Suicide thoughts do not have to push you over the edge
Curamus Victims Support Centre which is a phone call away, councils families and victims of trauma and persons suffering from mental illnesses.
Anxiety, depression, PTSD or bipolar; mental health can be a silent killer and one of the many contributing factors in suicides.
Four suicides were reported in May in Secunda alone.
Riana Pelser, trauma counsellor for Curamus Victims Support Centre said, “This is 4 suicides too many. Four people who most probably thought the world would be a better place without them. This means 4 people had no one to talk to who would understand their inner battles, or so they may have thought.
“Four people could have still been alive had they known they had someone who cared enough to listen to them.
“How dark must one’s life get to be at the point of taking your own life? And is life better for those left behind?”
Pelser said the family did not see it coming in many suicide-related cases or they missed the warning signs.
Suicidal thoughts can stem from anything, like a sense of not belonging or feeling accepted or understood, isolation or loneliness, failure or disappointment, peer pressure or loss of income and much more.
“There has always been a stigma around mental health. Asking for help does not make you weak,” said Pelser.
With the increase in suicide rates, Pelser and her team at Curamus are appealing to people to give them a call when they have suicidal thoughts or if they know of someone threatening suicide.
“We are somebody you don’t know who wants to help you at no cost. We care about you. You are not a burden to us; we are here to help you,” said Pelser.
Privacy and confidentiality is top priority and judgement is not on the table with Pelser and her team.
She said she does not want people to feel ashamed or carry a stigma about their mental health.
“Before you decide hurting yourself, pick up your phone and call us.”
“If my team and I cannot help, we will find someone who can,” said Pelser.
She said they would also steer persons to getting proper medical advice and treatment. Pelser and her team also assist in counselling families and victims of trauma.
For help, call Pelser on 084 499 9621 or Colette De Beer on 081 839 1344.
• The suicide rate has also spiked in other towns within the Govan Mbeki municipal area.
Both eMbalenhle and Leandra police recently raised their concern over the increase in suicide cases.
Constable Busi Mthethwa, the eMbalenhle SAPS spokesperson, said almost every week the police in eMbalenhle attend a scene where a person took his or her life.
Mthethwa appealed to the community to seek help if faced with challenges.
Constable Nontobeko Ngubeni, the Leandra police spokesperson, said they opened six inquest cases for this year.
She said most of the deceased were young men who poisoned or hung themselves.
“Families need to play an active role in monitoring their relatives’ daily lives. As the police, we urgently need to organise anti-suicide campaigns,” said Ngubeni.
