While I was in London in August, a 10-year-old boy, who had tried to commit suicide twice, and who was receiving counselling, told me: “I am learning not to fear death”. Red flag! Family breakdown, child abuse, and child neglect can be traumatic. Our task is to be alert, to know the signs—including depression, and to know where to seek help.
T&T has the third highest rate of suicide in the Caribbean—with Guyana and Suriname first and second (WHO study). As reported in the Trinidad & Tobago Guardian on July 18, 2018, “According to the World Health Organisation statistics, every year, almost one million people die from suicide, a global mortality rate of 16 per 100,000, or one death every 40 seconds. In the last 45 years, suicide rates have increased by 60 per cent worldwide. Suicide is among the three leading causes of death among those aged 15–44 in some countries, and the second leading cause of death in the 10–24 years age group. These figures do not include suicide attempts, which are up to 20 times more frequent than completed suicide” (www.who.int/mental_health).
