NINYO Omidiji, a Psychiatrist with the Benue State University Teaching Hospital (BSUTH), has blamed the rising cases of suicide among Nigerians on social disintegration.
Omidiji told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that Nigerians must endeavour to be more kind and supportive of one another to reduce suicide.
The psychiatrist noted that the level of social disintegration in the face of hard times remained a contributory factor to the spate of suicide being witnessed in the country.
“It is only good that we are kind and supportive of one another, so if you think you may be battling depression, please feel free to talk to someone.
“In your very locality, someone might just be contemplating taking his own life as we speak, I wish there is a steady and holistic approach of supporting one another,” he said.
He stated that once in a while, ill-sustained approach would do very little in curbing the menace of suicide, adding that the citizenry must embrace a social integration approach to arrest the menace.
Ninyo said that suicide remained a silent killer and a poorly understood phenomenon, noting that it is usually shrouded in secrecy.
He said that victims of suicide hardly got the needed sympathy, especially in poorly developed nations of the world, stressing that underdeveloped societies were peopled by poorly developed minds which handled situations poorly and thus reflect in all they do.
According to him, “in my country the subsisting law of the land still stipulates one year jail term for a survivor of suicide attempt and for someone needing help, this is ridiculous!
“Apart from stigma, this is one other reason for poor reporting of cases.
“Depression is the commonest cause of suicide and it is not just a casual feeling of unhappiness, but a prolonged crippling feeling of sadness and lowliness”.
According to him, it is okay to feel unhappy when unpleasant things happen, however, it becomes a problem when you feel blue and you cannot snap out of it for weeks unending.
He noted that clinical depression was a sign of weakness or laziness and also a sign of a disease of the mind, adding that the way the body got sick is the way the mind could also get sick. -NAN

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– May 23, 2019 @ 18:40 GMT |