Suicide, iceberg or iceberg tip

October 10, the World Health Organization commemorates Mental Health Day, focusing on the opportunity to take a look at suicide prevention.

Mental health and suicide, both conflicting and related topics, are inversely proportional. If we understand that mental health is a state that involves a well-being of the psychic functioning of the person and allows an adequate management of his emotional and social capacities in order to carry out his activities in the different areas of his daily life, the Deliberate act of committing suicide (definition of suicide for the World Health Organization) will imply that such health conditions are not met. The worrying, up-to-date statistics on suicide are also repeating diseases that dramatically increase their prevalence, such as anxiety disorders, addictions and depression. Seen in this light, it would not make sense to ask what would be the explanation for the fact that the more we know about the factors that promote the achievement of such goals. Mental Health and a better quality of life, we see a greater prevalence of disorders in which biological components clearly have an influence and are structurally necessary, but where psychological, social and environmental factors play a fundamental role. In other words, even knowing that the causes do not diminish the consequences but increase them. The answer should probably be sought, while taking into account the importance of neuroscience and other factors, in two essential aspects such as the society we are in (our way of life) and the health system that should take care of we (in the context of an ideal state that promotes the promotion and prevention of health in general and mental health in particular).

First approach: The number of suicides is increasing not only in statistics, so are the diseases that can sustain suicidal behavior, while there is a social and state tendency to underestimate the severity of the problem..

According to UCA, cases of depression and anxiety double in the poor

After this initial positioning, it may be useful to consider suicide as the expression of a sum of factors, the existence of basic psychiatric illnesses being one of them; however, this is not the only factor and its existence is not strictly necessary given the components related to the personality of the subject, the society and culture in which it is embedded and the environment in which he works (family, friends, work, etc.). etc.) play a primordial role in its genesis. Thus, we see that he not only decides to end his life in depression, bipolar disorder, psychosis or drug addiction, there are also suicides that, from the sociological point of view pathological functioning of society where the absence of containment networks and lack of specific state policies prevail. Suicide is a real public health problem in Argentina and around the world. It implies in itself a significant social and health impact, which results in epidemiological markers becoming more frequent, especially in adolescence (stage of development). the life in which suicides, according to the postulate of UNICEF, have tripled in our country during the last three decades). Similarly, the World Health Organization (WHO) claims that more than 800,000 people commit suicide each year (one death every 40 seconds), and that suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15 to 15 year-olds. . 29 years and 75% of suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries. The strength of the data presented by the WHO exceeds the words (we think that the figures could be higher than those that are documented), and if we try to compare them with the figures of previous decades, it is necessary to take account this boarding reality and Awareness-raising by the state and the community is essential.

Second approach: In everything that concerns suicide and suicidal behavior, many factors will intervene: genetic – biological, social, cultural and environmental. I want to say that whoever commits suicide can not do so as a result of a psychiatric illness, and may be the "social" factor in its wide range of conditions that constitute a central element of its appearance. As a result, the family, society and the state will be key participants in any strategy to combat this scourge..

Anxiety, fear and anxiety: how the crisis affects children

Of the two approaches expressed, the need to implement prevention and health promotion strategies to strengthen the protective factors of the subject's psyche and act accordingly. the different aspects involved in suicide and the diseases mentioned are present.

Mental health in the world, and in our country in particular, presents worrying indicators (for those who are referred we must add alarming statistics regarding drug use in adolescence) that can only be reversed if we understand that health must be part of a public policy of the state, according to which it is necessary to act not only in the care, but also in the preventive and intervention factors. That said, it means that we made suicide visible as an "iceberg tip", which allowed us to detect the true dimension of the problem … the first step to be taken so that, once and for all, we were working on solutions. It's just a question of doing it.