Some may feel so overwhelmed that they could contemplate suicide.
Hentie Malan, the branch manager at ER24’s Johannesburg West offices said paramedics responded to numerous suicide cases at this time of year, mainly due to the pressure of matric examinations.
ER24 urged pupils contemplating suicide to consider the trauma that family and friends may experience.
Explaining the impact of suicide on loved ones, Jill Lithgow, the ER24 Education Training and Development Department manager said, “People experience complete and utter devastation. Parents question what they have missed. It eats away at every fibre of what it means to be a parent. They wonder what they could have done differently when often there is nothing that could have been done. It destroys families and relationships.”
Henning Jacobs, the trauma support co-ordinator at ER24, described the scenes of suicides he had attended.
“The scene can be summed up as total shock,” he said. “Nine out of 10 times the family did not expect the suicide. They usually state that the person did not show signs of stress or depression. They could not believe this person could do such a thing. The impact is severe and many people have breakdowns at suicide scenes due to the gruesome images of their loved ones who have committed suicide.”
Jacobs said paramedics tried their best to save patients. “While resuscitating these patients I feel I need to do everything for this child to survive so they can talk to their parents, resolve problems and carry on with their lives,” he said.
Lithgow said teen suicide was often associated with feelings of extreme helplessness, anxiety and the inability to see how they could go on in a situation. “Hopelessness seems to be an overarching emotion in suicide,” she said. “People feel there is no way out. Consider the pressure of 12 years at school culminating in one set of exams.”
Surviving a suicide attempt can lead to unexpected medical problems such as brain damage or disability, so it is important for parents to find out what the signs and risk factors are.
Details: @ER24EMS; Facebook: facebook.com/ER24Ambulance; or call 086 108 4124.
