Suicide prevention and mental health: A policy which needs strengthening
This year, the week for suicide prevention was held from 3rd to 7th February and corresponded with the declaration of mental health being a major national cause, an opportunity for upholding an ambitious plan.
A recent increase in the deaths by suicide
In the context of this 35th week, the Directorate of research, studies, evaluation and statistics (DREES) has published the statistics for 2022. 9,200 suicides were recorded in 2022 i.e. 13.3 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared with 13 in 2021, representing a slight increase. With over 9,000 suicides and 200,000 attempted suicides each year, France is above the European average (10.2 per 100,000).
“After several decades of diminishing figures, the suicide rate seems to have reached its lower limit at the end of the 2010s”, according to the analysis by the authors.
Men between the ages of 85 and 94 are the population with the highest risk level with a rate of 35.2 per 100,000. The sensitive question of suicide of the aged remains taboo in our society as is being highlighted by health workers who care for the aged. Rules of good practice have been elaborated by the High Authority for Health in order to identify psychiatric suffering and to provide support in order to prevent suicides.
Additionally, hospitalisations for attempted suicide and self-mutilation are showing a worrying rise since 2020 in young women between the ages of 15 and 19. This phenomenon is being studied by the National Suicide Observatory (ONS) who will be releasing their report by the end of the month. A recent parliamentary report by the information mission on psychiatric emergencies also identifies that such hospitalisations “have increased by 64 % for young women between 20 and 29 years of age between 2020 and 2022 and almost 300 % (298 %) between 2008 and 2022. For men of the same age, they increased respectively by 65 % and 172 % over the same periods. Moreover, they exhibit greater severity than that observed prior to the crisis, justifying more frequent hospitalisation days in an intensive care department due to more violent attempts and the more widespread use of lethal means.”
Talking about suicide saves lives
The prevention policy undertaken in France is based on coordinated actions: It is bearing fruit and is deserving of reinforcement. It is materialised by a ministerial instruction which was updated on 6th July 2022.
Two devices are particularly relevant:
• VigilanS which aims to maintain contact with people who have made a first attempt at suicide, to keep a link with them in order to prevent any recurrence;
• “3114” a national help line for suicide prevention for all people in distress as well as for health professionals. The service is available 24/7. It is aimed at the general public as well as health professionals seeking information.
This year, the national week for suicide prevention has adopted the following theme “Mental health in all its states: shared prevention, territory and social interactions”. It is an opportunity for promoting the updated training for the identification, evaluation and treatment of suicidal crises; actions for the prevention of suicide contagion, information for the public.
Together with the “Sentinelle” training for identifying and guiding people, this shared prevention measure concerns every citizen.
Acting on mental health is a social emergency
In a file devoted to mental health as a major national cause, the national union of families and friends of the sick and/or physically handicapped (UNAFAM), identifies 3 major objectives recalling the need to act collectively against any fate:
• Inform: Heighten public awareness of mental health, from the youngest age, by identifying risk factors and good practices for its treatment. It is crucial to better understand the associated diseases.
• Prevent: Establish a true policy for the promotion of mental health. That involves reinforcing prevention, improving early detection and proposing suitable responses to treat the psychiatric suffering, by unstinting training and information.
• De-stigmatise: Transform the representations of psychiatric disorders to re-establish hope. Show that recovery is possible thanks to the advances in research, innovation and the solutions implemented for those suffering from psychiatric handicap. Such actions may not only improve the livelihood of sufferers, but also that of their loved ones.
As pointed out by Alliance VITA during the world day for suicide prevention on 10th September, this national commitment must be extended to all types of suicide. The debates on assisted suicide and euthanasia are irreconcilable with an active policy for suicide prevention. It would be irresponsible to present suicide as desirable and to suggest that the State should organise it.
