2023-09-08 11:13:15
The vice dean of the College of Psychology of Madrid, Timanfaya Hernández Martínez, writes an article for EFEsalud on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day, September 10.
The vice dean of the College of Psychology of Madrid, Timanfaya Hernández. courtesy photo
Expert on suicide issues, Timanfaya Hernández, vice dean of the College of Psychology of Madridanalyzes in this article the situation of suicide, reflects on it and supports a National Plan for the Prevention of Suicide.
And now that?
Timanfaya Hernandez
I suppose this, or some similar question, should be the one we would have to answer today. The relevance that psychological health has gained in our lives in recent years is undeniable, perhaps because of the way the COVID pandemic made us focus on it, or perhaps because the data on the use of psychotropic drugs or the news that treat the prevalence of symptoms related to our mental health make us consider what is happening in a society in which issues related to our lack of psychological health seem to worry us more and more.
Suicide is, without a doubt, one of the most important social problems to deal with. According to the National Statistics Institute, in 2022 there were 4,097 deaths by suicide, which means that eleven people die from it every day. For each death we must add around 20 attempts.
We talk more, it becomes more visible, every day we hear testimonies from people who reveal that they are or have been in a situation of suicidal attempt or ideation. And with this we contribute to reduce the stigma.
I have always believed that you cannot change what we do not look at, that we do not know or identify.
Thus, little by little, we begin to understand that suicide has a multi-causal origin, that it does not depend on a diagnosis, that there are many situations in life that make a person suffer and feel hopeless, even considering or trying to end it. with his life.
That has nothing to do with not wanting to live and yes, a lot, with looking for an alternative to ending suffering.
And it’s time to return to the question I asked at the beginning of this text, once we look at and know this reality, now what? Now it’s time to continue. The challenge is great, knowing how to act and what is a priority, how to prevent.
National Plan for the Prevention of Suicide
Currently, in Spain there is no National Plan for the Prevention of Suicide, a document that allows progress in the development of a common strategy that guarantees prevention, adequate care and postvention.
It is necessary to develop lines of action that allow us to continue making this reality visible and aware in an adequate way, and to detect risk factors effectively and early.
To achieve this, the role of professionals in primary care is essential. Suicide must consider a community approach in which all public agents (health, labor, educational, social, etc.) intervene in a coordinated manner, because today, in most cases, the response remains individual.
Every person, every professional, every performance counts. It is joint work and the sum of efforts that allows us to propose initiatives and actions that lead us to successfully treat and reverse the problem of suicide in our society, its suffering.
On World Suicide Prevention Day we continue working together to promote joint action on this occasion that will allow the development of a National Suicide Prevention Plan.
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