300 attend seminar on suicide in Navan

Over 300 people turned up last week at a major local seminar on suicide awareness in Navan's Ardboyne Hotel with the theme 'Suicide Affects Us All'. Among the speakers were Caroline McGuigan, founder of SOS (Suicide Or Survive), who is a psychotherapist; Margaret Hayes from Skryne, mother of the late Gerard Hayes, who died by suicide; Jimmy O'Connell, school clinical counsellor, St Peter's College, Dunboyne, and Dr John Sheehan, consultant psychiatrist at The Mater Hospital, Dublin.   Caroline McGuigan and Margaret Hayes spoke of their own personal experience of suicide. Ms McGuigan vividly portrayed the stages she went through, which included feelings of low self-esteem, panic and anxiety. She found it very difficult to get anyone to listen to her and to fully understand the severe panic and terror she was experiencing. She eventually attempted to take her own life, wanting to end the pain, but not wanting to die. In hospital, she received a lot of medical intervention and treatment but at no time was she offered counselling. She began to realise that she had to take responsibility for herself. Now fully recovered, she attributes her rehabilitation to a support group which she herself chose to attend, to her own determination and the wonderful support she received from friends.   Today, she is happy, living life to the full, and is a fully qualified psychotherapist who helps numerous people who have suicidal thoughts and tendencies. Some of the strategies she continues to find vital to her good mental health today are reading, walking, watching uplifting films, ongoing therapy, openness to learning, spirituality and listening to music. Margaret Hayes movingly told of the circumstances in which her 24 year-old son, Gerard, took his own life. She told of how much her late husband, Jim, and herself adored their beautiful first-born. As he grew from a child to a young man, he displayed wonderful qualities and was 'looked up to' by his four siblings. He was a sensitive young man who was very conscious of the inequalities in society throughout the world. He was a great example to his younger brother, Liam, and his three sisters. Mrs Hayes said that if Gerard was depressed, no-one ever noticed it. But, with hindsight, she now feels he must have been. She graphically described the day and the manner in which Gerard chose to end his life. The family was totally devastated and stunned to its very core. Gerard left a note for his family, telling them that he freely chose to end his own life and that he blamed no-one else. She herself was heartbroken, and "she cried her heart out for many years". However, during all this time, she summoned the strength to continue to look after her beloved husband, Jim, and her four remaining children. Mrs Hayes said that "things do get better and life eventually begins to take on meaning again". She can now laugh and have fun. She admitted to being "very cross" with God for a long time, but then things began to improve. Her late husband, Jim, was unable to bring himself to speak about Gerard within the home but did talk outside of it. It helped her a lot to speak and talk about Gerad, she said. Her home is an open house to anyone who calls to her door. She is an amazing cook, a member of a choral group and a daily Massgoer. One of her greatest tributes to her son, Gerard, is the help she has given, and continues to give, to those who have been bereaved by suicide. Jimmy O'Connell told of his involvement in a pilot school-based programme called 'Jigsaw', a mental health programme for young people implemented by the HSE, VEC, NEPS and Headstrong. He pointed out that adolescence is a difficult time for most young people, yet 80 per cent of them get through it easily. The other 20 per cent have difficulties of one kind or another. If left unnoticed and untreated, these issues could have tragic consequences. Many young people who die by suicide have never come to the attention of the HSE prior to their deaths. 'Jigsaw' was set up to fill that gap. As well as being school-based, it also has a drop-in centre in Navan, a family support system and provides training for teachers. For Mr O'Connell himself, as a trained psychotherapist, referrals mainly come to him from the teachers within the school. He gives great credit to his colleagues for being very aware and vigilant in picking up the mood swings of the students in their care.   Dr John Sheehan said he sees approximately 400 young people who present themselves in A&E because of self-harm each year. On average, three to four of these young people will take their lives within a few months of being seen. Suicide, he said, was a "complex phenomenon". Men are at much greater risk than women. He outlined some of the risk factors, including unemployment, exam pressure, poor marital relationships, living alone, retirement, poor mental health/depression. Dr Sheehan mentioned that, surprisingly, the month of December has the lowest rate of suicide while spring has the highest. He went on to say that doctors and lawyers were high on the list of people who die by suicide. Of those who complete suicide, one-third have a mental disorder, 15 per cent are alcoholics and all have low serotonin levels. He mentioned the stigma that still exists around the area of depression but he believes attitudes are changing, but not fast enough. In Norway, the prime minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik, suffered from depression. He spoke about it openly and took a year out of work. Some 85 per cent of Norwegians supported his stance and his honesty. Dr Sheehan praised Mr Bondevik's openness and said that campaigns to lessen the existing stigma of depression must continue. The panel of speakers took many questions from the floor and everybody left with an information pack with details of the resource groups available to them. Judging by the feedback, it would appear to have been a very worthwhile seminar, though one issue which emerged was that while support groups throughout the country do great work, the fact is they are too fragmented. In order for services to be of greatest benefit, it is necessary they be brought under 'one umbrella'.