The number of people who committed suicide in Drenthe rose by a quarter last year. And so organizations continue to draw attention to the problem.
Anne Gietema has often had to deal with suicides through her work as a chaplain at the Lentis mental health institution. But even more so with the prevention of suicides.
“The most important thing is to make good contact. By asking open, but also very specific questions. Like ‘do you still want to live?’ or “Do you ever think about suicide?” There are many people who have problems around life and are considering ending their lives, so it is important that someone asks a real question.”
Gietema, who is now retired, has given many training courses on suicide prevention. He realizes that a conversation about dark thoughts is complicated for many people. “Sometimes people need to be helped over a threshold. For example, because they think that patients find that complicated, or that they can be given an idea. You have to learn that that is not the case. It actually helps to be able to talk about it.”
“There is certainly still a taboo on the subject. In any case, we don’t talk about death easily,” says Gietema. “But you really need to be able to have a conversation about your own problems and vulnerabilities. Let it be known that it is not surprising that sometimes you do not want to continue living. Good care can help you to live your life in a better way. look. And deal with life better.”
Gietema was also involved in the arrival of so-called suicide prevention benches in Assen. The benches are part of a national campaign to make suicide and thoughts about it a subject of discussion. Gietema arranged these plaques on 20 benches in the provincial capital. “I imagine people sitting on a bench like that, seeing the plaque and then starting a conversation. Breaking a piece of loneliness, you could say. It’s not a golden invention, but it can help a little bit.”