Pista 4

The Understand Your Mind group discusses mental health issues, focusing on suicide prevention and the impact of COVID-19. Suicide is a significant problem worldwide, and it's important to seek help when facing challenges. During the pandemic, suicides initially decreased in Spain but later increased, especially among teenagers. Warning signs include expressing a desire to die, farewell letters, and social isolation. Factors like family stress and abuse, as well as social media, contribute to mental health problems and suicide risk. The end of confinement may also lead to increased suicide rates. It's crucial to pay attention to these signals and provide support. Suicide is a serious issue that has worsened due to COVID-19, and it affects not only individuals but also their families and communities. We are Maria, Ariadna, Ana, Aina and me, Maria, and we are the Understand Your Mind group, and each week we discuss various mental health issues. In today's chapter, we will talk about suicide prevention, also addressing the influence that COVID-19 and the pandemic have had on this factor. We know that suicide is an act of voluntary ending one's life and ranks among the top 10 leading causes of death worldwide. This means it is an act of great importance in our society. Let's begin. Many of us have had or currently have problems and concerns that trouble us in our daily lives, and most of which we think have no solution. We see a dark tunnel with no way out. It's okay to have problems, because they help us grow as individuals when we try to solve them. However, depending on the problem and the person, it can be very complicated to resolve. Through our lives, we face different obstacles, where we should know that turning one's own life should not be an option. And whenever needed, we can seek help before finding ourselves in a critical situation. Between March and April 2020, during the pandemic, Spain decreased in cases of suicide. On this other hand, between May and October, suicides increased with a difference of 2,017 cases. But how did suicides impact teenagers? Well, Maria, the concept of death begins to be acquired around the age of 8, and a more enveloped knowledge is achieved once adolescence begins. Thinking and reflecting on the concept of death is normal behavior and thinking about one's own death is also normal. But there are experiences that put adolescents in a vulnerable situation, because they have accumulated a series of stressful life experiences or have suffered during childhood. When we talk about suicide prevention, the most important are the signals that the person is giving us. Sometimes we are noticed situations or actions, but in fact there are warnings that this person is pretending to ask for help indirectly. The first one is so popular. I want to take my life. When we see a person in the streets in danger, we help her, no? We go quickly. Why don't we make the same with a person that is exactly telling us that she needs help? The society takes this phrase like a prank. But it is investigated that 9 of 10 people that commit suicide, they use this prank. Are you surprised? It's true, Aris. Social networks have a significant impact on the mental health of adolescents too. They can encourage comparative behaviors that lead to negative affect states. Affect systems concerned for one's own image and acceptance of it. Affect performance academically or in social skills. The effect of this increases depression and anxiety. In addition, being forced to stay at home is likely to have increased the risk of exposure to family stress or abuse, which are also well-documented risk factors for mental health problems and suicide. What else could you tell us about that? Some professionals think that the suicide rate increases after the end of the confinement, since many people found themselves in the situation of having to return to their daily lives after all the psychological problems they had been developing during the months of March and April. Moreover, the study published in the Journal of Psychiatry and Mental Health records that in 2019, 3,671 people took their own lives in Spain. And that, a year later, in 2020, the year of the pandemic, the figure rose to almost 4,000. I didn't know that the pandemic had to affect suicide like this. Can you talk about more signals to help a person? Yes, Maria. Another signal that is so popular as well are the farewell letters. These appear when the person is no longer with us, so they leave a farewell letter. In other cases, messages, letters or notes help us to be confused with the situation that explains the sadness they are suffering. And another way, they say goodbye. And finally, isolation. A lot of people that intend to take their lives before doing so decrease their social activities like outside communication. Not only in their personal relations, but also in their jobs or in their healthcare. I think we should explain some notions to demonstrate what we have explained. Did you know that in 2019, suicide was the first leading cause of death among young people from 15 to 29 years of age? According to the 2022 World Men's Health Report, young people and women have borne the brunt of the pandemic's social and economic fallout. Each year, more than 700,000 people end their lives, and each death was a tragedy, with a far-reaching impact on families, friends and communities. It is estimated that for each suicide, 20 people make a suicide attempt, and that's not all. Well, to conclude the chapter of today, we can see that the concept of suicide is an important topic in society. We can also see that due to COVID-19, the situation has gotten worse, because statistically, the cases have increased. A lot of people, directly or indirectly, show us that they are not in a good mood, not only during the quarantine, but in daily lives too. We hope that you liked this chapter and thank you for your attention. Don't forget that if you want to know more about mental health issues, subscribe to our channel, Understand Your Mind, or don't forget our weekly chapters. The vocabulary of this chapter is suicide, suicide, self-esteem, self-esteem, psychological problems, psychological problems, skills, skills, knowledge, knowledge. Ok. I think I got it wrong at the end. I don't know. Ok. It's ok, right? I don't know the brand. No. Ok.