00:00We know that suicide is on the rise in general in Trinidad and Tobago and what
00:05I could say is anecdotally we have the evidence that the suicide attempt rates
00:10are increasing and they are increasing significantly in a particular age group
00:14which is in young people. So we see a rise in cases of suicide attempts in
00:18people from the ages of 14 to about 19. Dr. Williams said many young people in
00:24Tobago are facing depression. Constantly these young people are facing pressure
00:29they are very depressed, they are anxious and they are making more and
00:33more serious attempts on their lives and even those that may not engage in a
00:37suicide attempt they are engaging in self-injurious behavior. So there is
00:41frequent cutting, there are incidences in school constantly where children are
00:46cutting, where guidance counselors are being asked to deal with cases and even
00:51at the hospital we are seeing rising numbers of young people wanting to die
00:55wanting to kill themselves. Dr. Williams spoke with TV6 News at the Lowlands
01:01Mall on Thursday during the observance of World Mental Health Day in Tobago by
01:06the Division of Health and the Tobago Regional Health Authority. It's estimated
01:11that globally we lose 1 trillion million US due to poor mental
01:17health days right and it's estimated that 20 billion days are lost to
01:21absenteeism as an effect of depression and anxiety. So it's time that
01:26organizations, companies etc. treat with mental health in the workplace. The data
01:32shows that prioritizing mental health in the workplace actually doesn't just
01:36benefit the individual but benefits the company, the organization and the
01:40community at large. When asked to comment on the increased number of cases of
01:45bullying in Tobago she called for the enforcement of policies. We need to have
01:51effective policies in place and these policies need to be implemented. What
01:56happens is that bullies have so much power you know they don't experience the
02:01direct consequences of their action. The consequences are often not immediate or
02:06not commensurate with their actions and so bullies are essentially sometimes
02:11reinforced for being bullies. They end up being the cool kids. We need to have
02:15policies where there's a clear outline for what happens in the instance of
02:20aggressive behavior in schools and these need to be enforced consistently so that
02:25there's a direct link between a behavior and the repercussions of that behavior.
02:29Elizabeth Williams TV6 News
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