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CCNTV6
  • 1 year ago
There in an increase in attempted suicide cases in Tobago.


This, from Clinical Psychologist Dr Alina Williams.


Police sources told TV6 News last week that one student in Tobago jumped from a school building, while another overdosed on painkillers.


Both are recovering. More in this Elizabeth Williams report.
Transcript
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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