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KOTA KINABALU: Befrienders Kota Kinabalu has called on communities to be alert for suicidal people around them and to watch for warning signs.
Its advertising director, Jessie Ting, said that suicides are becoming a cause for concern following the cases recorded during movement restrictions since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
“It is an undeniable fact that the current pandemic has added to more uncertainties for the future and has made several suicide stressors worse.
“The people who call our helplines from March to November of this year, among others, come from people with loss of income, loss of job, financial difficulties, family breakdown, difficulties in continuing their education, feeling of isolation due to motion control orders (MCO), loneliness, lack of social support, and people suffering from severe depression or mental illness.
“Approximately 30% of the 1,375 calls received from March to October were from people who called with suicidal tendencies and loss of hope to live.
“Befrienders wishes to encourage everyone in societies and communities to observe the warning signs, the importance of communication and family support during these times,” Ting said in a statement on Sunday (November 22).
He said that when a suicide happened, either all support systems failed, or the people who committed suicide did not know where to seek help.
Ting said suicide is preventable and prevention starts with recognizing the warning signs and taking them seriously.
“Warning signs among others are having feelings of hopelessness and helplessness, prolonging depression, loss of interest in things that matter to you, drastic change in behavior, withdrawal, seeking ways to commit suicide, talking about life has lost its meaning and isolation.
“Those with suicidal inclinations may also be making arrangements with their personal belongings, having an excessive use of alcohol or drugs, or buying and preserving suicidal means such as medicines, coal, rope and pesticides,” he said.
Noting that it might be difficult to reach out to someone who might be suicidal, Ting said that those who want to help these people can help them connect to hotlines, especially Befrienders, registered and licensed counselors or community mental health centers. .
Reports citing police records indicated that 266 people committed suicide across the country during the country’s movement restrictions from March 18 to October 30 during the pandemic.
Those who need someone to talk to can call Befrienders KL at 03-7956 8145, or 04-281 5161/1108 in Penang, or 05-547 7933/7955 in Ipoh, at 08-825 5788,016-803 6945 in Kota Kinabalu, or email [email protected].
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