Self-love or sometimes called the fear of death is a basic instinct of human beings. However, for people who have suicidal thoughts, it somehow disappears when they think their lives are not worth living anymore. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Apisara Attavanich. Today, I am here to talk about one of important issues happening in Thailand which is suicide. I have divided my presentation into 3 parts. The first part is background information about suicide in Thailand. The second part includes interviews from different perspectives. Finally, the last part is my recommendations. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me at the end of the presentation. Now, let’s get started.
Suicide is not a new issue in Thai society. Surprisingly, it is a second leading cause of unnatural deaths following accidents. According to the Department of Mental Health, Thai attempted suicide rates are increasing. The report shows that there are 53,000 Thai people attempting suicide each year and 4,000 people succeed in doing so. There are several factors that can increase the risk of suicide, such as having depression, family problems, failed relationships, or various health problems. These factors affect people physically and mentally until they are unable to find a solution and finally choose to end their lives by committing suicide. Mr. Nattakorn Jampathong, a director of Khon Kaen Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital, said that although the number of suicides in Thailand was less than the world’s number and other countries’ numbers, it still cannot be seen as a small issue.
Now, let’s look at interviews. I have interviewed one of my friends who attempted to commit suicide. As you all may know that many factors can be the causes that lead to suicide. In this case, her failed relationship is the cause that leads Parn, which is not her real name, to end her own life. Parn had gone through a toxic relationship for years. Her boyfriend did many insidious things to her and always left her feeling worthless. For example, they once had a fight and he threw a phone at her head and also called her a streetwalker. Parn said that at that time she felt worthless and hurt and couldn’t find someone to talk to about this problem. So, in order to end the pain that she had been suffering from for a long time, she cut her wrist in her bathroom at her home. Fortunately, her mum found her in the bathroom and immediately took her to a hospital in time.
Moreover, Keerati Patanasaree, a psychiatrist said that thoughts of suicide sometimes could occur to people experiencing stress, depression, or problems. These feelings were, in most cases, temporary and could be treated to get rid of them, but in some cases, it could push people further to commit suicide. She added that the easiest thing that other people and she could do was listening to them, because sometimes people with suicidal thoughts just wanted someone to listen to them and be there for them. In addition, she stated that people who had been torn apart didn’t want to die, they just simply didn’t want to feel the pain and the hatred anymore.
In contrast, Poonyawee Mahatthananone who is a deeply religious Buddhist strongly disagrees with an idea of committing suicide. She stated that it was morally wrong to commit suicide because this sinful action broke the first precept consisting of a prohibition of killing, both humans and all animals. She said that it was an action of weak and selfish people. The reason was that those people just decided to take their own lives to run away from problems they couldn’t handle instead of solving them and completely forgot other people left behind that had to deal with the grief and loss and take care of all the messes.
For recommendations, I have divided them into three different recommendations. The first recommendation is for people with suicidal thoughts. I want to remind all of people suffering that they are loved, they are enough, and they are not alone. If they have any problems, the most important thing that they should do is reaching out for someone. They shouldn’t keep these suicidal feelings to themselves. I want them to find someone who will simply listen and be there for them.
The second recommendation is for people who are close to someone suffering from mental health issues. The first thing that they should do is looking for signs that this person is in great pain. Once they see it, it is important to support that person, either by listening to them or taking them to see a mental health professional.
The last recommendation is for the government. They need a better education provided for students to understand more about suicide, the causes that lead to suicide, and how to handle and prevent it. Also, it would be a great idea to provide more mental health services and psychiatric care for people seeking help.