 More than 700,000 people die by suicide each year according to the World Health Organization. That is a life lost every second. Nigeria has a high suicide rate among African countries. As the world marks World Suicide Prevention Day, a psychologist Benedict Sama talks about the increasing rate of suicide in the country. Take a listen. Currently has been reporting the highest number of depression cases in Africa. And depression is as reported as the leading cause of suicide. Then you can explain why Nigeria keeps reporting the highest rate of suicide. Now we are joined by Dr. Deborah Eniola, Quality Improvement Manager and Manager of Health Practitioner from the UK. Thank you for joining us, Dr. Deborah. Dr. Deborah, are you there? Yes, yes, yes, we can hear you now. Good evening. Good evening, Dr. Deborah. Thank you for joining us on the news now, the news now on Plus TV Africa. Thanks for having me. Okay, now we're talking about suicide. Today is World Suicide Prevention Day. Let's differentiate between self harm and suicide. First of all, at what stage does self harm and metamorphosis into suicide? Alright, to answer your first question, so self harm is often misconstrued as being directly linked with suicide. But this is not the case. Both of them, they are drastically different. So since suicide and self harm are inflections of pain, they often get grouped together. So people who self harm, they may later commit suicide. However, people who engage in deliberate self harm, they don't wish to end their life. So it's a form of coping with life stresses. So individuals who attempt suicide, they do so with intent. So there is a reason for wanting to commit suicide. So for people who self harm, it's often a coping mechanism. However, people that do commit suicide, it's because they want to end their suffering. Oh, I see. Okay, self harm, coping mechanism, suicide. They just want to end it all. Absolutely. So what's the number one cause of suicide? Just wanting to end it all? Or what would you say is the number one cause of suicide? So I agree with the psychologist that you just played his message to us earlier on. Depression can be one of the causes of suicide. However, majority of people who commit suicide have experienced a number of stressful life events. So what we need to keep a tab of is stressors in life three months prior to committing suicide. So it could be interpersonal problems, rejection, separation from family and friends, loss events, financial loss, bereavements, work and financial problems, changes in society. So a rapid political and economic changes can cause people to want to commit suicide. So if you as a man or a woman feel like I cannot provide for my family and the only alternative that you have is to end it all. So various life stressors can cause people to want to commit suicide. Oh, that's really revealing. Okay, now why are young people mostly at risk of suicide according to WHO? So as we know, a period of adolescence or youthfulness as we refer to it as Nigerians is characterized by changes, transitions from one state of life into another. So several domains at the same time, puberty happening, moving into university or moving into college, living situation, peer group bullying, loss of self-esteem. Young people trying to build their own identity, developing self-esteem, increasing independence when people go to university and how to manage intimate relationship. So these are psychological events that happen in young people's lives that if you don't know how to undo them, then it can become a time of distress for young people. So young people often feel a sense of insecurity. And if we don't manage that very well, then young people will rely on substance abuse, which can then lead to drug overdose. It can lead to deliberate self-arm, depression, then leading up to suicide. Oh, amazing. Now the theme for this year is celebration of prevention or caution or message. The theme is creating hope through action. Yes, creating hope through action. What actions can we take? What practical actions can we take at home, at work? And how small communities to mitigate this menace? So I think it's important that we clarify that suicide comes in three risks. So you have the low risk. So depending on the risk, that's how you manage. We can manage this menace, as you call it. If it is low risk, then we can have conversations with those people. We can offer emotional support as friends. We can support them in working through their suicidal feelings. The more the person talks about it, the more they talk about loss, the more they talk about the isolation they're feeling, then the less the emotional turmoil becomes for them. We need to make sure we're focusing on people's positive strengths by getting them to talk of how earlier problems can be resolved without resulting to suicide. Get the person to commit to a contract that I will not do anything harmful to myself without talking to an accountable partner. So be an accountable partner for the other person. Give people hope. And that's what we're talking about this year. Give people hope through actions. So don't just say, what is the matter with you? Be prepared to listen. Be prepared to be a shoulder for them. If it is a medium risk and this person has a societal thought but has no plans to commit suicide immediately, we still need to act. We need to offer emotional support. We need to refer them to a mental health practitioner. So we have lots of mental health hospitals in Nigeria. So we need to make sure we're referring them to a healthcare provider that understands that suicide should not be treated as a thing of shame. We need to stop the stigma about people who have depression. People will think life is not worth living. It's how we approach it, how we support them. It's important that we make a contract. So I'm going to stick to that. Extract a promise from that person that they will not commit suicide without contacting either a healthcare professional or a loved one that they can speak to. Referral to psychiatrists, psychologists, doctors in Nigeria make an appointment as soon as possible. If it is a high risk, we need to ensure that we clear the environment of anything, things like pills, things like knives, guns, insecticide. That is one that is common in Nigeria. So insecticide, we need to make sure that we clear the environment of things that are accessible to them to harm themselves. So anything that can be a means of committing suicide, we need to clear it. Stay with your family, stay with the person. So if a person is at high risk of suicide, never leave them alone. That would be a very dangerous thing to do. So overall, contact a mental health professional or a doctor immediately. If they are at high risk, it is important that you arrange hospitalization for that person. Just a temporary time where they can get support from healthcare professionals and their family. I'm going to summarize your last point in three words. I'm going to summarize number one, support. Number two, support. Number three, support. Am I right? Absolutely. My last question to you tonight, Dr. Deborah, my last question. Unlike in your part of the world, we in Nigeria don't take mental health seriously. We don't. So what do you suggest we do differently? So again, earlier on, I mentioned about stigma, and that's one thing that we, you know, I am Nigerian, so it's something that we need to continue talking about. So stigma surrounding mental disorders and suicide, we need to eradicate that stigma. We need to get people talking about what's going on. So Nigerian, you know, departments of health, ministry of health in Nigeria, we need to create an awareness of suicide. It is earlier on at your introduction, you mentioned that it's a major public health issue. So we need a national suicide prevention strategy. Speak to the local health care providers, community health centers. They can support with providing, raising awareness, breaking down the taboo is important for Nigerians. So that's the only way we can do it. Speak to people in the community. We can identify who is distressed, who is depressed and starts putting in some interventions. Stigma, we need to eradicate that and community health centers, acupin community health centers with the interventions, with the skills that they need to support people. Thank you very much, Dr. Deborah. Stigma out, support in. Absolutely. Thank you, Marigazio family. Thank you. Thank you very much for having me. Thank you, you're welcome. We'll find about fresh news updates.