Our small country of Guyana, although number one in many of our hearts, doesn’t top very many lists; we aren’t the largest in size or population, we aren’t the most visited, we aren’t the richest, but yet, we are number one in suicides per hundred thousand.
Suicide in Guyana is spoken about every time one makes the headlines, but rarely after. You hear about how sad it is, and sometimes, unfortunately, you hear how stupid the person was to take their life over something so minor. People say that the deceased needed someone to “talk/beat some sense into them”. Their struggles are trivialised and sometimes even made the butt of jokes. The atmosphere this creates for someone who is contemplating suicide is a harsh and unwelcoming one. Mocking someone’s suicide tells another suicidal person that it is not safe to speak to you about his or her problems, because you will find them equally as stupid.
About two years ago, a youth group called the Red Ribbon Guyana launched a social media campaign about suicide prevention. The campaign was aimed towards young people, and encouraged them to write about the reasons why they loved their life, to talk about the struggles they faced, and to encourage those going through a hard time to reach out. I found the results to be so raw, and touching, that I’m going to include a few excerpts.
One young man, Rajendra Deonarine, wrote that he used to struggle with finding something to love about life, “Many days I wondered why I try, I’m such a failure and such an outcast and I would do whatever I could to make sure no one would feel that way, to make sure the people around me were smiling, were laughing and happy. I was bullied and teased and laughed at; you get told that you are not supposed to have big problems in your life, because you are young. But I have found what I love about my life: I love knowing that I can overcome my problems; I love knowing there are people whose life I can impact and make brighter. I love seeing people unite and smile and laugh and even struggle together. As cheesy as it sounds, I wish to one day be a hero to someone.”
Most of the pieces spoke about loving life in its entirety; the good and the bad, and every single post emphasised that there are people that you can reach out to and talk to, and that if you are suicidal, speaking to someone is extremely important. Sometimes, it is easy to let our internal dialogue get carried away. We judge ourselves harder than we judge others; we blame ourselves for things that aren’t our fault, and we can overemphasise what we perceive to be our flaws. If we don’t speak to someone else and tell them how we are feeling, then we won’t have a voice of reason to tell us we’re being too hard on ourselves, that the situation can get better, or that they’re there to help with whatever hardship we might be facing. Of course, not all suicides can be prevented by simply talking to a friend. Some people are clinically depressed and need professional medical help. But, we have to create a space where people aren’t ashamed to admit that they need help. We have to be able to remove the stigma associated with mental illnesses. As Sonia Ghir put it, “Depression is the unseen, unheard, silent killer. It’s the pain that’s too much to cope with, too hard to deal with and so misunderstood. You can’t escape it no matter how hard you try, because it follows you around like a black shadow that’s on the inside, eating you. It’s important to know you aren’t alone. Talking about suicide is the first step to prevention. When we take the stigma away, we can then begin learning and understand how we can help ourselves and others who are thinking of suicide.” If you are suicidal, please reach out. If you are concerned that someone is depressed, and possibly suicidal, take the initiative and reach out to him or her. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Finally, always remember as Kadesh Daniels wrote, “Love is difficult. When you love someone, you love them in the good and the bad. You love them at their worst and their best. You love them in the face of their ugly as well as their beautiful. Why can’t we apply that to life?”
All of the posts from the I love life campaign can be read on the Red Ribbon Guyana’s Facebook Page, The Red Ribbon – Guyana. Guyana Inter Agency Suicide Prevention Helpline
Telephone numbers (+592) 223-0001, 223-0009, 600-7896, 623-4444, Email: [email protected], BBM PINS: 2BE55649, 2BE56020 Twitter: guyanaagency; WhatsApp: +592-600-7896, 592- 623-4444Facebook: Guyana Interagency Suicide Prevention Help Line
