Topic of the day – helping together: What Carinthia is doing against suicides

While the suicide rate fell significantly in the first lockdown – not a single woman had committed suicide in Carinthia between February and April 2020 – we are currently at the level of 2018 and 2019. An average of ten people per month in our state take their own lives. .. So we can fight against it together!

“In the first lockdown, the exit restrictions worked, the family cohesion was strong. I expected that 2021 would be bad – unemployment, financial problems and loneliness affect many, “says Herwig Oberlerchner, Primary of Psychiatry at Klagenfurt Clinic. “Statistical data is good and important, but behind it there is always a personal fate that can be changed!” He therefore advises people who are at risk of suicide to be made aware that they are worried about them, that they play a role in life. Psychiatric ones Care is expandable While attempts are being made to focus on the subject of suicide prevention through public relations work at schools, universities and hospitals on the fringes of society, psychiatric care in the Carinthian metropolitan areas is more than expandable. Oberlerchner: “In Villach, the establishment of a socio-psychiatric outpatient clinic is planned in 2022, and one is to follow in Klagenfurt in the third quarter. But in truth we need a lot more facilities of this kind! ”Carinthia is a sad leaderIn addition to Styria, Carinthia is a sad leader in the number of suicides in Austria. By the end of the year, 110 suicide victims can be expected in this country, the number of unreported cases is even ten times as high, the expert estimates: “Single men with depression who regularly consume alcohol and live in rural areas are the group most at risk, followed by the elderly, socially disadvantaged and people with physical disabilities. ”Zodiac signs and moon phases do not affect the suicide statistics. However, most suicides happen at the beginning of the week, i.e. on Mondays and Tuesdays. Social media should also be used with caution, according to Oberlerchner: “Cyberbullying can lead to suicide.” Media reporting can save livesSuicide is not a taboo subject. “Media reports about it could have a preventive effect, represent a kind of processing that shows alternatives and contributes to a decrease in suicides!”, Oberlerchner points out. It is one of the most difficult topics in journalistic observation and evaluation – as important as it is sensitive, as explosive as it is dangerous: suicide. Should have committed suicide by the end of the year. A sad peak value. In Carinthia and Styria, most people in Austria choose to commit suicide. As we reportWhen we are confronted with this in the “Krone”, a discussion breaks out. Whether, and if so, what and how much and, above all, how we report. Is it in the public interest? So do we have to report on the case? And do we write about where people at risk could find help? Or do we just do research, get expert opinions and then don’t publish it? Not to keep quiet or to cover up, but because of the “Werther Syndrome”, the effect that suicides can trigger further suicides. It is a responsible question that we have to ask ourselves here. Every sentence can be wrong – or right. Because silence is not a solution either. Especially when it comes to social circumstances that can be triggers and should be discussed; no, would have to change things and thus maybe save lives; especially when it comes to young lives. Every suicide is one too many, right now it’s important to reflect. In families as well as in politics – and in editorial offices. Because every life that ends too early is one too many – every act of desperation that can be prevented is a victory.
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