MOSSEL BAY NEWS - September is World Suicide Prevention Month. The theme this year is, Creating hope through action.
In Mossel Bay, members of the Junior Town Council have taken it upon themselves to drive a campaign, selling yellow ribbons at their schools to promote awareness.
The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), in their latest statistics, state that they received more than 74 000 calls to the Suicide Helpline since January this year.
"Before Covid-19, it was estimated that 23 suicides took place daily, with 460 attempted suicides every 24 hours. We believe these statistics may be higher as a result of the pandemic," reports Kayla Phillips, SADAG spokesperson.
Suicide is the second most common cause of death in people aged 15 to 29.
Youth
"The majority of calls to the Suicide Helpline are from youth aged 18 to 35. It is vital not to underestimate the issue of the mental health of children, as the youngest suicide victim was six years old," Phillips continues.
According to SADAG, in South Africa, men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women. Around the globe, university students are primarily at risk of suicidal behaviour. According to research by Professor Jason Bantjies, associate professor in the Psychology Department at Stellenbosch University, 30.6% of students had thoughts of suicide in the past 12 months, 16.6% had made a suicide plan and 2.4% had attempted suicide.
"More than half (57.2%) of students who'd had thoughts of suicide in the past 12 months went on to make a suicide plan. And 19.1% of those who made a plan went on to attempt suicide," says Phillips.
Support
Mossel Bay has suffered great loss due to suicide, especially among the youth, which led to a local support group being formed, Anti Suicide Mossel Bay, which can be contacted on Facebook. Caritas Care, a local organisation, specialises in pastoral narrative therapy and also provides trained counsellors to support people. They can be reached on WhatsApp (071 473 0507).
The Ithemba Foundation offers many useful resources on its website (www.ithembafoundation.org.za), especially initiatives to support doctors and other healthcare workers.
SADAG can be reached at 0800 567 567 or www.sadag.org.za, where much information as well as a World Suicide Prevention Day Toolkit can be found.
Run, Henry, Run
Henry Cock, in support of SADAG, is setting out to break the world record for the most consecutive half marathons - 133 in 133 days.
"I was in a bad space last year and it really took its toll on me. My experience opened my eyes to how prevalent mental health problems are, how few people understand them and the obstacles people have to face when getting help.
"Stigma, fear, affordability. They're all very real. This is the purpose of my run – to raise awareness of the fact that support is out there," Cock says.
He only started running in October 2020. "I'm not a runner. I'm not a professional athlete at all. I'm no one special and I think that's the important thing. I'm a regular guy who knows how important your mental health is."
His aim is to raise R4 million for SADAG.
Cock will be coming to Mossel Bay towards the end of this month.
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