ON DEPRESSION and SUICIDE

Suicide rate in some countries are on the rise that it causes a real concern to many people. BBC News reported on Sept. 4th that an average of about 195 people take their lives in Northern Ireland, while 4,500 are hospitalized after attempting suicide. Further, it also reported on February 20th that the same thing is happening in South Korea. Suicide cases have doubled in about 5 years. In fact, VOA News on Aug. 21st reported that suicide is the fourth leading causes of death in that country.

According to French sociologist Emile Durkheim, one of the pioneers of modern sociology, suicide can either be egoistic, altruistic, or anomic. Egoistic suicide happens because a person feels that he/she is inadequate to respond to the norms of his/her society. Altruistic is opposite to egoistic suicide in that the structure of society is over-indulging an individual to its custom and habit to the point of even expecting the individual to commit suicide. Anomic suicide exists because the individual feels that society has a lack of regulation with what he/she is experiencing. Such is the case of committing suicide soon after winning the lottery or when a divorce case gone wrong. (Suicide: 1897; 1951)

Why is there a rise of suicide rate? Besides, the human bomb, which is commonly used by terrorists and obviously a case of altruistic suicide, the increasing number of people committing suicide is due to the following: they are slow to adapt change, particularly those who already have mental health issues along with those experiencing depression. Teenagers are encountering emotional and physical crises associated with body changes and their desire for independence. Older people have issues on social isolation and bereavement. The South Koreans are specifically blaming the cause on the economic downturn and rapid social change.

So what could we, as social institution or members of society, do to offset the problem?

Protect Life (Health) committee in Northern Ireland believes that closer cooperation within government departments will prevent suicide and self-harm. Involving churches, local authority and sports groups in the delivery of the strategy will be significant.

South Korean government considered stepping up in establishing more counseling centers, removal of internet sites that might encourage suicide, and putting up high fences on bridges and tall buildings and making farm chemicals less toxic have been applied, too.

Dr. Hicks, on BBC health news, commented that people have to get the person to talk about their feeling, their reason why they want to die, and just to listen, because a person considering suicide needs support, understanding, and to let them know that there’s professional help available for them.

I agree in all the strategies mentioned above; however, I cannot help but think about those people, who feel that they know all that nobody could talk to them about anything or members of societies who are timid. Yes, there are, what we call, “shame society” that talking to somebody, especially those who are not included in the person’s circle of friends, and is unlikely to happen. What could we do about them?

I just hope these people are like me.

Recently, I experienced depression. The sweet taste of my first published book, KOILAWAN…, when it was posted online by Amazon.com, Borders.com, and Amazon.de (Germany) to be one of their Top 100 best sellers in inspirational books, missions, and most requested English books, respectively, for many weeks, turned bitter when I got the report from the publisher. My feelings of success turned into disbelief and distrust. Make that worse! The publisher advertised itself as the best CHRISTIAN publisher, so imagine me spiritually in turmoil, completely disgusted with those who uses Christianity to prey on others. For a couple of weeks, I cannot do anything: loss of appetite, loss of mental and physical motivation to continue with my writing and do some running. I was devastated that even my wife’s consoling words were welcomed with complete silence. And you know what brought me back? It was not those people around me and who loved me. I was a complete brick wall. Not even my wife can reach me. I even wanted her to just stop talking for once. Nevertheless, as I lay all alone, my inner self dealt with me, leading me to address the emotional battle with what I have left, whom I cannot drive away from my presence, because it is intangible, down right in my core: my faith in God. It was only God that brought me back. I started to get spiritual healing by pouring my mind into Him, and ultimately, expressing the feeling of God’s love into praises. I began writing 3-line, 17-syllable haiku verses. God guided me all the way, thinking how God was good to me all seasons long, and how He made me wonderful and special. I overcome my depression after I wrote more than a hundred haiku verses, which I now have posted, in its entirety entitled, PRAISING ALL SEASONS LONG: Haiku Verses, on Webook.com.

And this is what I could tell every society out there, who, many of them have or tend to turn their back away from spirituality. Those societies, who believe that every problem in this world can be solved through science, and spirituality have no place in the educational system and progress are outright wrong. Take that from me: A living example.