Suicide: reason to feel good
Posted: Monday, March 22, 2010 by Lisa Brigham in Labels: 5fm, help, lisa brigham, suicide, sureshnie rider
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By Lisa Brigham
Just a day after Human Right’s Day, Sureshnie Rider was hosting the morning show on 5fm when during the ‘reasons to feel good’ segment she received a suicide call.
Just after 9:30 this morning a man called in and said that his ‘reason to feel good’ was that it was his “last day”.
According to Rider, she received “an anonymous call from a listener who threatened suicide live on air” and when he made it clear what is intentions were she immediately reacted and asked him to hold the line and went on to speak to him off-air.
Rider says that this is not the first time that she has had to deal with such calls.
She says “as a journalist I have been trained under a code of ethics that prescribe that we hear all sides of a story” but adds that “As much as you have been educated on various levels in reacting and treating a situation, nothing prepares you for the moment someone is ready to take their life.”
Rider spoke to the man for 10 minutes before he hung up the phone and says that “I realise I have left him with ten minutes of my hope, my prayer, my words, and my belief that he will choose life”.
Suicide according to Rider
Rider says that the despite it coming off as cruel, she find suicide selfish as she has been through two close family incidents involving suicide.
She says “I know that it takes a brave person to stand on a ledge and jump, that it takes guts to hold a gun to your head, but really for many, it is looked like a cowardly act.”
She adds that there is not adequate education on the subject of suicide in school and tertiary institutions and that at exam times she hopes that departments take extra time out to educate and inform children about these incidents.
Her concern is evident when she stated that “there needs to be a dedicated team at every
school who are prepared for the challenges children today are facing!”
Suicide Rates in SA
According to the South African Depression & Anxiety Group (SADAG) website it is estimated that “9.5% of all teen deaths are due to suicide” and that “suicide is the second leading cause of death in 15 – 24 year-olds.”
The recent awareness campaign Teen Suicide Prevention week that took place in February 2010 was aimed at letting people know that the SADAG was committing to prevent letting teen stress and depression become a “crisis”.
To get help please call The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) on 011 262 6396 or 0800 20 50 26