Kweku’s Korner
By Dr. Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi
Kweku Akyirefi Amoasi, formerly known as Ramel Smith
Why are we afraid to talk about Suicide? It happens all the time. We talk about murder (homicide) daily. We see it on the local and national news daily. In Wisconsin, there were 227 murders committed in 2022 and 263 in 2023. Now compare that to the number of suicides, 924 and 923, in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Nationally, there were 22,240 and 19,800 homicides in 2022 and 2023, compared to 49,476 and 49,316 suicides in those same years, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The news will talk about murders daily, but will only discuss suicides if it involves a terrorist attack, a celebrity, or a part of an unrequited love dyad (murder-suicide) or triangle (murder-murder-suicide).
We must learn that suicide is not a bad word, but it is a reality. The lingering effect of suicide is even more horrific for those who are left behind to cherish the memories of a loved one that have gone prematurely. Suicides happen. And it does not discriminate. We have seen suicide happen to all people. We have seen politicians, pastors, professors, pro players, and pageant winners die by suicide. We have seen people as young as 5 die by suicide. We have seen people from every continent, color, creed, and gender die by suicide.
We must not be so naïve as to think that because we have never attempted or had suicidal thoughts, this is beyond anyone. Anyone and Everyone is a potential candidate for suicide. The question is, how does one get to the point of wanting to kill themselves when we have an internal response to protect ourselves? Suicide does not mean one is weak or selfish. It means the amount of pain they had was unbearable at the moment that they looked for a level of relief, and suicide seemed to be the best option.
Experts will tell you that the signs to look for are a person who isolates themselves, has chronic pain, significant mental illness, an acute and devastating loss, or a relative who died by suicide. These are all correct, but what I deem to be the most powerful determinant is the level of hope, or lack thereof. See, even if a person has a well-thought-out plan and access to lethal contraband, if a person has hope… we have a chance. So, as professionals and lovers of people, we want to be Hope Dealers. We want to give individuals a reason to believe that it can be better.
What can you do? Help to give hope. This does not mean we can save everyone, but we can save some. And you don’t have to do it alone. Find your family and friends. Find community resources like the National Alliance of Mental Illness at 1-800-950-6264. Dial #988, it is the mental health 911, or text HOME to 741741. The Trevor Project was created specifically for the LGBTQ community with suicidal ideation, thoughts, and/or plans.
September 10th is the day we have coined World Suicide Prevention Day, and we wear purple and teal to show our solidarity and support of this issue. We should talk about it more. In fact, the more we talk about it, the more opportunities we have to do prevention work; the more opportunities we have to educate the masses; the more opportunities we have to save lives.