World Suicide Prevention Day is observed annually on September 10 to raise awareness regarding the subject of suicide and the actions that can be taken to prevent these tragedies on a global scale. This day is aimed to raise awareness amongst people to prevent their loved ones from suicide.
In 2003, the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) collaborated with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) to host the first ever World Suicide Prevention Day. Since then many countries around the world have joined them in this venture, in 2011, approximately 40 countries held awareness events to mark this occasion. According to studies, mental illnesses like depression, schizophrenia, OCD, anxiety disorder, insomnia have a higher suicide rate.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 29 and for every suicide that results in death, there are as many as 40 attempted suicides. What we know for sure is that there’s a lot to live for. Every 40 seconds someone takes their own life according to the World Health Organization (WHO). That’s about 800,000 people worldwide every year — although some estimates put that number closer to 1 million.
This day is aimed to provide commitment and action to prevent suicide all over the world through various activities. It also helps to raise awareness amongst people to protect their loved ones from suicide and help them deal with mental disorders. This day was first observed in 2003 by the collaboration of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH).
The observance of World Suicide Prevention Day seeks to highlight that through the adoption of a multilevel and cohesive approach, each individual can work towards suicide prevention. Even the smallest members of society can play a massive role, through initiating conversation, educating oneself and others about the causes and warning signs of suicide. Perhaps most importantly, even the simplest gestures of compassion can help save a life.
The theme of 2003 was “suicide can be prevented”, and in 2012, it was “suicide prevention across the globe: strengthening protective factors and instilling hope”. Suicide prevention day theme of 2016 was “connect, communicate, care”. These themes each year focus on a specific aspect to strengthen it. As of recent WHO releases, challenges represented by social stigma, the taboo to openly discuss suicide, and low availability of data are still to date obstacles leading to poor data quality for both suicide and suicide attempts: “given the sensitivity of suicide – and the illegality of suicidal behaviour in some countries – it is likely that under-reporting and misclassification are greater problems for suicide than for most other causes of death.
According to the suicide data collection done by the WHO, close to 800,00 people die each year, due to suicide, boiling down to 1 death every 40 seconds and that is not taking into account the 20 million suicide attempts. However, reducing these tragedies into statistics does not mean that there are set causes or stereotypes that can be applied to it.
There are several convergences that finally lead to suicide. Often it is a combination of genetic, psychological, social, cultural and other risk factors additionally combined with the experience of loss and trauma, that can wreak havoc in people’s lives. Not just the ones that take their own lives but of those around them as well. “For each suicide approximately 135 people suffer intense grief or are otherwise affected.”
The ongoing pandemic has created a world environment that is harsh and seriously detrimental for mental health, especially with the downturn of the economy, the isolation that has come with months of social distancing and the sheer stress of navigating through life while people across the globe are suffering through a dangerous virus. These circumstances have pandemonium all around the globe, making this the most imperative time to focus on suicide prevention.
Every year, a different theme is decided on World Suicide Prevention Day. The aim of the theme is to focus on a specific aspect of suicide. World Suicide Prevention Day Theme 2020 is “working together to prevent suicide”. It was also the theme of World Suicide Prevention Day 2019. This theme aims to make suicide prevention more effective globally.
