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Stop top suicide trigger | Nation

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In today’s fast-paced life nobody has time to talk to each other. Everybody is in a hurry, upset about something. In the olden days, we had time. We didn’t have much money yet we were very rich; we shared each other’s sorrows and joys. Even the biggest issues were resolved through negotiations. Nobody committed suicide then.

As time progressed, our engagements increased. We earned extra money but lost time. We got more facilities. But somewhere, we have become distant from one another due to these facilities and desire for more money and luxury. Even when the family sits together, they are on phone and do not talk to one another. In this way, the mobile phone has not only brought our faraway kin closer to us but also taken away those near us. Everybody is lonely and suffers from mental stress; many commit suicide.

The WHO says 800,000 people die from suicide— the second-largest cause of death—yearly (one every 40 seconds), most of them aged 15-29, with 1,408 cases yearly (or four daily) in Kenya. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics recorded 421 deaths in 2018. In the time it takes you to read this article, 11 people will have died by or attempted suicide.

Abuse of drugs

Official suicide figures in Kenya may be hard to collect owing to under-reporting or misreporting, partly due to stigma and penalties for attempted suicide. Suicides destroy families, friends and communities.

Risk factors for suicide include abuse of drugs and substances and non-medical use of prescription drugs: 19-63 per cent of all suicide victims suffered from substance use disorders, mostly alcohol.

There is a correlation between suicide and mental diseases, notably depression. A 2017 WHO report places Kenya sixth in Africa as regards depression rates with at least 1.9 million Kenyans diagnosed.

In fact, we lack patience. We give up in a little trouble and think that there is no solution now and we prefer to die. No problem is so big that it cannot be solved. If our income is low, then learn to live in it.

If we have a family problem, a marital discord or a dispute with someone else, then we should resolve it through dialogue. Understand each other.

Mr Surjit is a veteran journalist and freelance writer based in Brampton, Canada. [email protected]

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