World Mental Health Day 2019: A Missed Opportunity?

I know a girl who attempted suicide. One evening when she was feeling so desperate that she knew something awful was going to happen if she didn’t get help soon, she drove to her local Accident and Emergency Department, explained she was feeling suicidal, and asked to be assessed by the mental health team.

After a couple of hours’ wait under the watchful eye of nursing staff, she was seen by a junior psychiatrist. She told this doctor that she was having constant thoughts of ending her life and that she wanted to be admitted to hospital. She even said that she had pills at home and that she planned to take them if she didn’t get help first.

But the doctor didn’t take her seriously. She said she didn’t believe the girl was really going to go through with it, and that she didn’t need to be admitted to hospital. What she did need, now that it was late, was to go home, have a nice cup of tea and go to bed.

You can guess what happened next. The girl, despondent, went home thinking that – since nobody wanted to help her – she had only one option. She took those pills.

Thankfully, the girl ended up having life-saving treatment which prevented catastrophic liver failure. She had to spend several days in a medical ward, and by the time her organs had recovered, someone made arrangements for her to see a Consultant Psychiatrist. She was ultimately admitted to the Mental Health Unit and received the right treatment for her acute depression.

But the outcome could so easily have been yet another sad, sad death.

The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day, on 10th October, is suicide prevention.

Did you know that, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds?

That means that there will probably have been at least two or three deaths by the time you have finished reading this post – think about it! And what the organisers of World Mental Health Day want us all to know is this: these suicides are preventable.

How could the suicide attempt above have been prevented?

Well it would have meant so much to the girl if the junior doctor had taken her seriously and spent time talking with her. If the doctor had done this, she would have learnt that the girl had attempted suicide once previously, which the WHO says is a significant risk factor for suicide. She would have heard how alone the girl was feeling, how her severe mental illness and loss of career and relationships had left her utterly hopeless. Building up a bigger picture of what was going on in the girl’s life would have helped the doctor to better assess risk.

The junior psychiatrist could have gone on to make sure that the girl was not left on her own, just as the nurses in the department had done initially. This might not have meant hospital admission, but simply seeing that she was picked up by a responsible adult who could stay with her until she got further mental health assessment. As it was, she drove back home to a house where the doctor knew she would be alone with stockpiled tablets – a ready means of self-poisoning.

Why do I believe that these simple factors could have made a difference?

I know because, twelve years ago, I was that girl.

The junior doctor whom I met that night was inexperienced. She saw someone who was actively looking for help and thought that this must have meant I wasn’t really suicidal. But she made a mistake. Suicidal people often do want help, and they may well tell a professional, a loved one, or a friend or co-worker.

I am speaking out this World Mental Health Day because I want people who might find themselves in a situation where someone they know may be at risk to know that suicide is preventable and that there are a few facts (adapted here from material available at www.mindingyourhead.info) that they should be aware of that might just help them save a life.

First of all, talking about suicide doesn’t put the idea into someone’s head; instead, it takes away the taboo and helps them to open up about their feelings. Asking if they have had thoughts of suicide is important.

Second, if someone admits that they are thinking about suicide, there are a few things you can do which will immediately reduce the risk: stay with them, reassure them that you’re not going to leave them, take away any obvious means of suicide (knives, razors, rope, pills…), and get help – from a GP, by taking them to A&E, or by calling a suicide helpline (such as the Samaritans: 116 123).

Thirdly, when you are satisfied that the crisis is over, help is coming, and it is safe for you to leave, ask for a promise that they will tell someone if their suicidal thoughts come back. This makes them less likely to act. …And stay involved. A suicidal person needs longer term support from those around them.

What if, like me, the person you are concerned about is a Christian? Or maybe they are aware that you are a Christian and want to know what gives you strength.

Then you can encourage them to talk to God about their suicidal thoughts. We are to cast all our anxieties on to him because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Nothing is taboo with God.
You can remind them that they are not alone because God has promised never to leave them nor forsake them (Deuteronomy 31:6).

You can also reassure them that you, and perhaps those in pastoral leadership in their church, will walk alongside them as they journey to wholeness – responding to God’s command to ‘carry each other’s burdens’ in Galatians 6:2.
Finally, when you are helping someone to step back from suicide and regain mental wellbeing, recognise that this can be difficult and emotionally and spiritually draining. Seek pastoral support for yourself and remember God’s promises for you also:
“And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed…The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs…You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” (Isaiah 58:10-11)