Suicide, a real threat
THE World Health Organization recorded a total of 2,500 suicide cases in the Philippines in 2012 alone. This excludes those cases that were unreported by the kin of suicide victims due to stigma, fear of being judged, or not being allowed by the Catholic Church to bring their dead for necrological service.
In Davao region alone the number of suicide victims is steadily increasing, with only 54 in 2016 to 81 last year as recorded by the Police Regional Office 11.
With the rising trend of people who kill themselves, what are the steps the concerned agencies are doing?
Dr. Bihildis Mabunga of the Southern Philippines Medical Center - Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, said as of the moment, they are doing
information campaigns about mental health, specifically about depression and suicide. “(As) The Philippine Mental Health Association, we are invited as guest speakers, like in schools (to talk) about teenage suicide,” she said.
There is aso the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation which can be contacted at (02) 804-4673 (HOPE); 0917-558-4673 (HOPE); and 2919 for Globe and TM subscribers, although this has a national coverage, she said. She had long planned on putting up a local hotline where people in the region can easily access, but it’s not that easy. “There should be a shifting of duties, dapat trained ang mag-reply, consistent and must be supported by the local government, because we need to identify our manpower,” she said.
Training would be easy, she said, as the National Center for Mental Health is supportive of the idea.
The director there said they are willing to train our staff here, we’ll just bring them there and they’ll train them,” she said, adding that she wants the hotline to be her legacy.
Although the mental health bill, which also covers depression among other mental health issues, has already been passed on its third and final reading in the Senate in May last year and in November, still of last year, the House of Representatives also passed on its third and final reading its own version of the same bill, until now the Mental Health Bill is still yet to be signed into law.
With this setback on the bill, the Davao City Council committee on health crafted its own local mental health ordinance, which has already passed on first reading.
Councilor Mary Joselle Villafuerte, the committee’s chair, emphasized the need to craft this ordinance instead of just creating a mental health committee.
“I don’t like the idea of having another committee, where members mostly would be having frequent meetings and nothing more. We want to, instead of forming a committee, put up a community–based mental health program. Community, then hospital, then IPBM,” she said.
Section 5 of the proposed ordinance states that the “Mental Health Delivery System shall evolve from a predominantly hospital-based mental health care system to a comprehensive community-based mental health system” which means, among others, the development and integration of mental health care at the primary health care in the community; continuous support services and intervention for families; and advocacy and promotion of mental health awareness among the general population.
The ordinance also includes among others to educate families and communities about mental health issues, proper intervention and mental health promotion and prevention.
In the ordinance, part of the health workers’ job is to conduct regular monitoring and evaluation of clients or patients undergoing treatment, care or counseling.
Councilor Villafuerte, for her part, wanted that the hotline or helpline for those who are suffering mental health disorder, including depression, to be integrated with 911 hotline, providing proper training for the phone call takers like phone counseling. And this is also included in the proposed ordinance.
She stressed that like any other issues that promotes health, prevention of the spread of diseases and or accidents, mental health should be given attention and people should be educated about it as well, even urging other sectors, like the Department of Education, to help in spreading awareness and educating about it.
As what the World Health Organization stated in its website, “stigma, particularly surrounding mental disorders and suicide, means many people thinking of taking their own life or who have attempted suicide are not seeking help and are therefore not getting the help they need. The prevention of suicide has not been adequately addressed due to a lack of awareness of suicide as a major public health problem and the taboo in many societies to openly discuss it.”
It adds that only a few countries have included suicide prevention among their health priorities and only 28 countries report having a national suicide prevention strategy. Raising community awareness and breaking down the taboo is important for countries to make progress in preventing suicide.
The Mental Health Bill could fulfill this, if only it will be passed into law soon. As what Senator Risa Hontiveros, principal sponsor of the Mental Health Bill, said “The burden of mental health illness is real. But so is hope. With the eventual passage of the Mental Health Bill, help is finally on its way.”
Depression and suicide are real, and sweeping the issue under the rug will not help prevent it.
At the moment, Bob (not his real name), who lost a stepdaughter who was at the peak of her life, beautiful and about to tie the knot, is campaigning against depression and suicide in whatever ways he can: through social media, speakership in schools and even when talking to friends or acquaintances.
One time, he called the attention of one of his followers in social media for posting “Only cowards commit suicide” on his wall. He educated the man about depression and other issues surrounding it. He hopes that one day people would be educated about depression so that nobody will experience the loss and the questions left unanswered when Anne (not her real name), his stepdaughter, killed herself.