Page 20 - Testify 15 Oct 2020

20 15 - 30 October 2020

Heart & Suicide Prevention
Mind What the Church and

Christians Can Do

By Dr T. Ayodele Ajayi
Consultant Psychiatrist

Every suicide is a devastating event. Therefore, it can be difficult to predict. our communities. This enables us to be
Globally, suicide claims 800,000 lives of Social, psychological, and cultural fac- aware of those who need help with their
the 20 million attempts made annually. tors can all interact to lead a person to mental health and creates an opportunity
Those figures mean that every 40 sec- suicidal thoughts or behaviour. These to encourage them to reach out for help.
onds someone who is a parent, brother, complexities, are however, not an excuse
sister; son, daughter, friend, neighbour to absolve us of our social responsibility The Church and Christians are so
or colleague dies by suicide. For every in suicide prevention. The strategies that well-suited to demonstrate love tangibly Dr T Ajayi is on the pastoral team of
single suicide, 135 people are affected by have been proven to be impactful are in this regard. There are plenty of oppor- one of the New Covenant Churches in
its effect. community support to combat isolation, tunities from starting an in-house scheme London, with responsibility for the youth
responsible, sensitive media portrayals of that reaches out to the vulnerable, to church. He is the author of Footprints
Suicide prevention is not limited to health suicide, local education to create commu- volunteering at local food banks, and of Giants – an inspirational book in the
professionals. The theme of this year’s nity awareness, and restricting means to other community projects. Christmas and Christian personal development genre.
World Suicide Prevention Day, usually perpetuate the act. festive periods are particularly difficult for
commemorated on 10th September, en- the isolated and lonely. Over the past 6 He is a trained mentor and coach, and
courages “Working Together To Prevent Combating Social Isolation years, the church I attend run a scheme Founder and Executive Lead of Mentor
Suicide.” delivering hundreds of Christmas dinner Into Medicine - a mentoring organisation
A simple smile could mean little to you, hampers to families facing food poverty that empowers school and college stu-
What works? but to someone thinking about suicide, in our local community. What can your dents from socially and ethnically disad-
it could be the first step towards life church do to reach out to those excluded vantaged backgrounds; to achieve their
There is no single explanation of why (International Association for Suicide Pre- in society? dreams of studying medicine. Dr Ajayi is
people die by suicide. Suicide is a vention- www.iasp.info/wspd2020). The the Convener of the Mentor Into Medi-
complex behaviour with multiple causes, apt recommendation made by the same Creating Suicide Community Aware- cine workshops.
some of which are poorly understood. organisation is to step closer to others in ness
He is happily married to Dupe and they
It is a welcomed observation that have two teenage daughters.
more church leaders are opening
up their platforms to profes-
sionals to share information on
mental health problems. This has been recurrently flagged up to play a
early trend is to be encouraged role in suicidal acts.
and replicated. There is a gener-
al lack of awareness regarding Reassuringly, having strong and support-
mental health problems that ive, social connections such as positive
warrants a corporate approach. relationships with family, friends, partners
Stigma festers on ignorance and and being members of a faith commu-
misinformation, while knowledge nity are protective and can reduce such
and open, honest conversations tendencies.
in the church is the way to com-
bat this. What Can I Say or Do?

Who is at risk of suicide? A lot of people worry about lacking skills
to support those experiencing suicidal a
Evidence shows that 50% of crisis or making things worse. The myth
those who died by suicide in about instigating suicide by broaching the
Europe had a depressive illness topic with the distressed is unfounded.
at the time of the act. Under- Evidence suggests otherwise.
standing the symptoms and
signs of depression and how to In reality, there is no magic formula
get help or signpost is one of the to supporting the suicidal, other than
most crucial steps towards em- offering an authentic, compassionate,
bracing individual responsibility and empathic gesture from one human
to combat suicide. Most mental being to another. For ideas on how to
illnesses carry an increased su- start and progress that “Are you OK?”
icidal risk. Acts of self-harm are conversation, www.ruok.org.au provides
one of the strongest predictors an excellent interactive resource.
of completed suicide. The other
predispositions are family history The organisations in the UK offering help-
of suicide, middle-aged men, line support to the distressed include
and now very concerning young • The Samaritans- on free number-
people facing stress. Every week 116 123
125 people in the UK take their • Campaign Against Living Miser-
own lives. 75% of them are ably (CALM)- Free Helpline and
male. Sadly, suicide is now the webchat for men (5pm – midnight)
biggest killer of under 35s in the -0800 58 58 58.
UK! Those experiencing chronic • Papyrus – HopeLine for under 35s
pain and physical health prob- worried about personal feelings or
lems, the bereaved, particularly anyone concerned about them. Ring
by suicide; socially isolated and 0800 068 4141 or Text-07860 039
lonely-including ethnic and sex- 967.
ual -orientation minority groups;
and a past history of suicidal Please let’s keep the conversation going.
attempts are other risk factors. I am really keen to hear from you via
Alcohol and illicit substance use email at tripartcare@gmail.com