Internet, academe, and suicide
NEWS about suicide is not new and not unusual these days. In fact, just last May 20, 2018, three suicide incidents have been recorded in Davao Region alone.
Suicide is the worst effect of depression. And worse than worst is that suicide is preventable only if depression is properly addressed and treated but oftentimes severely depressive people are left alone by themselves and are thought of being "kulang sa pansin" (attention seekers). As what Dr. Bihildis Mabunga, Southern Philippines Medical Center-Institute of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine chair said, death from suicide due to depression is a sign of negligence because it can be prevented since severe depression is treatable.
But how can we address the severely depressive people’s problem properly when the means to end their life is much more accessible than the treatment they need?
There are many websites promoting and even teaching ways to kill oneself. The good thing, however, is that when one searches
“how to commit suicide”, the first websites that pop up are those that offer help for depressive people including the hotlines that they can reach.
In the website quora. com, for example, when you type “what is the cheapest way to commit suicide”, the first items are the helpline and toll free numbers you can call to seek help or seek out someone to talk to.
There may be studies however that say “there is little evidence to either support or refute the notion that the use of the Internet is intrinsically damaging” (Wong, 2013) but there are also studies that suggest people “rarely seek help for emotional problems on the Internet and that future research is needed regarding the characteristics of Internet use and the potentials and limits of help-seeking via the Internet in order to prevent people from pro-suicide websites and to improve professional websites.” (Voros, et. al., 2017)
In our country, cybersecurity does not include the banning of the websites that promote and even assist suicide. When asked for comment on what are the plans of the recently-created Department of Information and Communications Technology regarding these sites, its regional office directed this writer to email the national office, particularly its office of Cyber Security and Enabling Technologies, but until now no reply has been received.
But some sectors and even schools have been doing something about the problem already, especially that severe depression mostly affects the youths, according to studies.
The Philippine Mental Health Association (PMHA), for example, a non-profit organization advocating mental health through education information services, has been giving lectures, fora, and conferences to discuss about depression, its symptoms, how to avoid it and even tips on maintaining a positive mental health ever since its inception.
“We are active partner of different public/ private schools. They invite us to give a lecture for the faculty, parents, and students,” Precious Manliguez, PMHA-Davao City chapter executive manager, said.
Last March 20, they initiated a conference on depression at Brokenshire College and on May 29 they were invited to talk about the same topic at F. Bangoy National High
School. This coming June 23, they will have another lectureforum intended for college students at Martha’s Place, Brokenshire College in Madapo Hills. They can be contacted through telephone number (082) 2988579 for details.
Other colleges and universities here in Davao City are also initiating programs and information campaigns for their students regarding mental health, particularly about depression. The University of the Philippines-Mindanao for example, had a series of fora conducted for its students, faculty, and staff.
Remigio "Rem" Domingo, guidance counselor, Guidance and Counseling Section, Office of Student Affairs of UP Mindanao said aside from the fora, lectures and seminars they have conducted with different psychiatrists, psychologists and other experts, some of their students, faculty and staff also attended seminars and workshops on Mental Health/Emotional Resiliency, such as "Promoting a Mentally Healthy School Environment: Best Practices and Perspectives" on October 11-13, 2017 in Cebu City and "UP as a Healthy, Nurturing, and Transformative Academic Organization" on April 19-20 at UP Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City.
The university also practices/ observes procedures that respond to such cases such as giving referral slip to be forwarded by the faculty to its Office of Student Affairs (OSA); call and text the students concerned to proceed to OSA after the referral slip has been forwarded by the faculty; referral made by the personnel of the Health Services Section, Student Housing Section and Student Financial Assistance Section to the Counseling & Testing Section for further intervention; received referral from the Admin Staff, Security Guards, and their fellow students; call up and arrange a meeting with the parents of those students who have psychosocial problems; call up and refer students to possible Mental Practitioners in the City both in the private and government institutions.
These activities are done in collaboration with UP Mindanao Peer Advocates, Student Organizations, university student council and its Human Resources Development Office.
Domingo said they will sustain these activities in the near future as far as Mental Health of our constituents are concerned.
San Pedro College, moreover, includes in its objectives to intensify to determine the state of mental health of its students, especially those who would go out for internship programs.
Mary Ann Rose Bartolo, SPC head of head of guidance and counseling, said the school prioritizes counseling to those leaning towards having emotional and psychological difficulties since these issues need to be assessed properly.
They also conduct trainings for teachers to equip them on how to spot depressive students so that they can refer them to the guidance office.
For his part, Department of Education (Deped) 11 spokesperson Jenielito Atillo, assured that all the schools in Davao region have a guidance program.
“We are also very strict in implementing the child protechimtang policy and the anti-bullying law. Somehow, these efforts are helping us in trying to determine if there is a depression situation in school. But we really urge the family to stand guard on the situation of our children, because there is really a great probability na kung unsa man ang mga gipakita na behaviors as usa ka bata sa ilang balay might not be the same pag abot sa school,” he said.
He also added that Deped is amenable to the fact that depression is really a big issue now.
“It needs understanding of everybody and manawagan pud at sa atong mga ginikanan (calling the attention of the parents) to do something about this. Obserbahan nila ilang mga anak. Sa pamilya man gud na magsugod tanan. Kung unsa ilang relationship sa panimalay (Observe your children because it all starts in the family, what kind of relationship they have at home). The teachers naman also, they are duty bound to guide the children and inform the parents if there is something wrong with the student,” Atillo added.
In the World Health Organization booklet on mental health (2017), it states that “suicide is a serious global public health problem that demands our attention but preventing suicide is no easy task.” Its prevention, while feasible, involves a whole series of activities, ranging from provision of the best possible conditions for bringing up our children and young people (involves the family and the community), through accurate and timely assessment of mental disorders and their effective treatment (health professionals), to the environmental control of risk factors (community and government).
Preventing depression from getting worse is everyone's concern, especially because the depressed may not be in full control of him or herself. Depression is a medical condition that can make the afflicted helpless. Help. (With reports from Jennie A. Arado, Ace S. Perez, and Ivy C. Tejano)