File photo of a man sitting in a dark hallway with his head in his hands.Getty Images
In the time it takes to get from home to work or from work to home, watch a TV show, or any other day-to-day activity, one or more people could be trying to kill themselves.
In Colombia, there is, on average, a suicide attempt every 20 minutes, according to data reported to the Public Health Surveillance System.
Some of these figures become painful absences that leave an open wound in thousands of families: 2,962 people committed suicide in the country in 2021, according to information from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), 214 more than in 2020, a worrying increase close to 8%.
The risks that lead to suicide, which have been exacerbated by the pandemic, are often hidden under the shadow of stigmas that make it difficult to talk about mental health.
Efrén Martínez, doctor in psychology and specialized writer, warns of the urgency of putting this reality on the table.
“It is happening and it is happening in younger people.
We need to talk about this and start slamming down all the myths;
especially the one that says that if we talk about suicide the risk increases.
That has done great damage.
Even health professionals are sometimes afraid to bring it up with their patients.
It is necessary to lower the stigma and for people to be able to raise their hands”, he maintains.
Suicide is one of the main causes of death among young people in Colombia.
More than half of suicide cases in 2021 occurred in those under 30 years of age.
One in every 13 deaths in minors is associated with suicide.
"Suicidal behavior is a serious mental health outcome related to the weakening of social support networks, social and economic gaps, school violence, family dysfunction, low self-esteem, depression and alcohol consumption," explains doctor Jaime Urrego, deputy minister of public health.
When a person who suffers chooses suicide, he is not seeking death in himself but pursuing the desire to stop suffering, according to a report from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection on the prevention of this act.
In this sense, Martínez highlights the importance of communicating emotions such as sadness, frustration or fear.
“When people speak up they realize that there may be solutions to the problems that afflict them,” she says.
Challenging silence involves finding spaces free of prejudice.
For this reason, experts advise changing expressions such as "it's not that bad", or "don't be sad about it", for the willingness to listen and understand the feelings of the other.
"If people who think you're a 'weirdo' knew the torment you have in your head, or the demons you have to battle, they would take it seriously," says Carlos Sarria, 43, diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and creator of the
Diga Bueno
podcast , in which he makes his experience public to try to combat stigmas.
Mental disorders are frequent not only in Colombia.
The World Health Organization estimates that one in eight people in the world suffer from one of them.
Rates rose by 25% during the first year of the pandemic, adding to the nearly one billion people already suffering from some mental disorder.
Anxiety and depression are the most common, both in men and women.
This panorama invites to weave solid relationships that are not limited to social networks.
"We need to cultivate more authentic, real relationships that allow us to show ourselves vulnerable because that is what makes us truly connected," says Efrén Martínez.
“Social media is highly inauthentic.
People come out with their best face, with their best look, with their best car.
And everyone says 'I don't have that body, I don't have such a happy life', added to a tyranny of happiness that prevents one from appearing sad or when one is not at the top of enlightenment.
That does a terrible damage, socially and culturally”, emphasizes the specialist.
Educational institutions also play a determining role in protecting mental health.
“It is important for new generations to understand how mental illness manifests itself and the best possible approach, including reducing stigma.
When we train students, we make a change that makes it easier for the community to have a different vision of mental health.
We must use clear language that makes it easy to understand what we are talking about,” says Sandra Milena Toro, a specialist in psychiatry and head of the department of mental health at the Faculty of Medicine of the Universidad de la Sabana de Bogotá.
As well as being widespread and costly, mental disorders are seriously neglected, according to the latest World Report on Mental Health from WHO.
“On average, countries spend less than 2% of their health care budgets on mental health.
Almost half of the world's population lives in countries where there is only one psychiatrist for at least every 200,000 inhabitants.
Colombia does not escape this reality.
Barely 1.8% of the total health budget is allocated to mental health care, below the rest of the countries of the Americas, according to the World Atlas of Mental Health.
“Schools normally have one psychologist for a thousand students.
It is necessary to reinforce the orientation on prevention and social responsibility in schools and colleges regarding the mental health of children and adolescents”, assures Alba Lucía Reyes, mother of the young Sergio Urrego, who decided to take his own life at the age of 16, in 2014, after being the victim of discrimination due to her sexual orientation at a school in Bogotá.
Colombia is one of the countries with the most cases of bullying worldwide.
The NGO Bullying without Borders reported 8,981 serious cases of bullying between 2020 and 2021.
Although the country has a Mental Health Law that was approved by the Congress of the Republic in 2013 to guarantee comprehensive care, it looks stronger on paper than in practice.
There are still challenges in investment, access and quality.
The House of Representatives recently installed a permanent commission whose first task is to establish the progress of the implementation of this law, almost ten years after it was approved.
Achieving real progress will only be possible by putting mental health as a priority to avoid preventable deaths.
In this link you will find the mental health care lines enabled in Colombia.
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