Depression and Suicide among Young People: A Global Catastrophe

The tragic story of 9 year old Syrian Amal Alshteiwi who fled the war in Syria with her family in the hope of a better life in Canada was recently reported in the news. Upon settling in Calgary, she was enrolled in school and it appeared that she had left all the violence back in Syria. Unfortunately, Amal allegedly endured constant bullying from her school mates and eventually ended up taking her own life.

Calling on the world to wake up and smell the coffee! We have a global epidemic on our hands and it seems we are not doing enough to protect and prevent our teenagers and young adults from committing suicide due to depression and other mental health disorders. Lately, my heart is full of sadness because of similar stories of young people in different parts of the world taking their lives for reasons such as exam failures, rape, parents neglect, bullying etc. These stories are heart breaking events that call for the development and implementation of effective community-based interventions that will prevent children of the world, family members, friends, and neighbors from being part of the statistics.

The stories show the trend and the increase in rates of suicide among young people. For instance, in an article published by Time magazine, “In 2017—the latest year for which federal data are available—more than one in eight Americans ages 12 to 25 experienced a major depressive episode”. While there is no known exact cause for the increase in the suicide rates, Time magazine noted that some evidence linked ‘heavy technology use and poor mental health outcomes’ among young people. That is, “the ever growing use of technology, digital media like social media, texting and gaming” have been linked to suicide among young people.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), “Suicide is a serious public health problem; however, suicides are preventable with timely, evidence-based and often low-cost interventions. For national responses to be effective, a comprehensive multi-sectoral suicide prevention strategy is needed.”

 Also, WHO indicated that “Effective and evidence-based interventions can be implemented at population, sub-population and individual levels to prevent suicide and suicide attempts.”

Here are some heart wrenching stories from the news that can help put things into perspectives:

The recent case (April 2019) of twenty 12^th grade students who committed suicide in the India state of Telangana due to failing their final exams. To make matters worse, the exam results were controversial with alleged instances of incorrect exam grading and recording absent or zero for students who were actually present for the exam.

Another recent case (March 2019) is that of Uzakah Ebiweni, a 300-level medical student in Nigeria who committed suicide (through drowning) after being disqualified from medical school for failing to pass the qualifying professional exams. Similar case in Nigeria is that of a 17-year-old boy, Amos Ibrahim who took his own life by consuming insecticide. The young man reportedly committed suicide due to depression after failing the 2019 Joint Admissions and Matriculation Exams (University entrance exam).

“An 11-year-old Haverhill girl Precious Wallaces was allegedly drugged and raped by her great-uncle, Miguel Rivera, who watched over her every Friday night. Fentanyl, a powerful opioid, and amitriptyline, an anti-depressant and sleep aid, were found in her system. After spending two days in a coma, Precious died”.

My take is that, in these cases: the corrupt system, the high expectations placed on these children and the enormous pressure, the high level of stress, the constant bullying, and lack of family support among others probably triggered depression or some sort of mental breakdown resulting in the loss of these young lives to suicide.

These stories showcase the need for parents, relatives and the community as a whole to be part of our children and loved one’s daily activities. The need to have an ‘open door’ policy in our homes and a conversational environment where kids can feel safe to discuss social and personal issues is urgent. We owe it to ourselves to balance work and family life because it is our ultimate responsibility to be attuned to the needs of our children, friends, and loved ones.

How can we help? Or do you have a story you would like to share? Send us a message info@publichealthtalks.com

Some facts according to the World Health Organization

• Close to 800 000 people die due to suicide every year, which is one person every 40 seconds.
• Suicide is a global phenomenon and occurs throughout the lifespan
• Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds.
• 79% of global suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries.
• Ingestion of pesticide, hanging and firearms are among the most common methods of suicide globally.

Healthychildren.org stated 10 Things Parents Can Do to Prevent Suicide

• Don’t let your teen’s depression or anxiety snowball
• Listen—even when your teen is not talking
• Never shrug off threats of suicide as typical teenage melodrama
• Seek professional help right away
• Share your feelings
• Encourage your teen not to isolate himself or herself from family and friends
• Recommend exercise
• Urge your teen not to demand too much of himself or herself
• Remind your teen who is undergoing treatment not to expect immediate results.
• If you keep guns at home, store them safely or move all firearms elsewhere until the crisis has passed.