Contrary to popular belief that suicidal people do not share their problems with others, they at times do give indications beforehand which should be taken seriously and acted upon to prevent needless loss of life, university students have said.
By HealthTimes Reporter
Students from various universities in Zimbabwe gave reasons on why people die by suicide with others giving their personal accounts about suicide attempts.
Speaking on ZiFM Campus Parade Show’s vox pop, students gave a plethora of causes they think nudge people into committing suicide.
A female student cited that suicidal people emit warning signals which should not be taken lightly.
“I think they need attention because most of the people before committing suicide they actually indicate the signs,” she said.
Otherwise, one male student said, “Pain, there is this emotional pain whereby when we were growing up as kids, we were never taught on how to deal with his kind of pain.”
A female student said she was suicidal.
“I am suicidal and I have attempted before. It began when my mum died. Sometimes I just felt lonely. I felt lost. I felt like the world is just against me. I felt like my siblings are moving on well,” she said.
Recently on social media, there was a barrage of people mourning and lambasting those who end their lives on the back of cheating now fashionably known as Mjolo. Dying by suicide as a result of discovering their girlfriends or wives were cheating on them were oddly ‘muscle-men’ or bouncers.
“Another female student The first issue that causes suicides is financial crisis. Not having whatever you need financially. The second one is Mjolo. Mjolo heish. Mjolo is…the heartbreaks bra…someone can actually commit suicide because of a heartbreak. Unenge warwadziwa. Unenge wagara unechigumbu kudhara (You will be hurting alongside having anger issues.),” notes the other female student. .
Psychosocial occupational therapist and University of Zimbabwe lecturer Dr Clement Nhunzvi said it is important for everyone to be involved in suicide prevention.
“A starting point on the prevention of suicide would be responsive research to try and characterise the practice, causes, the risks of suicide.
” The other thing to understand are the emerging trends which we have not studied before about how people take their life and the reasons.
“Everybody has a role to play in suicide prevention, management and all the processes involved. You can save a life by being there.
“Ask how people are processing their situations. Make everybody feel at home and valued,” he said on the show.
Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among young persons and largely preventable.
