Suicide

Is there anything more heart-breaking than suicide? A loss of a valuable soul and angst for family and friends that lingers on for the rest of the survivors’ lives.

A recent article in the New York Times (April 22) points to a 24% rise in suicides. That’s appalling. That totals 42,773 people in 2014. This compares to 32,675 people who lost their lives to car accidents the same year. Both are atrocious.

Most suicides result from some form of psychiatric disorder: depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress. These dreadful afflictions can cause intense despair and hopelessness. Horrifying ends can follow.

Help is available, but too often people don’t get treatment because of a myriad of reasons. Above all, these illnesses are not recognized for what they are – potential lives on the line. The medical field needs to step up research in this area and publicize more widely how to deal with people at risk.

The human mind is a most complicated entity and like the body, things can go wrong. Yet, we are far from finishing our knowledge about the brain which could give us a better understanding of the interworking of our brains and treatments to deal successfully with these suicide events.

Like so many things in our world, it seems there is a never-ending number of challenges ahead.

                                                                __ . __