Antigua and Barbuda
How to Break the Suicide Trend
- Details
- You & Your Family
- Tuesday, 18 September 2012 02:30
- By caribarena news
Antigua St. John’s - Counselor and well-known columnist Koren Norton is recommending that the media begin a concerted campaign to push positive messages to help counter the depression that is causing some residents to attempt suicide.
“If you put out 95 per cent negative messages, how are people going to be able to cope in this world?” she queried. “But if people were constantly inundated with positive messages it would affect their lives positively."
Norton’s observations to Caribarena came a day after another resident, a 21-year-old woman, attempted to take her own life.
Several other residents have made similar attempts, while others have succeeded in committing suicide.
Norton surmised, “Sometimes these people are right under our noses and we don’t know how to identify it.”
The counselor at the Mt St John’s Medical Centre said several issues are contributing to the depressed state of residents.
She said this includes the lack of support systems within the family structure, the decision by some affected people not to confide in others because of embarrassment and lack of trust, and jobs losses due to the state of the economy.
Norton said these individuals are often unaware of where to find a counselor.
“The other problem I’ve noticed is quite a number of people have clinical depression and only when they make an attempt to take their life you realised they have a pattern,” she said.
“Some people say they’re moody but it’s really depression and because it’s left untreated so long they reach a point where they want to die.”
She questioned whether agencies, counselors, health care providers and churches are doing enough to provide residents with coping skills.
The police were not immediately able to provide updated figures on the number of suicides and attempted suicides for this year.
Last year, there were two suicides and five attempted suicides.
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2 Comments In This Article
Mental Health Strtegies Needed Not Media Think!
The Hon Min Of Health would be well advised to immediatley engage a commission on mental health to see what can be done. Dr. Simon is one who comes to mind as a Chair for such a panel.
Some say there are a range of reasons for the mental health problems: social pressures, food, shelter, education demands, family, parental and peer expectations, the tough job market, coping with the many political, economic & technological changes. Some will suggest that there has never been a more complicated time to live on the Rock than Now
Some Blame it on the Media, Milli Vanilli blame it on the Rain.
The Feel Good approach given the Counsellor's Professionalism finds resonance with GoAB. Read More PM Spencer Joins In Commemorating Fifth Annual "Telling People Good Things Day": www.ab.gov.ag/article_details.php?id=3483&category=38
Heaven Help The People of Antigua & Barbuda including Redonda.
John French II
BS
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