According to World Health Organisation (WHO), suicide is the 4th leading cause of death among 15 – 29-year-olds. More than 700 000 people die from suicide every year.
For every suicide attempt, there is the single most important risk factor in the general population.
Annually on September 10th, the world marks World Prevention Day where last year the theme was ” To create a sense of connection and provide hope to those who are struggling through listening and caring.”
Dr. Rashid Abdi Aman, the chief administrative secretary of health in Kenya during last year’s celebrations stated that, young people are at high risk of suicide due to heightened anxiety, indulging in drugs like alcohol, and broken social relationships.
He added that in 2019, every one in 100 deaths in the world was a suicide while in Kenya, 4 lives were lost to suicide daily.
Many suicides happen impulsively in moments of crisis with the effort to deal with life stresses, such as financial problems, relationship break-up, or chronic pain and illness, and in most cases, suicide victims are discovered to have had mental disorder issues which mostly include depression as well as alcohol use disorders.
Most suicide victims tend to look for a solution to end their pain contrary to wanting to die which most people think is the case.
Suicide rates are also high amongst vulnerable groups who experience discrimination, such as refugees and migrants; indigenous peoples; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex (LGBTI) persons; and prisoners. By far the strongest risk factor for suicide is a previous suicide attempt.
Most people who succumb to suicide have normal lives on the outside, they tend to laugh and go about their lives like usual but suffer from the inside.
With the tough world we live in today everyone needs a friend to check up on them and as Africans, letting yourself have a therapist to help navigate with your emotions and your emotional environment is important regardless of gender.
BY JOY WAMBUI