MHM Magazine

26 | MENTALHEALTHMATTERS | Issue 6 | 2021 MHM 1. INTRODUCTION. Suicide is a worldwide public health problem, accounting for almost 800 000 deaths per year. Non-fatal suicide attempts are estimated to occur more than 20 times for every death by suicide and are a major source of morbidity and health economic burden. After the Covid pandemic, the already alarming rates of successful suicide is rising. What can we do to prevent suicide? This is a question which has been asked many times by medical researchers and families who lost loved ones. We know that suicidal thoughts and behaviour could be prevented with timeous intervention. If only we could be able to identify those in dire need of our interventions. One of the worst consequences of suicide is the guilt feelings of those who think they could have prevented it. Many studies have tried to find predictive markers to prevent suicide, but they yielded inconsistent outcomes. In retrospective studies, healthcare workers could identify many risk factors linked to suicide attempts, but nobody was able to compile a measuring tool, which could predict suicidal behaviour and so help healthcare workers to prevent suicide attempts. Two factors that were found to play an important role in mitigating the risk for suicide are: i) talking and reaching out to other people, ii) proper management of chronic pain. 2. WHAT CAN A PATIENT DO TO PREVENT THEIR OWN SUICIDE? Many people who committed suicide reached out to somebody, prior to their attempt, but in an ambivalent manner. Usually the person to whom they reached out only realised what they tried to communicate in retrospect. This shows that we should be more comfortable talking about suicide, and encourage family and friends to talk to us about their feelings, even their darkest thoughts, before it’s too late. Many people are afraid to talk about suicide, not wanting to put bad karma on another, but avoiding the subject can be more harmful. In a follow-up article, we’ll talk about the importance of “Talking about suicide.” 3. MANAGING CHRONIC PAIN PROPERLY MAY PREVENT SUICIDE. A second risk factor which may reduce the risk of suicide if it’s managed properly, is chronic pain. There are two aspects to the management of chronic pain which are sometimes neglected: i) Proper pain management, which includes seeing a pain specialist and a multi- disciplinary team. ii) Treating the mental health by Dr Kobus Roux Psychiatrist Johannesburg kobusroux22@gmail.com CHRONICPAINANDSUICIDE