World Suicide Prevention Day marked

Speakers underscore the need for additional mental health resources

MULTAN:

Women’s University Multan marked World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) on Saturday with the aim of creating hope through special actions and maximum awareness. A seminar covering this was arranged by the Department of Applied Psychology.

Psychologists from the Police Training Centre, Rabia Nayab, Munazza Butt, Dr Saadia Musharraf and Associate Professor Dr Kalsoom Paracha addressed the seminar. The speakers stressed the need to create hope among people and encourage them to celebrate successes. Suicide is no solution to any problem, the speakers stressed.

One must face challenges in an amicable way, the speakers added. Failures also lead to success, as one should learn from failures and develop further strategies to learn from their mistakes. We will have to understand reality, as it could help us make wise decisions, the speakers stated.

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an awareness day marked on September 10th, in order to provide commitment and action to prevent suicide through various activities around the world since 2003. For every suicide, millions of people suffer intense grief and profound impact from suicidal behaviour. Each suicide is a public concern, with an impact on those around them. By raising awareness of the issue and breaking the stigma by encouraging well-informed reactions, we can reduce instances of suicide, said the speakers.

The main reasons behind suicide include poverty, unemployment, the loss of a loved one and work-related problems. Speakers reminded participants that there are alternatives to suicide, which is the 13th leading cause of death worldwide. Globally, suicide is the most common cause of death among people between 15 and 24-years-old. According to the WHO, for every 20 suicide attempts, one is fatal.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 11^th, 2022.