Intensify education on suicide in Ghana

Suicide is an act of intentionally causing one's own death . Paramount among the risk factors is untreated depression.

Many persons ( especially the adolescent classes ) , terminate their lives without substantial reasons .

It is becoming an alarming cause of death in the Ghanaian society of late , as many out there opt for suicide as the end of challenges in life .

In a statement issued by the Mental Health Authority ( M.H.A ) , on September 2015 , it could be deduced that the rate of suicide in Ghana can be be reduced if the society and counselling centres ( mostly in schools ) play their roles with efficiency.

Attempted suicide is not in any case a criminal issue , neither is it a moral or spiritual problem but a cry for aid just to help resolve psychosocial issues .

It will interest you and I know that , the World Health Organization ( W.H.O ) revealed list of suicide rates by countries in 2015 , which was updated in April 2017 and Ghana placed 79th out of 186 countries .

In 2016 , twenty-eight ( 28 ) males and forty( 40 ) females committed suicide .

In the same year , a ten year old boy hunged himself after failing exams .

From my careful analysis , I found out that , Ghana placed 38th on the African continent , with our neighboring country , Ivory Coast in the lead as far as suicide in Africa is concerned . Having further narrowed it down to West Africa , Ghana placed eleventh ( 11th ) out of 18 countries as victimised countries of suicide .

Globally , one person commits suicide every forty ( 40 ) seconds ,ending up in eight hundred thousand ( 800 , 000 ) suicides every year .

Ghana , from the above analysis stands at high risk of suicide rampancy in the absence of intensified education .

Lecturers , students , teachers , doctors and all manner of personalities stands the risk of this canker if not properly addressed .

A child as low as ten ( 10 ) years in age committed suicide in 2016 after failing exams ,

a teacher as high as 36 years in age committed suicide , and a lecturer ( University of Health and Allied Sciences , UHAS , Ho ) did the same .

This indeed , is an obvious and an undeniable indication of the gradual breakdown in our guidance and counseling services in our dear nation .

INDICATIONS OF POSSIBLE SUICIDE

1. Talking about feeling hopeless and / or having no purpose .

2. Someone feeling trapped or being in unbearable pain

3. Being a burden to others

4. Withdrawing or feeling isolated .

5. Financial loss

6. Loss of relationship

7 . Absence of social support

8 . Cultural and religious belief

Permit me to highlight few causes of suicide .

1. Failure of being each other's keepers

We have individually , as friends failed to help solve each others' problems leading to suicide as the only means of finding an end to social challenges

2. Poor advertisement of suicide- related issues on the social media .

We have as a nation , not done enough or gone far in respect of advertisements revolving around suicide-related issues which would have otherwise yielded solution to problems of the citizenry .

3. Youth unemployment

Youth unemployment in Ghana , causes many youth to involve themselves in this act since they underestimate themselves in trying to compare themselves to others even after education.

4. Being isolated in the form of stigmatisation

People intensionally cause their own death in a bid to find solutions to their loneliness . This mostly happens in schools and social places of endeavor .

5. Marital instability

Married couple have problems in their marriage .

It is therefore the responsibility of marriage counsellors to prepare the minds of would-be couple prior to their marriage to control the alarming rate of the canker .

6. Poor parental communication

Many parents of late , do not take the time and the pain to comprehend their wards in petty issues . This affects negatively , the child's reaction towards the problem and push the child to do what life has not offered him / her to do .

7. Emotionally unsupportive family

Some families do not support their members on emotional grounds . This makes these members feel less important in the family and choose to terminate their lives .

8. Financial loss

Many people make lifetime investments ,in anticipation of hoping to reap the output in high hopes , some encounter financial losses with least expectancy.

Most of these persons tend to commit suicide since they have no other alternatives of rising.

9 . Poor / absence of recreational facilities

Some recreational facilities are meant for stabilising the mental conditions of people in stressful times .It makes them reflect over good things ahead of them and in turn give hope to the hopeless .