War creates a new dimension for suicide. The topic of death approaches as if close to everyone... And it's not just them, who is in the combat zone or in areas close to it. Even if you are in a safe place in Europe, is a single information space, presence of relatives, friends, acquaintances in Ukraine makes the topic relevant for everyone. Here are just a few of today's headlines:  "They urged to commit suicide: released from captivity “Tyra” told about the hell of the enemy concentration camp", "In Chasovoy Yar, they got it from under the rubble 24 victims of Russian shelling", "Russia has dealt new blows to Kharkiv, a fire broke out, there are wounded"...

They have become our new reality:

• The information space is saturated with death notices, danger, advances and retreats at the front, missile attacks and destruction, torture and violence in the occupied territory and in captivity
• Direct threats to life or health to yourself and the environment
• Loss of relatives, friends, acquaintances, everyone we classify as "ours" as opposed to "strangers" or enemies.
• Direct contact with the consequences of military actions: destruction of buildings, roads, settlements, etc., collision with the dead or body parts, the process of identifying bodies in morgues, searching for missing persons, checkpoint, "hedgehogs" on the roads and other signs of war
• Insomnia, lack of sleep due to air alarms or unusual workloads

All this creates a huge burden on our mental health, feeling of overexertion, exhaustion, as if you were driven into a trap... Your eyes stop noticing the good, thoughts revolve only around problems, people create extra trouble… and when we start to feel like it, that we cannot endure... Death may seem like a welcome release from suffering. Death can be romanticized and become attractive in the eyes of the other, who is also physically exhausted, and mentally. Death can take the form of an obsession…

Before the start of large-scale military operations, the sad statistics in our country were shocking.

8000 people die every year as a result of committing suicide in Ukraine. If you don't count the deaths on the battlefield, it is one of the most common causes of death among people under the age of 50 years

Men more often solve their life problems in such a radical way. Five times more men die by suicide, than women.

Each case of suicide significantly affects at least 10 persons Friends and relatives. Neighbors and community members. Work colleagues and people from the professional community.

Suicide is an ongoing huge health problem. But each of us can do certain things, to reduce this problem.

When you meet with an expressed desire to end life, do not take it lightly. Don't pretend, that they did not hear or did not understand. Listen to the person. Don't give advice. Don't discount her words. Be considerate and compassionate.

First aid, not professional,  when a person is in a state of crisis, attention to this person is effective in most cases. It gives hope and a sense of support.

A true story of rescue

This is a photo of Kevin Bertie and Police Officer Kevin Briggs. One day, Kevin Bertia decided to kill himself, jumping from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, USA. He climbed over the fence and was ready to jump, but stopped, when police officer Kevin Briggs spoke to him. They talked 90 minutes, until Kevin Bertia climbed back over the fence. It was the first time, when did Bertia trust someone so much, that he was able to talk about his problems. Briggs saved his life that day, listening to him. Today, both give speeches on the importance of first aid for people in suicidal crisis. Kevin Bertia said: "You listened, you let me talk, and you listened". So, the most important, what kevin did in conversations, is not that, what he was saying, and those, how attentively he listened.

Olena Kostyuk

who have mental health problems
"Promoting resilience
"Promoting resilience,
psychologist

The project "Promoting the Viability of Communities in Ukraine" is implemented within the program of cooperation between the governments of Norway and Ukraine in the field of health "Health Colaboration with Ukraine".