Thread: Richard Prosser

Very sad.

The very sad fact about suicide is that more people will die by their own hand this year than will die as a direct result of Covid-19 and the road toll combined, the official number will be over 600 but the true number is likely to be over 700. Its a pity the Government could not put the same focus and funding into prevention and care for those struggling with mental health issues as they do for the road toll and Covid. I guess its a reflection of how society tries to avoid the subject.
What many do not see is the long term impact of suicide on the family and friends as there is often a collective guilt felt as many believe they should have seem something or could have helped, in most cases you could not have prevent the act, but it still leaves the feeling of guilt. It is also very difficult to grieve when there no clear cause or reason for the death, a car crash or heart attack is something people can relate to an accept, but suicide is hard for many to relate to.
There is a growing awareness of the annual toll of suicides, but it has long since frustrated many the lack of Government focus on what is the largest killer of healthy people in our society. There is a long standing stigma attached to mental health and deep seated discrimination which has lead to many suffering in isolation for fear of the repercussions and the judgement of society, we still see it today.
The new firearms legislation is clear proof of this, as there is an onus of your GP reporting the mental state of the holder of a firearms licence. This is not so much to prevent suicide but protect society from a firearms licence holder who is suffering from a mental illness, ironic that they don't do this for those who hold a drivers licence, as cars kill far more people than are killed by firearms annually, but we can't get to cynical can we.
While the legislation was most likely written with good intention, it in fact discriminates against those who hold firearms licences, many of those who hunt find solace and are able to unwind in the bush while they hunt, how many will seek help with the threat of being reported and deemed unfit to hold a licence, I know I would not feel confident about discussing any mental health issues with my GP.
Sorry for the rant but seen suicide many times and frustrated at the slowness of change and the needless loss of good people.

On the subject of (youth) suicide a very frustrated and cynical Mike King (who struggles to obtain funding) recently posted on the LinkedIn site this open communication to a female I will not name in deference to this site’s no politics rule. I have deliberately redacted the names of any politicians mentioned and have also added some freelance commentary for context but I am sure you will get the gist of what Mike was saying.

Dear (unnamed Prime Minister of non specified country)

For the last 10 years me and my little team at I Am Hope have been visiting schools from Cape Reinga to Bluff in order to better understand what is driving our appalling youth suicide rate.

After speaking with, and listening to over 300,000 young people,we have made some groundbreaking discoveries which I will share with you now

- 40% of young people will have a suicidal thought before they leave school
- Shockingly, 80% of those kids never ask for help for fear of what friends, family, or society will think, say, or do.
- The number one problem driving suicidal thinking in young people is imposter syndrome and an overactive inner critic
- Young people want help but don’t know how to access it, can’t find it, have to jump through to many hoops to get it or the help they receive is not actually helpful

To combat these issues we have developed two in school programs and demand is so high we have a six month waiting list. We have also developed a world class counselling service we designed to take the pressure off our mental health crisis teams

Could you please explain what expertise ( unnamed Minister of Foreign Affairs from the same non specified country)’s husband has in suicide prevention and what his funding (MK is referring to a $28,000 grant here) was used for please?

Kind regards

MK

PS: What happened to the gang funding? Any positive outcomes?

Sad news, he always struck me as being a smart cookie who said what the thought (probably not the best fit for a politician in the age of wokeism).

Originally Posted by gmm

The very sad fact about suicide is that more people will die by their own hand this year than will die as a direct result of Covid-19 and the road toll combined, the official number will be over 600 but the true number is likely to be over 700. Its a pity the Government could not put the same focus and funding into prevention and care for those struggling with mental health issues as they do for the road toll and Covid. I guess its a reflection of how society tries to avoid the subject.
What many do not see is the long term impact of suicide on the family and friends as there is often a collective guilt felt as many believe they should have seem something or could have helped, in most cases you could not have prevent the act, but it still leaves the feeling of guilt. It is also very difficult to grieve when there no clear cause or reason for the death, a car crash or heart attack is something people can relate to an accept, but suicide is hard for many to relate to.
There is a growing awareness of the annual toll of suicides, but it has long since frustrated many the lack of Government focus on what is the largest killer of healthy people in our society. There is a long standing stigma attached to mental health and deep seated discrimination which has lead to many suffering in isolation for fear of the repercussions and the judgement of society, we still see it today.
The new firearms legislation is clear proof of this, as there is an onus of your GP reporting the mental state of the holder of a firearms licence. This is not so much to prevent suicide but protect society from a firearms licence holder who is suffering from a mental illness, ironic that they don't do this for those who hold a drivers licence, as cars kill far more people than are killed by firearms annually, but we can't get to cynical can we.
While the legislation was most likely written with good intention, it in fact discriminates against those who hold firearms licences, many of those who hunt find solace and are able to unwind in the bush while they hunt, how many will seek help with the threat of being reported and deemed unfit to hold a licence, I know I would not feel confident about discussing any mental health issues with my GP.
Sorry for the rant but seen suicide many times and frustrated at the slowness of change and the needless loss of good people.

Paradoxically, ironically, Doctors are in the same boat all over the world. Struggling with mental health, practising license at stake, so don't make too much of it. Doctors have one of the highest suicide rate worldwide.