During this year of virus, isolation and loss of income, health workers have constantly expressed concern about its impact on mental health. They have also warned about a heightened risk of suicide. The time is now approaching when economic supports will be reduced, and we shall experience more deeply the painful effects of recession. This week’s scheduling of World Suicide Prevention Day could not be more timely.
Coinciding with the day, a recent report from Jesuit Social Services’ Support after Suicide program reflects on the experience of people who have accompanied a friend or family member before, through and after their suicide. It illuminates the devastating effects that suicide has on family and friends, and what needs to be addressed if they are to find help for the person at risk, and to find support and assistance for themselves during their ordeal and after the death of the person they care for. At the heart of the report is its insistence on the importance of the human face in health care.
Support after Suicide is a program that offers opportunities for people to find healing after the suicide of a friend or family member. They can find there a listening ear, counselling, group conversation and other programs with people who have suffered similarly. The report gathers the reflections of over 140 people who have found accompaniment through these programs. It records their experience on seeking help within the health system — including hospitals, mental health units, GPs, police and other services — before the suicide of the person for whom they cared. It goes on to describe their experience of the services from which they sought help immediately after the suicide, and of those they approached subsequently for assistance to deal with their loss.
The recent experiences of the people who took their own lives underline how well grounded is the fear that in our time of disruption suicides will increase. Of the people whose deaths lie at the centre of the report, about a half had suffered from bullying, had recently been separated, and were unemployed or under financial stress. These are the harsh experiences that we might expect to find multiplied in times of isolation and economic crisis.
The perspectives recorded in the report are both poignant and challenging. The quotations from the participants reveal the pain, bewilderment, anger and sense of rejection that were part of their experience. They take the