Depression and Suicide : A Silent Killer
SEOUL: A top K-pop star bemoaned feeling “broken from inside” and “engulfed” by depression in a suicide note, it emerged Tuesday, as his death sent shockwaves among fans worldwide.Kim Jong-Hyun, a 27-year-old lead singer of the massively popular K-pop boyband SHINee, was found in a Seoul hotel room on Monday (Dec 18) in what police said was suicide.
From the newspaper cutting above we can know that depression and suicide devastatingly killed people no matter either they were old or young.Research shows that the age-adjusted suicide rates in the United States for each year from 1999 through 2014 for the total population, and for males and females presented separately. Data courtesy of the National Center for Health Statistics, CDC .Over the past 15 years, the total suicide rate has increased 24% from 10.5 to 13.0 per 100,000.The suicide rate among males has remained approximately four times higher (20.7 per 100,000 in 2014) than among females (5.8 per 100,000 in 2014).[1]
The reasons behind a teen's suicide or attempted suicide can be complex. Although suicide is usually rare among children, the rate of suicides and suicide attempts increases greatly during adolescence.Therefore,It is important for us to know the cause and try to help the mentally ill person before they take on more devastating action that may lead to lost of their lives.
People who take their lives don’t want to die, but to end their pain. So,the first thing that we should know is how to identify and help thus cure the depressed patient as suicide is preventable.Here are some of the warning signs if someone have suicidal thoughts,the first sign is Becomes withdrawn. The person avoids close friends and family, loses interest in activities and social events, and becomes isolated.The second sign is Focuses on death. Some people talk openly about wanting to die. Or they fixate on the topic of death and dying. They may research ways to kill themselves or buy a gun, knife, or pills.The third sign is Shows despair. The person may talk openly about unbearable pain, or feeling like they’re a burden on others.The fourth sign is Makes plans. The person may take steps to prepare for death, like updating a will, giving away stuff, and saying goodbye to others. Some may write a suicide note.The fifth sign is Shows swings in mood or sleep. Often, the person may be depressed, anxious, sad, or angry. They also may be very irritable, moody, or aggressive. But they can suddenly turn calm once they’ve decide to go through with the suicide. Then they may sleep a lot more or a lot less than usual.The sixth sign is Drinks or takes drugs. Substance abuse raises the chance of suicide. Using a lot of drugs and alcoholmay be an attempt to dull the pain or to harm themselves.And the final sign is Acts recklessly. The person may take dangerous chances, like driving drunk or having risky sex.[2]
Here,I am going to show some of the clinical preventions to prevent suicide from happen, To work with the patient,I must initially understand the chronology of the scenario and use that understanding to create an alternative for problem solving.In the immediate sense this therapeutic coping alternative must begin to compete with this fantasy and over time ultimately displace this powerful act.In the clinical setting there is no more reliable coping alternative to suicide than a clinician who is willing to offer a real relationship to the patient. Here I speak of a real human‐to‐human relationship. To truly accept and not reject a struggling soul who wants to end his or her life takes a certain measure such as courage. Like anyone, most clinicians experience fear in the face of danger, yet the key to working with the dangers of suicide is to not leave, but rather to go into the lonely phenomenological world of the suicidal patient. Paradoxically, doing the very thing we feel least inclined to do is the thing that makes the biggest difference in the life and death struggle of the suicidal soul. Simply stated, it is easier not to encounter such struggles or to look the other way. In effect, one can be a “therapist‐voyeur,” watching the struggling patient from the outside looking in. Elsewhere I have advocated the power of the “therapist‐participant,” one who finds the capacity to truly join in the depths of suicidal despair while never losing the judgment and clinical wisdom of being a therapist (Jobes & Maltsberger, 1995).[3]
As my self reflection toward this topic,I personal agree that this topic impacts me greatly. If one of my friends were being bullied or physically/mentally hurt, I would step in. Bystanders are the people who stand there and witness a controversy between two people, but are either too scared to step in or don’t know what to do. They might feel as if since it isn’t their business that they shouldn’t be apart of it. But, what they don’t know is what the victim of the situation is feeling, going through, and has gone through. If someone were to step up and defend another, it could possibly show them some people actually do have a heart. If they ever had suicidal thoughts, just a simple “Stop” and defending could change their mind. It’s really important to stand up for each other because one day, that might be you and you might need someone to lean on for support. Since suicide is such a high risk issue, its better to do what ever you can to prevent it so nothing critical happens. The most upsetting thing for me about youth suicide is the actual death part. It’s horrible that some people push others to harming themselves and attempting suicide over rumors, fights, and self-harm. The ones who have a second chance to make things okay in their life again are the lucky ones. Those are the people who need support and nothing but lessons on how to love themselves. You can’t love someone else until you learn how to love yourself. A lot of people think of themselves as something that is not valued, but what they don’t know is that their living is very valued. Your life is something that you shouldn’t waste and to take every mistake as a taught lesson. Life is so short and precious that you can’t waste it. You need a lot of courage to push on through good and bad times. Never be ashamed to ask for help to get through those times. Sometimes can definitely be harder than others and we all at some point need someone to support us. No one’s perfect. Over all, I think youth suicide is something that should be prevented because you never know what people are going through and what they have gone through. Don’t stereotype others. Instead of everyone being against each other, people should learn to have more empathy. Even if you just do a small act of kindness, it could really change a person’s attitude and make them feel special. Remember the next time you have nothing nice to say or do, don’t do it at all. Rude comments are better kept than spoken.
[1].https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml
[2].https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-recognizing-signs-of-suicide#1