WHO Suicide Report: Stop the Watch

In 40 seconds much can happen, we can finish reading a letter, polish off a glass of OJ, etc; but what if we told you that every 40 seconds someone attempted suicide? A pretty grim statistic, of which can be found circulated by many mental health organisations. But; what if we told you it was even worse? According to the WHO, the correct statistic is every 40 seconds someone dies; from suicide.

Hello yet again everyone! In today's article we will be taking a look at the FIRST EVER World Health Organization [WHO] report on suicide prevention. It was originally released January 2014, and possess extraordinarily useful data. Before January 2014, any real international research reports and papers being released in a large, comprehensive analysis had been unheard of for just over a decade. The report itself is a total of 92 pages long, and today we hope to share with you some of the myth dispelling, interesting, and surprising information it contains. We understand that many of you who read what we publish may be part of other Mental Health/ Suicide Support (or awareness) communities. We hope that you will take this information to heart and use it effectively, to promote knowledge and awareness of this issue. 

Courtesy of the Suicide/ Mental Health Group

Suicide; according to the report, is responsible for over 800,000 deaths every year (or around one death every 40 seconds). It is classified as preventable, and the second leading cause of death for individuals aged 15-29 YOA (second only to car accidents). Yet, this epidemic (yes, it’s an epidemic) hardly seems to receive much action on a global scale, with only 28 out of the world's 195 countries having any suicide prevention strategies!

With all of this taken into consideration, if 800,000 people commit suicide each year, how many attempt it? Hey, it’s a fair question. So what’s the answer? New research in the report indicates that for every person that commits suicide approximately 20 others will attempt it. Let’s put that in numbers:  800,000 X 20= 16,000,000 or 16 million people; or just about half of the country of Canada’s entire population (34 million people). So what else does this report provide?

As we all know, the facts surrounding suicide can often be far less than common knowledge to most people, and often myths hold their place. In the report, some common myths are dispelled:

• People who talk about suicide won’t actually do it…

While it is true that some people who commit suicide will not talk or openly divulge their intention, this does not necessarily indicate that those that do will not.

• Someone who is suicidal is determined to die…

This one may surprise some of you, but suicidal people normally have mixed feelings about living and dying. For example, the report states that suicidal individuals may act impulsively and attempt suicide; fail, and then the next day regret trying. Suicidal people tend to stay in a fairly dynamic state of limbo when it comes to life and death.

• Once someone is suicidal, they will always be suicidal…

Surprisingly, individuals who are suicidal, and have even attempted suicide can find themselves free of suicidal thoughts and live a happy and long life with the proper help.

• Only people with mental disorders can be suicidal…

If you’re suicidal there must be something different about you, right? Wrong; suicidal behavior does not indicate a mental illness. Simply put all it indicates is a deep unhappiness. In addition to this, mental illness does not indicate that an individual will suffer from suicidal behavior.

So what are some risk factors leading to suicide? Well, also present in the report is a useful chart, showing the key risk factors, as well as the interventions for each. The report also indicates the WHO hopes to drop suicide rates by 10% by 2020.

So how do you, as a person, know if someone is a suicide risk? Well, there is no certain way to tell, but generally the person will have:

• A previous suicide attempt
• A mental disorder
• Participated in the harmful use of alcohol or other substances
• Suffered from job or financial loss
• Hopelessness
• Chronic pain/ illness
• A family history of suicide

Over time we hope to be applying this information to even more of our articles in the future. We hope you found the information in this article interesting, and useful. This report helps shed light on some of the “less known” parts of mental health which for a long time never had any real confirmation, but now have proven themselves in this eye-opening report.  

For anyone looking for the full report the download page can be found here in Arabic, English, French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish.

-- Suicide/ Mental Health Group

Suicide/ Mental Health Group 

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