Dr. Suat Günsel University of Kyrenia Psychiatry Specialist Dr. Güler Özkula made a statement about ‘10th of September World Suicide Prevention Day:

“According to the World Health Organization it is estimated that a suicide attempt occurs every 3 seconds, every 40 seconds a person dies by suicide and every year 800.000 people lose their life because of suicide. When we take into account all these numbers don’t you think that it is supposed to be considered as a public health problem that needs to be addressed urgently?

For this reason, the 10th of September has been declared as World Suicide Prevention Day and remembered every year in order to create social awareness and to underline that it is a preventable action.

Suicide is not a mental illness, it cannot be considered only as an indicator of mental illness; biological, psychological and social factors are associated with suicide.

From a biological perspective, it is associated with mental illnesses, especially with depression and alcohol dependence. In this context, it is very important to diagnose depression in primary health care and to direct the person to a psychiatrist. Although people are concerned about stigmatization with a diagnosis of psychiatric illness, it should be kept in mind that psychiatric diseases are treatable as they do not differ from other medical diseases such as diabetes or blood pressure.

In the psychological context; lack of personal resources; living alone, separation, loss, and exposure to violence are risk factors for suicide. On the other hand, dealing with economic crisis, witnessing war or disaster is considered as other types of risk.  Of course a person’s ability to cope with traumatic stress is variable but isn’t violence and war traumatic events caused by humans? Can’t it be prevented? Isn’t it possible to prevent economic crisis with right politics and to save the life of the father who ended his life because he could not buy shoes for his child?

From the social point of view; suicide cases are more common among immigrants, refugees, transsexuals and prisoners, in other words marginalized groups in society. Can this fact allow us to understand the negative consequences of the marginalization?

Common methods of suicide are pesticide self-poisoning, hanging and firearms. Any legal arrangements that will pave the way for personal armament will increase the number of suicide cases.  Whereas any political action that stands in the way of personal armament will strengthen the prevention of suicide.

Suicide prevention is not only a matter of health care workers. When the basic principles of the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ are implemented for every individual; then life will continue. When health, education, agriculture, economy and media start to work in cooperation, then life will continue. Every human being is precious, every life is precious. ”