Tomorrow is a special day in Belize because we'll be celebrating the 222nd anniversary of the Battle of Saint George's Caye Day. But, the rest of the international community will be observing it as World Suicide Prevention Day 2020.
According to the International Association for Suicide Prevention, suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally for people of all ages. The World Health Organization estimates that it is the third leading cause of death in young people between the ages of 15 and 19. It is also responsible for close 800,000 deaths annually, which is equivalent to 1 person intentionally ending his or her life every 40 seconds. Also, 79% of global suicides occur in low and middle-income countries.
Here in Belize, the Mental Health Experts are using the day to keep awareness high and encouraging public education on a difficult subject.
This morning, we spoke with one of the representatives of the Ministry of Health's Mental Health Program:
Juliet Simmons - Psychotherapist, MOH Mental Health Program
"Worldwide, Suicide Prevention Day is September 10th. It's a little bit unique for Belize because September 10th is a national holiday as well for us. But this year also makes it unique again, because there's the COVID-19 pandemic. So, we can't do all that we used to do. But, we're still here, creating more awareness. And it's important that we create awareness for suicide prevention. People - we need to engage with people and inform people that suicide is preventable, 100% of the time, once you seek help. What we're doing is that in the Ministry of Health, we do it every year. This week, we do a lot of promotion with the media, with the schools usually, and with the age group that I mentioned earlier. So, this year, as I said, things are a bit different. In each district, we raise a flag that says that we're concerned about suicides, and we want to prevent it. That's what our flag represents. Our flag will go up a little bit later today because tomorrow is World Suicide Prevention Day. And we also promote candlelight on September 10th, at 8 p.m. We ask people to light a candle, for hope, for those who have suicidal ideation right now, and to remember the people who have died by suicide in the past."
"All of our polyclinics have a mental health clinic in it. And in the Districts we also have - at the hospital level, we have a mental clinic there. But, that's in the public health system. It doesn't end there. There is the Ministry of Human Development that has a counselling centre as well, here in Belize City. And they have counsellors that do some work also in the districts. So, we have counsellors available at that end as well. And then, for the Ministry of Public Service, they also offer counselling for any public officer. Then keep in mind that the school system also have school counsellors, and they are still working during this time, even though school is not actively open yet. But, counsellors are still available, and we have private practice. The age group, that our statistics say shows as having the highest rate of completions in suicide would be 15 to 19, and 30 to 34. And of course, our statistics also show that men complete suicide more than females. So, females, so far, have always had a higher attempt rate. They attempt more than men, but men complete suicides more often than females. Ninety percent of the time, when someone completes a suicide, there was a mental illness involved, 90% of the time. So, there is another 10% that could have been just an impulse. Something else was going on. So, mental illness - for us, that's why suicide comes under mental illness then. And the most common mental illness that would create ideation of suicide would be depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia."
This year, World Suicide Prevention Day is being celebrated under the theme, "Working Together to Prevent Suicide".
According to the World Health Organization, the ingestion of pesticides, hanging, and firearms are among the most common methods of suicide globally.
