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Reach out this World Suicide Prevention Day

06 September 2023 | Story Angela Vorster | Photo Andre Damons

Angie Vorster — Angela Vorster is a Clinical Psychologist at the School for Clinical Medicine, University of the Free State (UFS).

Opinion article by Angela Vorster, Clinical Psychologist at the School for Clinical Medicine, University of the Free State.

If you are reading this you may be interested in better understanding why there is a need for a World Suicide Prevention Day each year on 10 September. For some it may seem morbid, while for others it is just another awareness initiative. But for too many, suicide is personal. You may have lost someone you love in this manner. Or you yourself may be struggling with thoughts of ending your life. If you fall into the latter group you may want to skip over to the very last paragraph, because I know your attention may be waning and your energy may be low. Everybody else, please join me in better understanding the need for awareness of thoughts of self-harm and attempts at ending one’s life.

Mental illness can be fatal

In most instances dying by ‘suicide’ is more accurately described as dying from a psychiatric disease. Mental illness can be fatal if left untreated and we need only refer to suicide-related statistics to realise the magnitude of this plague in South Africa. The World Health Organisation indicated that South Africa is ranked 10th on the list of international countries with the highest suicide rates, while The South African Depression and AFnxiety Group (Sadag) reports 23 deaths by suicide per day. For each person who dies by suicide in our country; 10 others attempt to end their lives. Up to nine out of 10 people who die by suicide in South Africa had a mental health disease such as depression at the time of their death. If we take a look at these facts, it becomes almost absurd that we still regard mental illness and thoughts of self-harm and the act of causing self-death, as shameful and abnormal. But that is still very much how mental illness and particularly suicidality are viewed in our communities. Perhaps if we are able to really understand what it feels like to feel so terribly sad, empty, hopeless, worthless and guilty that you would rather end your life than suffer through another hour; perhaps then we would be able to create safe spaces for those who feel suicidal to express how they feel. It is only through connection and communication that we can provide the right support at the right time in order to save lives.

The black dog

There are many descriptions of what it feels like to be so ill that death seems the only cure and these vary across cultures and countries. The Black Dog Institute in Australia derived its name from the description of depression as feeling as though a menacing dark dog-like creature is following you around and no matter how hard you try, you just can’t shake it. Winston Churchill used this metaphor to describe times when he felt melancholic, demotivated and down. Now I love dogs, so I imagine this particular type of canine as being almost monstrous, not leaving you alone, but also not giving you anything. Instead of the loyalty and companionship and protection that our pet dogs give us, this dog demands constant feeding, does not allow you any freedom and prevents you from making contact with other people. The moment you start to reach out to someone, this black dog starts growling in the background and you give up or scare them away with your dark mood. And the black beast has you all to himself once again. This type of depression sucks your energy and your motivation. It makes you irritable and tired and isolated. Difficult to like.

Another metaphor for depression is ‘feeling blue’, one which we use so frequently that we have perhaps not stopped to consider where it originates. There are many theories, and all of them quite bleak. One is that the description derives from the human body that turns blue after death; another that ships used to fly blue flags if their captain had perished at sea, and yet another, that Zeus, the Greek God of the sky and thunder, would make it rain when he was sad. Have you noticed how flippantly people comment on ‘the baby blues’ as though this were something almost endearing and expected that is associated with becoming a mother. This while the stark reality of post-natal depression has been highlighted in the recent trial of Dr Lauren Dickason in New Zealand. I cannot comment on the legal aspects related to her case, but what I found jarring was the number of times that she told the people around her that she wanted to die or that she wanted to harm her children. I have worked with many women diagnosed with post-partum depression who describe feeling as though they are drowning. Having nothing to stand on, being pummelled by waves, unable to catch a breath and with no sight of help or the shore. This type of depression is a torturous combination of distress, anxiety and hopelessness where you just cannot stop the negative fearful ruminations swirling in your mind. There is no calm, no silence and no peace.

Feeling nothing

The metaphor I find most disturbing is when depressed patients describe feeling ‘nothing’. So often people will express feeling empty and their lives as grey. Nothingness. And I am always reminded of the 1980s movie ‘Neverending Story’ where everything that was magical and creative and hopeful had been swallowed up by ‘The Nothing’ – an empty energy that consumed everything in its way. How terrifying it must be to feel nothing. No hope, no joy, no excitement, not even sadness or fear. Just nothing. Blank. And no matter what you do or how hard you try, you just feel nothing. How horrifying it must be to hug someone you love, or have to get up each morning and go to school, or go to work and have to paste on a smile and chat about the weekend while you feel nothing. I can only imagine the desperation to feel something. Anything. This depression is you sitting on your bed and staring at the ceiling for hours. Waiting for it to end.

Something that stands out to me as a common theme among all of these metaphors is this: if a monster is following you around, nobody wants to come near you. If you are gasping for breath and swallowing water drowning in the sea – there is nobody around to save you. If you float through your days in a bubble of nothingness – you are alone. The antidote to suicidality is connection. It is being willing to spend time with someone who has a growling, slobbering, and mangy stray dog following them. It is listening to someone who is struggling and thrashing, terrified of drowning. It is being brave enough to enter nothingness and to realise that you too could horrifyingly easily feel empty and grey too. Now we need to be cautious. It is dangerous dealing with an angry dog, or trying so save a drowning person or rescuing someone floating off into space. We cannot do it alone and we cannot do it without experts. But the first step is to shout, or speak or whisper: ‘Hello’. ‘I’m here’. ‘I’ll get help’. Without fear or judgement or discrimination. But with the deep understanding that being human is a treacherous thing. And recalling the times when a safe, strong hand reached out to pull us away from danger. Because you see, we are all vulnerable to being followed by a black dog. Or being washed away by a wave. Or being consumed by The Nothing.

Grab hold of the stretched out hand

What makes us human is our vulnerability. To diseases of the body. And diseases of the mind. And what makes us human is our willingness to see our own vulnerabilities in others. I will reach out and help you because I too have needed help. So this World Suicide Prevention Day let us tame black dogs and send life rafts out to stormy seas. Let us be the solid ground to tether those who are floating away into outer space. And when we find ourselves followed or drowning or adrift – let us too reach past the snarling and swirling and emptiness to touch the outstretched hands of those who are here for us. Because they are here. We are right here. But in order to be rescued from the attacking beast, or the crashing waves or the airlessness of space, you have to grab hold of the hand stretched out toward you.

If you or someone you know are experiencing suicidal thoughts or feelings of depression please tell someone you trust how you feel and make contact with one of the 24-hour support lines such as The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (Sadag) (+27 800-567-567) or LifeLine (+27 861-322-322).

Also take a look at these websites:

News Archive

UFS announces the closure of Reitz Residence and the establishment of an institute for diversity

2008-05-27

Statement by Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Acting Rector of the UFS

The Executive Management of the University of the Free State (UFS) today announced a unanimous decision to close the Reitz Residence, effective at the end of the current university semester, and establish an institute for diversity on the same premises.

Four students from the Reitz Residence were responsible for making the now infamous Reitz video, depicting four female colleagues from the University and a worker of Prestige Cleaning Services who were lured into participating in a mock initiation ceremony during which they were humiliated and demeaned.

University management repeated its strong condemnation of the video, made in apparent protest against the University’s integration policy implemented at 21 residences accommodating some 3 400 students on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The Reitz video reopened racial wounds, and is deeply regretted. It was an isolated manifestation of resistance to the impact of ongoing transformation initiatives at the University. The video and other acts of public violence and vandalism on the campus have undermined the efforts of the University to foster diversity in student and staff life and create an inclusive institutional culture on the campus.

The actions of a relatively small group of students also inflicted severe damage on the University’s reputation and standing in the local and international academic community. The UFS management had therefore decided that closure of the Reitz Residence was an unavoidable strategic imperative and an important gesture of reconciliation towards all South Africans who had been offended.

The University has apologised unreservedly for the video. Two of the students who were still residents in Reitz were barred from the campus and subsequently terminated their studies at the UFS, while the other two students had already completed their studies last year.

In an endeavour to make restitution and to offer a lasting contribution to transformation, both at the UFS and in the country as a whole, the UFS has committed itself to establishing an institute for diversity on the premises of the former Reitz Residence.

Reitz will therefore be closed as a residence from 20 June 2008. The UFS has appointed a fully representative special committee to assist current Reitz residents in finding alternative accommodation.

The Institute for Diversity is envisaged as a centre of academic excellence for studying transformation and diversity in society – a living laboratory for combating discrimination and enabling and enhancing reconciliation in societies grappling with the issues of racism, sexism and xenophobia.

The declaration of Higher Education South Africa (HESA) published on 28 March 2008 highlighted that racism, intolerance and discrimination are societal phenomena present on many campuses. However, these issues are not restricted to institutions of higher learning, and are symptomatic of a broader social malaise.

In responding to the challenge faced by the University regarding its own transformation issues, as well as those faced by the country, the UFS will study the anti-transformational impulses on the campus as a microcosm of much broader socio-political challenges. The University will transform itself over time into a beacon of hope, combating racism and other forms of discrimination in South Africa and elsewhere in the world.

The Institute for Diversity will add impetus to the University’s existing transformation programme. Six strategic clusters, including a transformation cluster, were created in 2007 as part of the University’s long-term strategic planning.

The University has already provided seed capital of R1 million to design and establish the Institute. Planning will take place during 2008/09, with the Institute being formally opened in the 2010 academic year. An international fund-raising drive to raise an initial target of R50 million will be launched shortly.

Note to editors: The Reitz video was apparently made late last year, but only entered the public domain on 26 February 2008.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
27 May 2008

UFS e phatlalatsa ho kwalwa ha hostele ya Reitz le ho thehwa ha Institute for Diversity

Phatlalatso ka Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Morektoro ya tshwereng mokobobo wa UFS

Kajeno bolaodi ba Yunivesithi ya Freistata (UFS) bo phatlaladitse qeto e ananetsweng ke bohle ya ho kwalwa ha hostele ya Reitz mafelong a sehla sena sa pele sa dithuto (semester), le ho thehwa ha Institute for Diversity meahong eo ya Reitz.

Baithuti ba bane ba hostele ya Reitz ba ile ba eba le seabo kgatisong ya video e mpe moo basebetsi ba bane ba bomme ba yunivesithi le mosebetsi wa khamphane ya Prestige Cleaning Services ba ileng ba hohelwa ho ba le seabo mme ba tlontlollwa le ho nyenyefatswa hampe.

Bolaodi ba yunivesithi bo boetse ba nyatsa ka mantswe a bohale video eo e ileng ya hatiswa ka maikemisetso a ho ipelaetsa kgahlanong le leano la diphethoho dihosteleng tse 21 tsa yunivesithi Bloemfontein tseo e leng bodulo ho bathuti ba ka bang 3400.

Morektoro ya tshwereng mokobobo wa UFS, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, o boletse hore video eo ya Reitz e boetse e butse maqeba a semorabe mme e seollwa ka matla. O re e ne e le ketsahalo e ikgethileng ya boipelaetso kgahlanong le diteko tse tswelang pele tsa ho tlisa diphethoho yunivesithing. O re video eo le diketsahalo tse ding tsa merusu le tshenyo ya thepa khamphaseng di setisitse diteko tsa yunivesithi tsa ho tlisa poelano hara baithuti le basebetsi, le ho theha moetlo o akaretsang ka hare ho yunivesithi.

O tswetse pele ka hore diketso tseo tsa sehlotshwana sa baithuti di boetse tsa senya yunivesithi serithi le lebitso mona hae le dinaheng tse ding. Kahoo bolaodi ba UFS bo nkile qeto yah ore ho kwalwa ha hostele ya Reitz ke ntho o kekeng ya qojwa mme e boetse ke mohato wa bohlokwa wa poelano ho ma-Afrika Borwa ohle a anngweng ke taba ena.

Yunivesithi e kopile tshwarelo mabapi le video ena. Ba babedi ba baithuti ba amehang kgatisong ya video eo, ba neng ba ntse ba dula hosteleng ya Reitz, ba ile ba thibelwa ho kena khamphaseng mme yaba ba tlohela dithuto tsa bona, ha ba bang ba babedi bona ba ne ba se ba phethetse dithuto tsa bona selemong se fetileng.

Prof. Verschoor o boletse hore ho leka ho kgutlisetsa maemo setlwaeding le ho tshehetsa leano la diphethoho UFS le naheng ka bophara, UFS e ikanne ho theha Institute for Diversity hona meahong eo ya Reitz.

Kahoo hostele ya Reitz e tla kwalwa ho tloha ka la 20 Phupjane 2008. UFS e thontse komiti e ikgethang e akaretsang bohle ho thusa baithuti ba dulang hosteleng ena hajwale ho fumana bodulo bo bong.

Institute for Diversity e tla ba setsha se kgabane sa dithuto tsa diphethoho le poelano setjhabeng – setsha se tla lwantshana le kgethollo mme se kgothalletse le ho matlafatsa poelano hara batho ba tobaneng le mathata a kgethollo ya mmala, ya bong le lehloyo la melata.

Tokomane ya Higher Education South Africa (HESA) e phatlaladitsweng ka la 28 Hlakubele 2008, e pepesa dintlha tse amanang le kgethollo ya mmala, tlhokeho ya mamellano le kgethollo ka kakaretso e le dintho tse teng dikhamphaseng tse ngata. Dintlha tsena ha di teng feela ditsheng tsa thuto e phahameng, empa le setjhabeng ka kakaretso.

Prof. Vershoor o boletse hore UFS e tla lekola dikgato tse kgahlanong le diphethoho ka hare ho khamphase jwaloka karolo ya diphepetso tse nammeng hara setjhaba ka kakaretso. O re yunivesithi e tla fetoha ha nako e ntse e tsamaya ho ba mohlala o motle wa tshepo, twantsho ya kgethollo ya mmala le mekgwa e meng ya kgethollo Afrika Borwa le lefatsheng ka bophara.

Institute for Diversity e tla thusa ho matlafatsa lenaneo la jwale la diphethoho la yunivesithi. Ho thehilwe di Strategic Clusters tse tsheletseng selemong se fetileng, tse kenyeletsang Transformation Cluster, jwaloka karolo ya merero ya UFS.

Yunivesithi e se e nyehelane ka tjhelete e kana ka diranta tse milione ho rala le ho theha institute ena. Ho rerwa ha yona ho tla etswa ka 2008/09, mme institute ena e tla bulwa semmuso selemong sa dithuto sa 2010. Haufinyana ho tla thakgolwa letsholo la matjhaba la ho bokeletsa tjhelete e kana ka diranta tse dimilione tse mashome a mahlano.

Tlhokomediso ho bahlophisi ba ditaba: Video ya Reitza e hatisitswe selemong se fetileng mme ya hlahella pepeneng ka la 26 Hlakola 2008.

Phatlalatso ya boraditaba
E entswe ke: Lacea Loader
Motlatsa molaodi: Dikgokahano
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za
27 Motsheanong 2008

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