Holy Week, a time of hope

Christians around the world will be observing Semana Santa this week. The observance of the Passion and the Death of Christ started yesterday with Palm Sunday and continues with Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday or the Easter Triduum.

We look up to that superior and spiritual being in our lives – God, Allah, Buddha, etc. We know that they lived and died for us. Their light of salvation brings forth hope from the darkness of sin and death.

Our world today is getting more complicated. Technology and mass media have compounded the social issues affecting this new generation. As a result, psycho-emotional problems have increased and many people find it difficult to live a normal life. Mental illnesses have become an alarming concern. Our spiritual capacity to cope with personal and societal problems has weakened.

As we pray this week to God for ourselves and for our loved ones, let us also say a little prayer for the millions of people who suffer from mental illness. There is a wide spectrum of mental illnesses that has become a concern around the world.

In the recent years there are more suicides committed than ever before. Why is this so?

In the Philippines, the National Statistics Office report shows that there is a rise in the number of people committing suicide in the past 22 years. Records show that the suicide rate from 1984 to 2005 went up from 0.46 to seven out of every 200,000 men and jumped from 0.24 to two for every 200,000 women. Dr. Dinah Nadera, a psychiatrist and an associate professor of the University of the Philippines Open University recorded that the highest suicide rates, occur in the age group of 5 to 14 and 15 to 24. Suicides in the past years confirm this study.

Another significant finding from a study of around 300 cases collected from the records of hospitals and the police in 2008 and 2009 revealed that the majority of suicides were carried out at home during summer, particularly during the Lenten season when Catholics observe fasting, prayer and penitence.

Dr. Nadera added that most of the suicides that were studied occurred in the morning (between 8:01 a.m.) and noon and on weekdays. Suicide attempts usually happen when there is no one at home and the person is alone. In contrast, the least number of cases were reported between midnight to morning.

Dr. Wang Xiangdong, World Health Organization (WHO) regional adviser in mental health and injury prevention sounded the alarm over the growing number of people resorting to taking their lives among the young in 2012. He stressed that suicide must be considered a public health issue rather than a mere police case. Wang also noted that there are big gaps to effective suicide interventions and these are gaps in knowledge, gaps in translations of existing knowledge into interventions, and gaps in mental health and crisis support system.

Although many non-government organizations are running help centers for people with suicidal tendencies, there is really no suicide prevention program in the Philippines. Dr. Nadera in a study entitled Suicide in the Philippines: A Second Look at Rates and Ratios pointed out the major barriers to the development/ implementation of national suicide prevention plan. This includes: 1) lack of factual data to cite magnitude of the problem, hence, lack of evidence to support need and fund for program; 2) competing interests within the Health System where budget is limited; and 3) strong Catholic faith which frowns upon suicide discouraging families from reporting.

In our country, suicide has been a medico-legal more than a health issue, thus, data can be generated from emergency wards, in-patient settings and from the Police Department.

There is no systematic reporting of non-fatal and fatal suicide in the Philippines. Reliable data on suicide is not regularly recorded in institutions that can generate the data, making it difficult to observe general patterns of suicidal behavior.

Why do people commit suicide? According to Alex Lickerman, an internal medicine physician at the University of Chicago who blogs at Happiness in this World and the author of The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self, in general there are six reasons why people try to kill themselves: 1) They are depressed. Severe depression is always accompanied by a pervasive sense of suffering as well as the belief that an escape from it is hopeless. This state of being warps the person’s thinking; 2) They are psychotic. This is more tragic than depression. Malevolent inner voices often command self-destruction for unintelligible reasons. The worldwide incidence of schizophrenia is 1% and often strikes otherwise healthy, high-performing individuals, whose lives, though manageable with medication, never fulfill their original promise; 3) They are impulsive. This is often related to drugs and alcohol where people become maudlin and would impulsively attempt to end their own lives. Once sobered and calmed, these people usually feel emphatically ashamed. 4) They are crying out for help, and don’t know how else to get it. These people don’t usually want to die but do want to alert those around them that something is seriously wrong. They would often choose a method they believe will not kill them but just to strike out at someone who has hurt them; 5) They have a philosophical desire to die. These people are not depressed, psychotic, maudlin, or crying out for help. They are trying to take control of their destiny and alleviate their own suffering like those having a terminal illness; 6) They have made a mistake. This is a recent, tragic phenomenon in which typically young people flirt with oxygen deprivation for the high it brings and simply go too far. According to Lickerman, the only defense against this is education.

This week we ponder on the death of Jesus Christ and celebrate new life in His resurrection. It is our moral obligation to protect that life. In His crucifixion, Jesus Christ left us with His Seven Last Words: Father forgive them for they know not what they do – forgiveness; Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise – God is merciful; Woman behold your Son, behold your Mother – respect; My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?- relationships; I Thirst – be a good Samaritan; Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit – trust; It is finished – triumph over death, triumph over evil.

As devout Catholics we believe that God is always at our side. He is everywhere. He sees us. He hears us. He touches our hearts, our minds and most especially our spirit.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. – John 3:16