World Suicide Prevention Day: Depression major cause of premature deaths – Expert

Dr Eno Kufre , a Psychiatrist with a private psychiatrist centre in Gwagwalada on Monday said that depression is the major cause of premature deaths .
Kufre said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja to commemorate the World Suicide Prevention Day.

The theme for the Day is “ Working together to prevent suicide ” .

She called on Nigerians to be more conscious on likely predispositions to the act of suicide .

According to her , suicide is the intention to cause one ’ s own death .

She said : “ Though suicide is an intentional act of man , it is jolting to realise that it is the 10 th leading cause of death globally .
“ Approximately 12 in 100 , 000 people deliberately end their lives .

“ Suicide is not inevitable , if we are more conscious of the signs and symptoms of depression .

“ If we are all ready to stick out our necks and be a ‘ Good Samaritan ’ , we will help not a few people avert untimely death and lifetime complications through suicide and failed suicidal attempts .

“ Suicide is not inevitable , we only need to be more sensitive and helpful , ” Kufre said .

She said that although more women tend to attempt suicide , men are more likely to succeed in ending their own lives .

Kufre said men are more decisive and tend to complete whatever they fix their hearts on .

Women , on the other hand , are more emotional and are more likely to try to seek attention by attempting to kill themselves than actually being determined to do so.

“ Most people who commit suicide have lived with depression for a while and the cause of depression varies from sudden tragic life events such as accidents leading to a physical disability and loss of livelihood .

“ Others are loss of loved ones, loss of jobs , prolonged periods of hardship , contracting or being diagnosed with a chronic or terminal disease , among other causes .

“ A significant proportion of others who commit suicide may not necessarily have been depressed for a while , but may have suffered very disgraceful events of life and incurred shame and loss of their self -dignity, ” she said .

She also said that some suicide happens when a person with certain psychiatry illnesses experience auditory hallucinations .

Kufre said these voices of unseen persons sometimes instruct the victims to go and kill themselves by varying means , and some recorded acts of complete suicide and others of attempted suicide have been from victims ’ obedience to these unseen voices .

“ Some other factors that predispose a person to suicide include substance misuse ; alcohol dependence and genetics ( though the link is poorly understood ) .

“ Some signs to committing suicide are a loss of interest in previously pleasurable activities , loss of appetite or excessive eating , unusual with the person and disturbed sleep pattern .

“ Others are expressions of despair , hopelessness , helplessness , pulling away from friends and family , increased alcohol or psychoactive substance abuse , increased risk- taking behaviour , rage and irritability , ” she said .

Kufre said many victims of suicide had in one way or the other expressed their suicidal intents to their close buddies or on the social media , but were not taken seriously .

She , however , said that most people don’ t want to die but want the pain of the moment to stop , saying that if we get a hint of the tendency to commit suicide in a person , one should offer advice or help to such person , in resolving his problems .

Kufre said the theme for the world suicide day captures the holistic approach to stemming the rising tide of suicide rates in the world .

“ Everyone has a role to play in preventing suicide . In a situation where a person ’ s life is at stake it is better to do too much than not enough .

“ We all need a high index of suspicion and awareness to be able to recognize persons with such tendencies . Offering a listening ear , advice and aids , may be all you need to do to give him a reason to rethink .

“ Also remember, that it will be imperative to get such persons to see a mental health physician ( a psychiatrist ) , for proper evaluation , psychotherapy and possibly medications , ” she said .

NAN reports that World Suicide Prevention Day is observed September 10 each year to promote worldwide action to prevent suicides.

( NAN )

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