The National Media and Communications Authority (NMHH) and the Blue Line Children’s Crisis Foundation are jointly drawing attention to the risk factors related to suicide on the occasion of Saturday’s World Suicide Prevention Day, and that those who are in trouble should not be ashamed to ask for help.
According to a statement sent to MTI by the Communications Directorate of the NMHH on Friday, the WHO views the phenomenon as a global health issue, in which all age groups, genders, and regions are affected, but young people are particularly at risk. After traffic accidents, suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15- to 19-year-olds. “In 2020, there were already regrettable statistical data: significantly more people committed suicide than in 2019,” they said.
Citing WHO data, they wrote that around 800,000 people worldwide take their own lives every year, and even more people attempt to do so. On the other hand, a suicide attempt is usually not a single factor, but a series of several unfortunate events. Mostly long-lasting, hopeless situations can lead to this.
As they added, there is often some kind of psychological illness behind suicides, but it is very common that the immediate antecedent is a crisis situation that the individual is unable to cope with alone. The last straw in adolescence can be a breakup, a bad certificate, or failure at school or at work. Suicide attempts are usually preceded by characteristic behavior or a change in behavior. For example, mood swings or the feeling of hopelessness – the announcement list.
The NMHH called it the shared responsibility of all adults to notice when an adolescent or young person is in trouble, and – as they wrote – “to do this, you have to connect with them, talk openly, without judgment”.
They also reported that, according to the experience of the mental health service operated by the Blue Line, the number of teenagers who ask for help through anonymous channels due to self-aggressive thoughts and urges has been steadily increasing in recent years. They continued: many children have no one else to help them, because family and school are not safe environments for them.
According to data from the Blue Line Children’s Crisis Foundation, the topic of domestic violence appeared in more than two thousand calls last year, including conflict between parents and cases of physical child abuse. The closure due to the coronavirus and the increased online presence also pose a number of dangers, the written summary states.
The NMHH also pointed out that, according to experts, the mental health of the high school age group has become very worrying in the last two years, while school psychologists, staff at family support centers and child psychiatry are struggling with a “huge lack of capacity”.
In the prevention of suicide, in addition to the family and professionals working with children, social media and traditional media also have a huge opportunity, as they can also cause tragic damage: a content about suicide can be particularly dangerous, motivating for imitation or serving prevention – read the communique.
The board drew attention to the fact that content that may be harmful or dangerous to the development of minors can be reported on the NMHH Internet Hotline (https://nmhh.hu/internethotline/). Media employees can find recommendations for constructive information about suicide news on the website of the Blue Line Children’s Crisis Foundation, they explained.