1ST CITY CLINICAL HOSPITAL

September 10 - World Suicide Prevention Day

10.09.2024

The relevance of the problem of mortality due to suicide is evidenced by the active propaganda work of the World Health Organization in many countries, including Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. In order to facilitate the work being carried out, an international date was established.

According to researchers who have been studying the problems of suicide prevention for a long time, the effectiveness of suicide prevention measures carried out today will only come in a few years (3-4 years). Therefore, focusing attention on vulnerable layers of society and timely provision of appropriate assistance is a significant contribution to the social stabilization of the population.

When is it celebrated?

World Suicide Prevention Day has been held annually on September 10 since 2003. It was established on the initiative of the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) with the support of WHO and under the patronage of the UN. In 2020, the event is celebrated for the 18th time.

Who is celebrating?

The tradition of celebration is supported by all countries of the world, including Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. To a certain extent, specialists of trust services, psychologists and psychiatrists, as well as rescue negotiators and employees of social services can consider this day their professional holiday with a clear conscience.

Story

World Suicide Prevention Day owes its origin to two psychiatrists: Romanian-Austrian Erwin Ringel and Norman Farber. As a result of long-term studies of deviant behavior among various population groups, Ringel was the first to introduce the concept of suicidal syndrome in 1960. The doctor’s subsequent scientific work was aimed at the possibility of correcting and neutralizing aggressive factors that influence a person and prompt him to commit suicide.

In the same 1960, together with Farber, he created the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), the main goal of which is the prevention and prevention of suicide. Having secured the support of the World Health Organization, IASP came forward with the initiative to establish this holiday, which began to be celebrated on September 10, 2003.

Most suicide attempts could be stopped if there were no negative perceptions of psychologists in people's minds. Many people hardly differentiate between the concepts of "psychiatry" and "psychology" and therefore are often simply ashamed to seek help.

Statistics

According to WHO statistics, more people die from suicide in the third millennium than from all wars and violent murders combined. Every hundredth death in the world is the result of suicide. After many months of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is especially important to pay attention to suicide prevention, since many risk factors still exist - lack of work, stress related to financial problems, social isolation. WHO reminds that the number of suicides can vary greatly in different age groups, countries, regions. The highest number of suicides is registered in Africa, the lowest - in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

The most typical age for committing suicide is around 45 years of age, it is also common among young people aged 15–29. The high-risk group also includes elderly people, especially those who have serious somatic diseases or suffer from loneliness.

Prevention

Prevention of suicidal behavior is one of the most important tasks of society. Public opinion still contains some stigmatizing beliefs regarding the appeal to a psychiatrist, psychotherapist, psychologist. Although the popularity of psychotherapeutic and psychological assistance is strengthening, which will allow citizens to overcome the need to contact specialists at an early stage of the emergence of psychological problems. As a rule, this negatively affects the mental and somatic health of a person and significantly affects his quality and way of life.

Currently, the Republic of Belarus is implementing comprehensive measures to prevent suicidal behavior within the framework of subprogram 3 of the State Program “Public Health and Demographic Security” for 2021-2025, which provide for preventive work with various categories of the population, including children and adolescents.

Taking into account the fact that alcoholization of the population is one of the factors contributing to the formation of suicidal behavior and the growth of suicidal activity, systematic and targeted preventive work is continued to reduce alcohol consumption by the population of the republic. For specialists, work is underway to staff rural health care organizations with psychiatrists-narcologists, psychotherapists, psychologists. Work is underway to improve the knowledge of general practitioners in diagnosing depressive and somatoform disorders, identifying and assessing suicidal tendencies in patients who have applied. Modern scientifically based approaches are being introduced into the suicide prevention system.

Specialists have developed and approved Instructions for recognizing the presence of suicide risk factors and suicidal signs. An algorithm of actions for experts of various profiles in identifying suicidal tendencies in citizens (medical, pedagogical, social workers, employees of internal affairs agencies, employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, military personnel, mass media workers) has been developed and approved.

Prevention of suicidal behavior is one of the most important tasks of society, the implementation of which is possible only through the integration of the efforts of many departments into a single preventive strategy.