Suicide prevention outside of September – 10/04/2023 – Balance and Health

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As is common with many health conditions, suicide prevention receives special attention during the month of September, when associations, managers, government agencies and hospitals campaign for suicide. Yellow September. But it’s important to think about suicide prevention beyond awareness month.

In this edition, I talk about how difficult it is to face the loss of someone close to suicide and what we can do as a society to repair this damage.

Suicide prevention: what to do?

I need to start the text today by saying that I lost someone very close to me three years ago to suicide. At first, it’s hard to believe or even talk about — and, we have to admit, this is one of the reasons why suicide is taboo in so many different countries and cultures.

At this moment, all situations go through your head, and at these times there is no rationality at all. “And if…?”

Well then. This is the question that all psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists who study the factors that lead to suicide tell us not to ask. Because it’s obvious that it doesn’t ease the pain to think about how we could have avoided it, if we had known something, or if we had predicted what was about to happen (in most cases, we weren’t).

Global public health problem

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), around 700,000 people die each year by suicide, with 77% of cases in low- and middle-income countries. But these deaths, for the most part, can be prevented.

According to the entity’s own guidelines, prevention can occur by limiting access to means of self-harm or suicide (such as pesticides, poisons and firearms), with mental health and alcohol reduction policies and with responsible media coverage of suicide .

In the case of young peoplewhere suicide ranks as the fourth cause of mortality in the world, it is important to dialogue and try to understand that person’s suffering.

Often, before starting self-harm or suicidal ideation, signs of problems related to mental health appear, such as nervousness, depression, lack of desire to meet friends and family, lack of interest in activities that were previously enjoyed, substance abuse (legal or illicit), etc.

Strengthening mental health

In recent years, the number of children and adolescents who committed suicide in the country has increased. This problem is not isolated to the victims’ families — it is a public health problem and, to this end, it requires targeted policies.

As a Folha report showed, the psychosocial assistance network for young people is insufficient. For the population that is completely dependent on the SUS (Unified Health System), the lack of specialized centers and professionals who can alleviate psychological suffering is a serious problem.

Therefore, it is essential that the Ministry of Health establishes a plan to not only improve care in the Caps (Psychosocial Care Centers) but also to have continuous resources to expand the network and the professionals who serve it.

Furthermore, there are many social problems that can worsen the mental health condition of young people. Lack of future perspective, unemployment, conditions of social vulnerability and discrimination (racial, gender or social) are factors that can trigger mental disorders, leading to depression and, possibly, self-harm and suicide.

Seek help

If you or someone close to you is thinking about suicide, please seek the services below:

NPV (Violence Prevention Center)

The NPVs are made up of at least four professionals within the UBSs (Basic Health Units) and other equipment in the municipal network. To welcome and protect victims, the centers work in partnership with the Public Ministry, the Public Defender’s Office, the Guardianship Council, the Municipal Department of Education and the Municipal Department of Social Assistance and Development.

Mental Health Map

The website, from the Vita Alere Institute, maps public mental health services available throughout the country, in addition to free reception and care services, as well as voluntary actions carried out by NGOs and philanthropic institutions, among others. It also offers booklets with mental health guidance.

CVV (Center for the Valuation of Life)

Volunteers answer free calls 24 hours a day on 188, via chat, via email or directly at a physical service point. Provides voluntary and free emotional support and suicide prevention services to all people who want and need to talk.

Talk about

Finally, returning to the beginning of this text, it is important to talk about suicide, in an ethical, conscious and responsible way, of course.

The collective mourning of a suicide does not exist in our society. We cry for the dead who suffer a collective disaster, such as landslides and violent police operations, directly linking the cases to the irresponsibility of governments, completely unaware or ill-intentioned in worrying about the problems of those affected, generally poor and with low education.

But when we face a death by suicide, what remains is absolute silence, perhaps because there is no great distinction in social class or education between the people who choose to end their lives. It’s as if there was no responsibility for that death other than the person themselves, or the family members who couldn’t/knew how to avoid it.

It is high time that we also look to public authorities so that worthy suicide prevention and mental health policies are implemented in the country.

SCIENCE TO LIVE BETTER

News and studies on health and science

• Anxiety and depression can be signs of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is an autoimmune disease that affects the myelin sheath, a type of “protective coat” that covers neurons. It can take years to manifest and symptoms include motor loss. Researchers at the University of British Columbia (Canada) analyzed more than 6,000 patients with MS and found that the risk of developing the disease was practically twice as high in those with signs of anxiety and depression years before diagnosis. The results were published in the journal Neurology.
• MicroRNA may prevent fetal abnormalities post-Zika infection. Researchers at Baylor University of Medicine used mouse models and human umbilical cord cells to transfer cells containing modified microRNA in order to prevent the virus from entering the fetus, keeping it under attack by the placental immune system. This prevented consequent anomalies in the babies born to mouse mothers. The findings, published in the American Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, could provide a path to treatments in humans.

• Atopic dermatitis can be treated with a virus that attacks bacteria. Viruses, called bacteriophages (or “phages”), are known from our intestinal microbiota, but little was known about their action in other organs. Researchers at MedUni, in Vienna (Austria), saw that these viruses could lead to the development of innovative therapies for atopic dermatitis, an autoimmune, hereditary and inflammatory disease that affects the skin. The research results were published in the journal Science Advances.