Chrysalis

In this recent Mad Pride Ireland blog I ask if it is time for a single national authority, similar to the RSA, to deal with the issue of suicide!

I do not pose this question lightly; I do so because we are hearing year on year of an increase in the instance of suicide. The deepening recession and hardships it is bringing has brought suicide to a new demographic in greater numbers than ever before. Too often we hear of middle aged and thirty something fathers, husbands, brothers, friends who because of the stresses of life have decided to take the ultimate step. It may surprise you to know that there are over 300 groups across the country dealing with the issue of suicide, I know it baffled me.
The Road Safety Authority (RSA) is an agency that is often cited as a success in that it tackled a serious epidemic, that of road deaths, and has seen the reduction in those incidents year on year in recent times. The RSA has had the luxury of being able to speak with a singular voice on this issue. It has been able to frame and deliver its message in a clear and undiluted way that has resonated with all of us and has, it must be said, lead to a change in our behaviour and a significant reduction in needless deaths.
Now the RSA did not do this alone, they have had help from government through the introduction of tougher penalties for road users who break the rules, the introduction of the NCT which has meant a better standard of car on the road and the support of the Gardaí with enforcement. However, I again come back to the main point that the RSA would not have been able to achieve these goals if their work had been divided into 300 independent voices all speaking in a different way in different areas with varying degrees of penetration.
So back to the issue of a suicide agency, and whether we need one, this is a sensitive subject because of the tragedy to all those involved. Many of the groups that work in this are around the country have been started by a loved one of someone who has died of suicide and so they have a huge sense of ownership and obligation for the cause and the group they run, I fully understand this and do not wish to diminish their work, effort or loss. However, I do feel strongly that until a singular voice is put in place to normalise the conversation around emotional distress and suicide we as a society will not see the same in roads into the numbers lost each year as we have done with road deaths.
A suicide awareness agency would need to replace all the 300 groups currently active in the area yet they could utilise a singular voice to lobby the media for better coverage, politicians for legislative changes and the HSE for better service provision. More importantly this type of agency could approach the public debate on suicide nationally. This point is important because this subject needs a national debate, it is great that these 300 groups are on their local radio stations and papers from time to time but without a co-ordinated approach it will be difficult to achieve the real sea change needed.
A singular voice in the same vein as Gay Byrne’s championing the cause of suicide awareness and more importantly the wider topic of mental wellbeing would, I feel, have a positive effect on the national psyche. The sooner we all start to normalise the conversation around our emotions the better we will all be. A side effect of the economic crisis is the increase of stress and subsequently suicide but this side effect could offer an opportunity also.
During the Celtic Tiger years the interminably boring conversation on house prices and wealth accumulation became a national pass time. The topic was taken up with a patriotic zeal by most of us in a way normal reserved for our American cousins discussions of global freedom and democracy. However, the downturn has brought with it a new topic, that of depression both financial and physical. People of all ages and backgrounds are now channelling that zeal toward the topic of negative equity, loss of cash flow and their treatment by the banks.
As a nation we tend to personalise these things, for a brief period we blamed the institution of politics for bringing us down this road, we had an election and the much talked about ‘Democratic Revolution’ failed to transpire, we re-elected a status quo. We chose instead to personalise the debt issue to our home and work lives, to believe that politics, the banks and the other institutions of the State would do nothing for us. Essentially we did not share the burden and we did not see any real effort from the State to share that burden with us.
So maybe it is time to start a national conversation on mental wellbeing and suicide, have a singular office lead by a strong voice with a consistent message that will both listen to and reflect the real pain of people’s everyday lives. A suicide Agency with the proper support of a willing government could force the necessary changes in policy and service provision that would better serve our needs as a nation. A suicide Agency with the proper support of a willing population could force the necessary changes in attitude to mental health and suicide that could see a significant reduction in unfortunate deaths.
Maybe then we can start to heal this nation, maybe then we can start to heal our homes and maybe then we can start to heal ourselves.