“Suicide is a definite reaction to problems that usually have a solution”

The last few years have been somewhat complicated for hope.

The pandemic had its very specific effects during 2020 and 2021. Uncertainties, fear of death, loneliness. Exacerbation of mental illness, depression, family conflicts. We see that in the post-pandemic. During confinement there was a lot of consultation, more calls, but not so much suicidal ideation, or extreme situations that required urgent action. In mid-2021, the situation changed.

In what sense?

The previous malaise emerges but is exacerbated by the experience of the pandemic. More problems of mental illness, depression. Latent family conflicts have emerged and suicidal ideation, the person’s recurring thought related to the low expectations of a better future, has increased.

An approach in which dying is presented as a rest,

There is a maxim: nobody wants to die, what people do not want is to suffer. All the preventive tools with which we can make people see light where they see darkness, are a very clear investment.

Did confinement have negative parts, but did it also bring a certain peace of mind? Everyone at home, less risk of things happening.

Many families found an opportunity in confinement: for dialogue, conversation with the children, sharing. But that has a lot to do with social class.

In what the house in which you confined yourself is like.

We must study how inequalities have weight in crisis situations. Like the couple. If you are forced to spend 24 hours in a place where children do not have space to play, and the previous situation is not good, everything gets worse.

Is emotional health and mental health the same thing?

We like to talk about emotional health more because we are not a medical service, but an accompaniment. To help see the light in the dark. Whenever we detect someone with significant emotional health problems, we refer them to health systems. And in case of imminent suicide, we call 061 or 112.

How many people do they serve?

We make available to the people who call us between 27,000 and 30,000 hours per year.

In this venue?

Everything is online since the pandemic. What was an emergency solution to be able to continue attending led to a change.

Is it effective with a screen in between?

It is effective. It is necessary to work with a mixed model: the volunteer, well trained, can attend with an equal vision to the other, but behind there is a whole team of professionals, psychiatrists and psychologists, who can reinforce the work of the volunteer. We always work in pairs: a volunteer who attends and a support volunteer in case emergency resources need to be activated. And behind, a psychologist. The volunteer has express training and the supervision of a professional who, in extreme cases, can intervene directly. For example in the chat that we have launched with the town hall.

How many volunteers do you have?

400. We hope to end the year with 600. They work from home. By phone, which is now a computer: we work with digital platforms. It is an integrated system. With one company we do the voice themes and with another, WhatsApp.

And therapists?

12.

How many hours does a volunteer dedicate to this topic?

We recommend 10 hours per month in two batches of five. Then there is supervision, group analysis and training, which is 70 hours. An initial training of 15 to 20 hours that enables you to listen. And then they gain experience until they reach 70 hours.

Do they turn people away?

Many. More than 50%.

What do you have to have to be a volunteer?

Emotional balance. Have a good time. If you are separating from the couple, we will say no. But you can come later. Volunteers who have been for many years have to be more supervised, because you get used to things, you acquire vices. Sometimes we lose volunteers because this takes a long time and they need to rest. We are going to an average of 10 cases per person and shift.

Could a bad answer hurt the caller?

Of course. It is not just about having theoretical knowledge, a volunteer must also have an attitude, a common sense that tells him what he has and if he does not know what to do, he has to ask for help.

Before the pandemic, people also had problems. Is it already clear that we have to talk about suicide, after so many years of avoiding it, for example in the media?

It’s clear. You have to talk about it. Before the one who committed suicide he had a public sanction. We are not talking about euthanasia, but about the one who sees no alternative to ending his life because he suffers. But let’s go to that situation of pain. You have to be able to talk. Every time they say that a meter is damaged, there is a person behind who has jumped.

How old is the suicide?

The largest group of people installed in suicidal thoughts is between 34 and 54 years old, the most adult world. The percentage of men is higher. The women ask for more help. It is more difficult to do prevention with men.

And what are the most common reasons?

The economic-labor situation and family relationships. The second largest group is the young, from 16 to 30 years old. The young person who thinks about death has a non-definitive representation of it, unlike adults. There is a lot of suffering in these young people but often in specific situations. ‘Bullying’ at school: a situation that begins and ends, but the person only knows how to see the current situation, there is a fixation on suffering. Also in cases of couple relationships.

What about the family and friends of those who commit suicide?

They are called survivors. For someone whose son, a brother, commits suicide, the drama is brutal. It is devastating for families. The motive for suicide is usually unknown. They are boys who have left home in the morning so calm after drinking orange juice and after a while they have thrown themselves out of the window or into the subway.

And people wonder what he could have done.

Yes, how did I not detect it, I did not understand the signs. Unless there is a very defined situation, but it is not the majority.

So the view of suicide has changed.

Yes, of course, now it is seen as a problem that is not individual but social, related to a previous discomfort that can be generated at home or abroad. Before it was seen as an escape, it was almost embarrassing. Not anymore, as it no longer happens with gender violence.

But there was also courage in the gesture.

The view was that you needed to be cowardly and brave. Now the message is that it is not necessary to think of radical solutions to the problems that are going to end, temporary. Start thinking about life.

Is the current situation different from that of the 70s or 80s of the 20th century?

There is permanent uncertainty. In the 21st century, certainties have disappeared.

The same job for life.

Uncertainty breeds discomfort. In the economy, at home. There is nothing more important to a person than losing their home. She dispossesses herself of everything before the community and before herself, it is something terrible that can lead to extreme situations, of illness. We are clear that social problems lead to health problems, if we do not work on them we only put patches.

Are we weaker than before?

The new generations are less resistant to frustration. Its starting point is a model of more well-being than that of the previous generation, which had more expectations of improvement. Not having it increases the frustration.

The media have to report suicides.

They have to report that there are solutions. The message has to be that suicide is a definite reaction to problems that are usually solvable.

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What do we say to a boy who suffers ‘bullying’?

Prevention is key. How to do prevention with someone who suffers ‘bullying’ and does not say so at home? With the chat that we opened with the town hall: the young man does not communicate by voice, he hardly makes calls, but he chats all day. He will contact and may not respond in an hour. He can keep the chat open as long as he needs. The important thing is to save time.