BY TSABEDZE KWANELE
MBABANE – “Open up to each other”.
These were the words of Health Promotion Officer at the Ministry of Health Sidumo Lukhele when speaking on Suicide Awareness Month. Lukhele was speaking today during the Kusile Breakfast Show on Eswatini TV.
“The United Nations has declared suicide as a public health concern. As such, as suicide numbers increase, it is a great cause for concern. You sometimes hear of cases in the media of people who have taken their lives, and sometimes they take the lives of others before doing so – this is a very serious concern for us,” said Lukhele.
“This is why we encourage the public to try and help prevent suicides by being aware of the characteristics and behaviour of someone who is a suicide risk. We need to be able to see when someone is heading towards that direction so we can counsel them appropriately,” Lukhele added.
Lukhele emphasised that we should not judge people who are going through suicidal thoughts. He added that this was because a suicidal person was likely to revert to suicidal thoughts if they felt judged. Lukhele also mentioned that there were many reasons people had suicidal thoughts, and that they were mostly related to heavy losses in life.
According to the Health Promotion Officer, there were certain behaviours a suicidal person exhibited and that it was important to intervene in such situations. He mentioned signs such as a dramatic change in a person’s temperament such as being very carefree all of a sudden.
He said another sign was when a person constantly mentioned death or began to be interested in how people commit suicide. He also mentioned that a suicidal person may begin bequeath their estate out of the blue.
“There is no definitive way to know that someone is suicidal for sure. However, these are the signs to look out for, wherever we are – it could be schools, churches, the community, and at work,” Lukhele added.
Lukhele encouraged people to communicate and not be isolated while living together. He added that people should encourage others to open up when they seemed distressed or depressed. He added that they should reach out to the hospital for counsellors and therapists when they deemed the situation to be severe.
The World Health Organisation reports that 77 per cent of the 700 000 suicide cases in each year affect lower income countries.
