That Vital Issue To Raise in Our Environments
The World Suicide Prevention Day, which is commemorated on September 10 of each year, exists as a platform, since 2003, to raise awareness about this issue and promote preventive measures with the aim of reducing the number of suicides and suicide attempts all over the world.
The Woman Post | Adriana Díaz
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The member countries of The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) assume the ambitious task of creating a movement of preventive action, with sustained messages to promote behavior change and, ultimately, prevent more suicides through different topics contemplated in the motto, which is established for annual periods and can be sustained over time for 3 years.
The motto for 2021-2023 "Creating Hope Through Action" according to the IASP "signifies the determination to impart a new sense of purpose: to empower and equip people with the skills and confidence to connect with someone they believe may be struggling."
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused loss, suffering, stress, depression, and hopelessness. Focusing on suicide prevention is especially important now, to stay connected with each other and be aware of the signs of suicide risk and how to respond even in these times of increased physical distancing, where people can still maintain social connections and take care of their mental health.
Also read: THINKING POSITIVE: DECREASES THE RISK OF GETTING SICK
That is why and since its inception, the Fundación De Ángeles y Mariposas (Angels and Butterflies Foundation) "Rescuing Planet, Culture and Life," established in Colombia in 2011, has the purpose of delivering tools to learn to live "because the most important thing in life is life" and therefore "knowing is prevention," since knowledge is of vital importance to prevent.
Around a million people die from suicide each year in the world, which means that at least one person dies every 40 seconds. The current situation of hopelessness and uncertainty has been increasing, not only the rates of interfamily violence but also suicide rates. This is how, and just to cite one case, the suicide rates in Bogotá have increased by 25%. This is a phenomenon that is detected worldwide, which leads me to affirm that the mental health pandemic is the most serious to face since countries are not prepared for it.
It should be noted that the same global pandemic and political situation has led people to migrate and this has been previously recognized as one of the predisposing factors for suicide.
For this reason and since then and in unison with the different annual campaigns of the IASP, the foundation joins this day every day of the year after year, to raise awareness and empower by providing tools to learn to live, through its conferences, workshops, seminars, retreats, and therapies. As contrary to beliefs, we are convinced that suicide can be prevented with timely interventions, from different settings: educational, work, corporate, institutional, etc, because the most important in life is life.
