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