Everyone can chip in to help lower suicide rate
I REFER to Wednesday’s report, ‘Suicide rate at nine-year low’.
I must commend Samaritans Of Singapore (SOS) and all related voluntary welfare organisations on a good job in keeping suicide deaths to a five-year low of 364.
I had the pleasure of attending an SOS suicide prevention workshop a few years ago and was impressed with the way the organisation was so professional in its approach to a taboo subject in Singapore. The chief lesson I learnt was that anyone can do something to prevent suicide if he adopts a ‘brother’s keeper’ mentality. We all can do something by reaching out to friends who are down and out.
It does not surprise me that twice as many men kill themselves than women as men often keep things to themselves because of the strong Asian face-saving culture. They fail to seek help and quickly lapse into depression when they face personal issues on their own. Women open up more to friends and even professional counsellors.
The fact that more men aged between 40 and 49 kill themselves reflects a society that places a lot of stress on the breadwinner role. This group also struggles with an employment situation that discriminates against older workers. Many feel trapped and some may wallow in self-pity as a result.
In this current economic downturn, as more men in this sandwich generation succumb to unemployment, I hope more can be done for this vulnerable group.
The Government can perhaps provide more financial incentives to households with ageing parents and young children under the same roof. Often, the stress factors in a family crisis are mostly finance-related. Without a proper safety net for those who have lost their jobs, my fear is that men in the sandwich generation will find the journey tough.
Lastly, one life lost to suicide means a wife becomes a widow overnight and children face the rest of their childhood without a father.
Let us all stay united and help one another. Stretch out your helping hand if you see someone in distress. You may never know that you are saving someone from taking his life.
Gilbert Goh
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