Psychiatrist Güler Özkula MD. said that suicide which defined as killing yourself on purpose, dying at your own hand is not a disease but mental illness is strongly associated with increased risk of suicide. Güler Özkula MD. stated that biological, psychological and social factors can contribute to the development of suicide cases and according to the World Health Organization more than 800.000 people die due to suicide every year. Özkula, pointed out the importance of 10th September World Suicide Prevention Day in raising social awareness and stated that suicide should be considered as an important public health problem and also further studies should be conducted to determine preventive measures.

“Working Together to Prevent Suicide”
Psychiatrist Güler Özkula MD., stated that mental disorders especially depression and alcohol addiction are associated with suicidal behaviour and biological factors influence the risk of suicide by 80-100%. Güler Özkula also added that protective factors include early detection of mental disorders and referring the patient to a psychiatrist. Özkula reminded that patients may experience fear of stigmatization but nowadays mental disorders are considered as an illness like diabetes or hypertension.

Psychiatrist Güler Özkula MD. said that “ Marital separation, death of a loved one, living alone, exposure to violence, chronic illness and as well as situations like war, naturel disaster or economic crises increase the risk of suicide. On the other hand marginalized groups of the society like immigrants, refugees, homosexuals, transsexuals and prisoners have a higher risk of attempting suicide. Restricting access to firearms is also an effective way to prevent these kinds of cases.”

“ The Werther Effect and the Role of Media”
Özkula at the end of her statement underlined the role of media and added that: “Suicide cases in Germany followed the publication of German author Goethe’s novel “Sorrows of Young Werther” in which the main character takes his own life. Since the 18th century the term “Werther effect” preserves its technical sense and has become more important in our age with the easy access to information through social media. Photographs or suicide notes should not be published, specific details of the method used should not be reported and strong terms should not be used when describing a suicide case. This issue is not only about health care providers and the aim of the “10th September Suicide Prevention Day” is to raise public awareness. The increased suicide rates might be reduced by realizing basic principles of Universal Declaration of Human Rights and with the collaboration of justice, security, media, education and health authorities.“