REGULAR readers of this column, An Cailín Rua, will remember my examination before Christmas of the spend on road-safety initiatives, in light of the drastic increase in road traffic deaths – a trend that is sadly showing no signs of reversing, with 184 lives lost in 2023, and 33 so far this year as I write. The column also questioned the relatively tiny spend on drug services in Ireland, versus road safety, given the fact that the number of deaths was over twice as high. It is apparent that while all loss of life is tragic, some kinds of tragedy are harder to acknowledge than others.
Enter suicide. In 2022, 188 people died on our roads. In that same period, 412 suicides were reported in Ireland. The actual number is likely to be much higher.
I am acutely aware, as I write, that there will be people reading who have experienced a very recent loss to suicide, and whose grief will be enormously raw. I also know that no matter how long ago a loss from suicide, the pain does not leave. And the chances are, some people reading this will be feeling suicidal themselves, because we know, from The Samaritans, that as many as one in 20 people will make a suicide attempt at some point in their lives.
It is for all of these people that I write this column. For the grieving, and for the struggling. Because no one who has lost someone to suicide wants anyone else to experience that grief, and because suicide is never the answer. And I’m writing for those of us who might feel helpless, when in reality, we have the power to do something.
Perhaps part of the reason it is so hard to talk openly about suicide, aside from the pain it causes, is the fact that until quite recently it was still regarded as a criminal act, and as immoral in the eyes of the Church. But we are wiser now. Language is important. Suicide is categorically not a crime to be ‘committed’. It is the result, in the vast majority of cases, of severe emotional distress – often, the signs of which might not be noticed or understood by others, until it is too late.
There is no longer any denying or hiding suicide, unfortunately. It does not live in the shadows – it is, in fact, all around us. So the time has passed for euphemisms, for shying away from the word and the truth of it.
As a society, we need urgently to name it, talk frankly about it, and learn how we can work together to prevent it.
This might seem nigh impossible, but within communities, we actually have it in our power to effect significant change and to save lives. It is undeniable and shameful that successive governments have failed to prioritise mental-health services, but we must acknowledge that preventing suicide cannot be left solely to health professionals. We, the general public have a responsibility too, and must be prepared to engage with the topic and to intervene, if necessary. We need to be brave, start educating ourselves, and acting as a true society should, by being aware of the signs of suicide and actively looking out for each other.
The good news? There are really good tools available – to all of us. It is astounding how poorly promoted they are, but the HSE’s National Office for Suicide Prevention, under ‘Connecting for Life’, the National Suicide prevention strategy, runs excellent free suicide-prevention training all around the country, all year round.
The training is available to everybody, to equip individuals and communities with the awareness, the skills and the language to effectively recognise the signs that someone is suicidal, to talk to them about feeling suicidal, to intervene to keep them safe until the crisis period has passed or to deliver suicide first aid. The training is challenging, but it is highly practical, and it undoubtedly has the potential to save lives.
Eight years ago, I signed up to the two-day ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) course. It was tough – talking about suicide is hard, after all – but within mere days, I had cause to put the skills I learned to use, and I will be forever grateful to have had the skills and confidence to be able to intervene in a life-threatening situation.
It is really important to know that the majority of people who are contemplating suicide do not actually want to die. They just want to escape the enormity of the situation or the frame of mind they are in, and when a person is in extreme distress, they are not in the right frame of mind to make rational decisions. But suicide will always be a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
They may be unable to say they are suicidal, but there may be other signs. Their behaviour may change. Their emotions may be volatile, or they may become completely withdrawn. Or sometimes, there simply may not be any visible signs. But being alert to the behaviours of our loved ones, checking in regularly with our friends and educating ourselves on how to intervene if we realise someone is in danger can literally save lives.
We have more power than we think.
For details of HSE suicide prevention training and your local co-ordinator, visit ‘Connecting for Life types of training’ on hse.ie. If you need urgent help, you can contact your GP or your nearest emergency department, or call 116 123, the Samaritans 24-hour helpline, for advice.
OPINION: We need to talk about suicide
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29.02.2024
REGULAR readers of this column, An Cailín Rua, will remember my examination before Christmas of the spend on road-safety initiatives, in light of the drastic increase in road traffic deaths – a trend that is sadly showing no signs of reversing, with 184 lives lost in 2023, and 33 so far this year as I write. The column also questioned the relatively tiny spend on drug services in Ireland, versus road safety, given the fact that the number of deaths was over twice as high. It is apparent that while all loss of life is tragic, some kinds of tragedy are harder to acknowledge than others.
Enter suicide. In 2022, 188 people died on our roads. In that same period, 412 suicides were reported in Ireland. The actual number is likely to be much higher.
I am acutely aware, as I write, that there will be people reading who have experienced a very recent loss to suicide, and whose grief will be enormously raw. I also know that no matter how long ago a loss from suicide, the pain does not leave. And the chances are, some people reading this will be feeling suicidal themselves, because we know, from The Samaritans, that as many as one in 20 people will make a suicide attempt at some point in their lives.
It is for all of these people that I write this column. For the grieving, and for the struggling. Because no........
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