WATCH FOR SIGNS OF SUICIDE
Teens need to get help for depression
DIANE Moodley is still haunted by memories of finding her daughter Tenniel Naidoo hanging from her bedroom window after she took her own life.
Naidoo, 15, killed herself on May 27 2010 after suffering from depression following a car accident that killed her boyfriend, Viloshen Ramsamy 26 days earlier.
“I have learnt to deal with the pain well. I do somehow wonder what she would be like 20 years from now – even as a mother,” Moodley said.
Naidoo died the year she was meant to go on an student exchange programme to the US.
“I had wanted her to enjoy the benefits of a young Indian woman in the new South Africa, as we did not get such opportunities,” said the mother.
South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) is promoting Teen Suicide Prevention Week that started on Saturday and ends on February 25.
Sadag visited JB Matabane Secondary School in Ivory Park, Tembisa, on Thursday to raise awareness.
Principal Mamoyahabo Seakamela said the school had lost two students to suicide, and another two reportedly attempted suicide after disappointments in romantic relationships.
According to statistics from Sadag, 9.5% of teenage deaths are due to suicide – while 21% of teenagers have tried to commit suicide due to a lack of emotional support, bullying or the loss of loved ones.
Sadag project manager Anne Rajcoomar urged teenagers to seek help from someone when they were feeling depressed.
“Some of the warning signs when a child is fixated on death [is] risky behaviour – like intake of alcohol and other banned substances, giving away prized possessions, neglecting hygiene, frequently absent, self-destructive behaviour, extreme mood swings and changes in academic performance,” she said.
Naidoo had confided in friends about her suicidal thoughts. Although she had been depressed for a few weeks, her mother said she had dismissed it as slight sadness that would eventually heal.
“I do not blame anyone for Tenniel’s suicide but I wish she had someone to talk to. I do, however, urge friends to talk when they see or hear signs of suicide. Through Sadag I know the signs to look out for, I wish I had known earlier.”
Patricia Evans lost her son, Jason, who died at the age of 34 to suicide as a result of workplace bullying. Jason suffered from seizures and would get victimised at work. Jason overdosed on sleeping tablets and died in the bath.
“He left a video explaining how bad the situation at work was. He got rid of all the containers of the kind of drugs he took and said he does not want to be helped,” Evans said. “My husband became an alcoholic and lost his job and I also lost my house because of the depression,” she said.
Jason was survived by three daughters, aged 13, eight, and three.