SOS Amitié listeners received 40% more calls during confinement from people considering suicide, compared to the same period last year. A third of total callers cited confinement as a cause of their ill-being, the association announced on Tuesday.
The health crisis has "exacerbated the difficulties of loneliness" and "caused deep anguish, distress and exceptional suffering", analyzes SOS Amitié in its "observatory of mental suffering", where it takes stock of its activities in 2019 and during the confinement of 2020.
From March 15 to May 10, the association's 1,800 or so volunteers answered over 102,000 calls, 32% more than during the same period last year. By massively "teleworking" from home, listeners were able to answer a higher proportion of calls than usual. However, two thirds of the calls were unsuccessful due to the lack of sufficient volunteers.
Second cause of death among 15-24 year olds
During the confinement, the appellants spoke more of their fears and anxieties, but also of "nuisance from housing and the neighborhood", as well as "domestic and marital violence", notes the association, which seeks to recruit 500 new listeners " to meet a continuously growing demand ”.
Before the health crisis, SOS Amitié also observed in 2019 a slight increase, compared to 2018, in the proportion of callers mentioning suicide, a subject that remains “among the first reasons for calls”. In addition, even when the person does not express "clearly suicidal thoughts", "mental health problems, depression, burnout, violence, breakdowns, bereavement" represent "the most important part" of the calls received.
Listening via the Internet - by email or by chat - occupies an increasing place in the activities of the association, which thus adapts to the habits of the younger generations.
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Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds, who represent 12% of callers by phone, but 35% by chat and 28% by email. "For each of these media, 30% of them mention suicide," says SOS Amitié.