BASHING THE DEMON OF SUICIDE

THE topic of suicide is one that is most times spoken in hush tones, something which does not match its loudly rife incidence in our communities. In what is a gut-wrenching fact, we continue to lose family members and friends to disturbing suicide incidents, and this only serves the purpose of highlighting the gap in knowledge about mental health, individual psychology and mental illness in and around the members of our society.

Awareness

Of course, the act of suicide is directly related to the individual’s mental well-being and as a result the cry for more awareness on these issues has its roots in preventing occurrences like suicide besides just being a promotional tool for mental health. In throwing in my ‘two cents’ on the issue of suicide, there is a special mention for the mind and mentally - what that particular individuals’ state is like. As difficult as it maybe to exactly say what a ‘normal’ persons’ mind works like (in terms of what or how they think), it is often quite distinctly different by comparison to someone whose mind is inflicted by thoughts or ideas of suicide.

Depression

More often than not, the idea of suicide is borne out the presence of a mental illness (for instance depression) and it is this illness that causes a mental distortion (biased perspectives we take on ourselves and our worlds around us) in that individuals’ perception of their reality. Many people with already existing mental illnesses (still using depression for reference), experience these mental distortions and because of a lack of help, these irrational thoughts and beliefs are reinforced over time so much so they become a constant feature of our psyche.

It is these beliefs and irrational perceptions that over time begin to force the individual to focus on the negatives (while ignoring the positives) about themselves or their lives, they begin to feel inadequate, low in esteem, helpless and lacking a purpose in general life. Over time, these suddenly become the drivers toward feelings of insignificance in life; something which eventually leads that person to taking their own lives. There are other sources that may bring out similarly intense mental distortion such as: Emotional loss; be it losing a parent or partner, economic loss; losing the ability to provide for your family, neglect and a few other life events that could easily lead an individual down that particular route.

Answer

What is most sad about suicide incidents in most cases are the questions that remain unanswered as to how someone you know may even arrive at a decision such as that. Personally, I think the answer lies in the inflicted individuals’ inability to find someone attentive and caring enough to probe and try to understand their plight. However, this is made very tricky by the fact that many suicidal people tend to be emotionally isolated from other people on account of being ‘misunderstood’ or taken to be ‘weak’. Passing comments such as those that negate the next persons’ feelings become what then creates a barrier between that individual being able to share their psychoemotional strife and deciding to not share at all. It is therefore, very important that we begin to breed a culture of nurturing warmth toward issues of mental (ill)health in order to pave the way toward us being more accepting and less judgmental toward those struggling mentally. Send comments to runsford0505@gmail.com.

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