Celebrated around the theme of “Working together to prevent suicides,” a lot of focus last month was placed on how we can support each other to live healthier and long lives.
In suicide awareness campaigns, the predominant shticks tend to revolve around the posting of suicide hotlines and encouraging persons to reach out to their loved ones to offer support. Certainly, suicide hotlines can be beneficial if trained personnel adequately man them. So too can persons taking an active interest in the lives of their loved ones who may show signs of or express suicidal thoughts.
The issue with this however is that often, suicidal persons struggle with thoughts of reaching out for support. Warning signs are rarely apparent. Many have become masters at hiding their pain and intentions, because of how we have collectively been trained to suppress our thoughts and feelings while overcoming adversity at all costs. Because of this pull-yourself-up ideology, many mask their suffering until it is too late. Loved ones despite their best intentions, can often trigger even more feelings of disenchantment with life, not to mention that many battling suicidal thoughts do not have persons on which they can rely on for the support that they need.
Despite the progress made on reducing stigma around suicide, collectively, we are yet to break out of the mindset that frames it as being an individual shortcoming. Shame is foisted upon those who attempt or complete suicide and it continues to be framed as an action done by those who are weak, selfish or attention seeking.
Our existing mental health legislation that criminalizes it also adds towards the shame and abuse meted out against those who are suicidal. The maintenance of this archaic law causes more harm than good as it can often result in the charging and prosecution of those who are already under tremendous stress. This often creates additional difficulties, as they now have to garner the resources needed to answer for their charge. The law also makes survivors of suicide attempts and their families, reluctant to seek relevant support and mental health care, as there is fear that they will be charged. This of course can lead to a constant loop of repeated attempts that ultimately end in the person taking their own life.
The lack of control we are made to feel in our lives, often see many trying to regain some semblance of control over their own physical being. COVID-19 has exacerbated this lack of control as insecurity and inaccessibility around employment, food, education, health and relationships sees many struggling with their mental health. Yet leaders are moving forward with plans to return to normalcy with no safety nets in place for the vulnerable for which “normal” continues to cause untold stress. These actions are fitting however when we recognize that while the crisis we are battling is COVID-19, the actual sickness we are facing is the realities of capitalism and its intersecting issues.
Suicide it must be understood is not an individual defect. Many of the issues that drive persons to take their own life is the cumulative result of a society failing to adequately support those who are underprivileged. The reliance on the narrative that those who self harm or have suicidal ideations are mentally ill, further promotes stigma and does nothing to get to the root causes of the act. Mental health issues can certainly make persons more susceptible to attempt and complete suicides, but we must be careful to not frame it as being purely based on mental illness. Suicide cannot be removed from the socioeconomic inequality that plagues our society. Despite the high rates of persons taking their lives due to things such as minority stress and inaccessibility, the close relationship between suicide and societal inequality has been largely ignored.
With suicide having been reframed within a bio-medical framework, there is very little examination of social factors and how they contribute towards the deterioration of mental health. Our socioeconomic systems of existence are the basis upon which life experiences are framed and had. Leaders are always quick to point out the need for suicide awareness but resources to actually implement the support and necessary changes are never realized, as this would mean restructuring many of our ways of existence. Religious fundamentalism, racism, classism and all the other isms, all contribute towards high levels of mental illness and suicide. We can continue to have all the awareness campaigns that satisfy our urge to do good, but mental health and well-lived lives can only be achieved in a society that is not centered on exploitation and oppression.
