Suicides in Thailand Jump to a 17-Year High

Psychologists in Thailand have sounded the alarm over the rising number of suicides linked with depression in the country, and they are calling on people who are vulnerable to reach out for help when in need.

At a recent event held to commemorate World Suicide Prevention Day, which took place on September 10, Dr. Amporn Benjaponpithak, the director-general of the Department of Mental Health, stated that “committing suicide indicates poor mental health.”

The nation is currently experiencing a record-high number of suicides. Dr. Amporn mentioned that statistics from the department and the National Suicide Prevention Centre projected that the rate of suicide in the year 2020 would be 7.35 per 100,000 people.

Dr. Amporn reported that the rate rose to 7.38 cases per 100,000 people in the population in the previous year. She mentioned that each year, there are approximately 4,820 people who take their own lives in this country.

Suicides and calls Increasing

Dr. Amporn states this is the highest rate recorded in the previous 17 years. The causes can be numerous and intricate, and the effect can gain momentum over time.

She stated that the department had established a suicide prevention hotline and provided various measures, some of which were carried out by the Helpers of Psychiatric Emergency task force, to assist people on social media.

She stated that 1,554 people, or an average of 141 people per month, have called the suicide prevention hotline to talk about ending their own lives in the past eleven months.

She stated that officials made follow-up calls and discovered that 74 percent of the people had changed their minds and wanted to live.

She mentioned that people who might require assistance could get guidance from the KhuiKun and Sati mobile apps online.

According to Dr. Nattakorn Jampathiong, the director of the Galya Rajanagarinda Institute, the phenomenon of people attempting to take their own lives or threatening to do so is no longer a marginal concern.

He believed that anyone was capable of committing suicide.

Stress plays a major factor in suicides

“Attempts to kill oneself don’t take place overnight,” he explained. “The cause is typically related to stress, which can accumulate over the course of one to two years due to factors such as economic hardship, mental illness, or loneliness.”

According to Dr. Prakarn Thomyangkoon of the Psychiatric Association of Thailand, depression is frequently a contributing factor in suicides.

According to the study’s findings, the ratio of men to women who commit suicide is three to one.

According to him, approximately twenty percent of people who have untreated depression are likely to commit suicides, while only one point fourteen percent of those who are receiving treatment do so.

People should try to be comforting to those who are depressed, according to Dr. Nuttorn Pityaratstian, director of the Thai Society for Affective Disorders in Thailand.

Source: Bangkok Post

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