Young people who don’t put on makeup, old people who give things away …

[중앙포토]

Those under 34 were found to become indifferent to managing their appearance before making extreme decisions, and those over 65 tend to give away the items they love.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Central Center for Psychological Autopsies published on the 27th the results of a psychological autopsy that interviewed 683 families in grief of 566 deaths by suicide in the last five years (2015-2019). Psychological autopsy is the process of analyzing survivor statements or related records to see what patterns of suicide deaths they made before making extreme decisions and estimating the cause of suicide.

Through the national mental health welfare centers or the police, a request for a psychological autopsy was received or the survivors were investigated for an interview.

Of the 566 suicides, 529 (93.5%) sent verbal, behavioral, and emotional warning signals to their environment before death. Emotional changes, such as guilt or helplessness, suffered from insomnia or, conversely, showed changes in excessive sleep.

The warning signs were slightly different based on age.
Children under the age of 34 have become indifferent to appearance management. Young people from 35 to 49 years old sought forgiveness and improved their relationships or, on the contrary, they did not know anyone. 50-64 years suddenly decreased or increased the number of meals, resulting in a sudden change in weight Those over 65 gave away items they loved.

Most of these warning signs became more frequent within three months of death and as the time of death approached. Notably, 9 out of 10 suicide deaths (91.2%) cleaned up their surroundings three months before death, and nearly half (47.8%) sent such warning signals a week before their death.

However, even when these warning signs appeared, only 119 people (22.5%) recognized them. Furthermore, 35.2% had already attempted suicide more than once before death.

The stressors that increased the risk of suicide were also different.

By age 20, conflicts in intimate interpersonal relationships, such as family, friends, and lovers, led to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety disorders. In their thirties, stress related to job search or job search, financial difficulties and interpersonal problems worsened. A man in his 40s had a series of interpersonal and work problems after a business failure and other financial problems. Mental health deteriorated as women suffered from an emotional void due to social disconnection. In the 1950s, women’s depressive disorder associated with menopause worsened as family conflict and financial difficulties overlapped. In the 1960s, family, work, financial and health problems worsened, and in the 1970s and beyond, pain or loneliness caused by physical illness was found to affect suicide.

The survivors were also found to be at risk of suicide. Among the families of those who committed suicide, 45.8% of the families, parents, siblings, children, etc. They attempted suicide or killed their lives. In addition, 68% of those afflicted received treatment for mental health problems.

The number of survivors with moderate or higher depressive symptoms was 62.2%. 71.2% of the mourners said they were unable to inform them about the suicide due to concerns about their surrounding conscience or criticism of their grieving family.

Mental Health Policy Officer Yeom Min-seop from the Ministry of Health and Welfare said: “Based on this result, we will implement meticulous suicide prevention measures to block the path that leads to suicide.” Said.

Reporter Shin Seong-shik [email protected]