The City Health Services Office (CHSO) reported that suicide cases in the city for this year is significantly decreasing because of the awareness of the people on the prevalence of mental health issues and the availability of appropriate interventions.
CHSO mental health coordinator Ricky Ducas said there is an increase in the number of people seeking medical attention from experts while the number of suicide cases in the city for the year significantly decreased, an indication that the awareness campaigns earlier done and the accessibility of interventions are doing well in addressing the problem.
For this year, he noted that there are some 20 suicide cases where nineteen are males and there is only one female compared to the 36 cases for the whole year of 2023 where 31 of the victims are males and five are females.
The CHSO mental health coordinator said the community has been playing a key role in the campaign against the prevalence of mental issues among the youth and members of the workforce because they are the ones who are convincing individuals with noticeable symptoms to seek the appropriate interventions from the CHSO and other health experts.
According to him, when people observe a sudden change in behavior in a person, they should convince him or her to seek appropriate medical intervention from the nearest health facility so that the same can be immediately provided to prevent their satiation from worsening that will usually lead to suicide.
Ducas said that most of those seeking medical attention from the experts are non-Baguio residents which is understandable because they do not have family members or relatives that are within reach that is why it is important for their friends to be observant of their behavior and convince them to seek the necessary interventions from experts once they see sudden changes in they way they deal with them.
He pointed out that suicide is not contagious but emotion, which is one of the major factors leading to suicide is contagious, thus, the need for people to seek whatever available interventions when experiencing emotional issues. By Dexter A. See
