A consultant psychiatrist at Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Dr Yewande Oshodi has raised alarm that more Nigerians are thinking of committing suicide.
According to her, no fewer than 10 percent of all referrals at LUTH were suicide attempts.
The health expert spoke yesterday at the launch of LUTH campaign against suicide, tagged: “One More Day” to save and counsel individuals who have attempted suicide.
Recall that a medical doctor, Allwell Orji, jumped into the Lagos Lagoon from the Third Mainland Bridge last Sunday after he told his driver to stop the vehicle.
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Also on Friday, Lagos State Police Command rescued a woman identified as Taiwo Titilayo Momoh, from jumping into the same Lagoon.
At the event, Oshodi said that over a five-year study period, 7.2 percent of cases referred to psychiatry consultation –liaison services in LUTH-were cases related to suicide.
She said reports had shown that during lifetime, about 3.0 percent of Nigerians have had thoughts about ending their lives, 1.0 percent will plan on how to kill themselves, while just under 1.0 percent will carry out an attempt to kill themselves.
“Suicide is most unwanted incident anyone could like to experience either by losing a loved ones and it is preventable to some degree”, the consultant psychiatrist said.
She reiterated that suicide could be prevented and blamed the increase in suicide attempts on the stigma associated with mental health.
“The stigma of psychotics and mental health makes it difficult for people to come out when they are going through issues”, she said.
Recently, World Health Organisation, WHO, released statistics which showed that approximately one million people died by suicide annually worldwide and that for every one who died by suicide, about 20 more made an attempt.
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