pointless to carry on living.
It's important for us to take note of such ideation from time to time so that we do not fall into the dark pit of hopelessness. Mental health professionals use the tool - "Reason for living inventory" to access suicidality and also to jog their memory of reasons they want to live.
It's important that we seek social support when we are drowning in our own thoughts of hopelessness. A depressed or suicidal person often feel that they are a burden to their loved ones. However, it's not the truth. Our loved ones want to be there for us and care for us so much that they are willing to help you through this difficult phase of life.
In case someone who sees this post is feeling suicidal or has recently experienced something tragic and do not see the point of living, please take this post as a sign of telling you that you should continue to live on. You are worthy. You are enough. All of these shall pass. Whilst I may not entirely feel what you feel, even a licensed counsellor could not comprehend entirely about how intense those emotions are, please know that in this world there is someone out there who is thankful because of your existence.
The ongoing battle between living and dying is not something that we can control but we can try to create a life that generates enough "reasons" for us to want to continue living even though our life circumstances prove otherwise.
It's okay not to be okay. It's not embarrassing to be not okay. Everyone of us will come across times where we need help and it's okay to ask for help when we couldn't go through it ourselves. There's a reason why God has created a population - to support one another in the midst of life crisis and to cheer for each other during tough times.
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