Watch out for warning signs a loved one is contemplating suicide, and how you can help: Experts

SINGAPORE – There are a number of warning indicators {that a} pal or beloved one could also be considering suicide, Dr Jared Ng, senior marketing consultant and chief of the Institute of Mental Health’s (IMH) Department of Emergency and Crisis Care stated on Monday (March 28).

These embrace texting or posting on social media about how they can’t go on residing or not wish to reside, or immediately posting photographs of individuals on high-rise buildings. The individual considering suicide might also begin writing and giving out letters to say goodbye, or gifting away their treasured possessions to others.

“Who is able to watch out for these kinds of warning signs and intervene? It is really the family and loved ones,” stated Dr Ng, who was talking at a webinar sequence on psychological well being organised by IMH and the Temasek Foundation.

His fellow speaker, Dr Patanon Kwansanit from the Somdet Chaopraya Institute of Psychiatry in Thailand’s Ministry of Public Health, stated individuals with none skilled coaching can nonetheless assist their suicidal pals and family members by merely responding as laymen.

“Show you care, show empathy, don’t (worry) too much about whether you’re good enough to be a good listener… and then suggest your friend get proper help or treatment,” he stated.

Agreeing, Dr Ng added that if the state of affairs is pressing – for example, if the suicidal pal is already on the ledge – the police must be referred to as as they will intervene shortly and take the suicidal particular person to an applicable company for assist.

Dr Ng, in addition to Associate Professor Daniel Fung, chief government of IMH, who was moderating the session, stated that extra efforts are wanted to deal with gaps within the suicide prevention panorama right here.

Dr Ng stated that, like elsewhere on the earth, the primary causes of suicide right here are inclined to differ amongst age teams.

For youth, this usually tends to be due to relationship and id points, within the areas of roles, gender and sexuality. Youth might also be pressured by household issues, or marital points their mother and father face.

The main causes for adults are inclined to encompass relationships, monetary or employment points. For the aged, they’re points resulting in isolation, comparable to widowhood or painful, disabling, terminal sicknesses.

From knowledge all over the world, about 60 per cent of those that try suicide accomplish that on impulse, whereas the remaining 40 per cent could have deliberate their try for a while, stated Dr Ng, including that there isn’t a such knowledge out there for Singapore particularly.

He famous that there are already a number of measures in place to assist cope with suicide right here on numerous ranges. These embrace school-based psychological well-being and abilities coaching programmes, screening to establish those that is likely to be in danger, public consciousness campaigns and helplines, in addition to improved media reporting and portrayal of suicidal behaviour.

Dr Ng stated that one of many predominant gaps right here is within the reliance on the police to answer tried suicide circumstances.

Pointing out that the United States is organising a nationwide suicide prevention hotline, separate from the primary police line, he stated an identical initiative in Singapore wouldn’t be attainable in the intervening time, as there’s at the moment nobody right here who can reply to suicide circumstances as shortly because the police.

He added: “So we still rely on the police…. (but) when the police come, that comes with a certain stigma. And people may not be so willing then to call for help.”

Prof Fung stated there’s a want to have a look at what would possibly trigger an individual to even consider suicide within the first place.

This may contain wanting into opposed childhood experiences, tackling trauma that kids would possibly expertise in order to cut back the danger of suicidal pondering in the long term, he stated.

“If you really truly want to prevent suicide, then you have to go upstream,” added Prof Fung.

Citing a poem by English author Joseph Malins, Dr Ng highlighted “the importance of building a fence at the top of the hill, rather than have a fleet of ambulances down in the valley”.

He stated: “You want to prevent people from falling and I think the same applies for suicide prevention… every suicide is a tragedy.”