People with suicidal ideation have a behavior and vocabulary that shows that they are at risk, phrases such as “I don’t do anything alive”, “you would be better off without me” or “I am worthless” are some of the indicators that should be paid attention to and where the family should be present, as it plays a great role, says the president of the Guardian Angels Foundation, Pilar Sanchez Romero.
“The family is the nucleus, the center of support and the basis for any person suffering from a mental illness. A person who is going through a life-threatening situation needs a support network and what better than to have a family that understands them, that does not judge them, that does not question them and tells them that I am with you no matter what, I will not leave you.
Sanchez indicated that the causes for a person to think about suicide as a way out are diverse, but the most common is the loss of love for life, discouragement, lack of hope and motivation.
He also pointed out that some people have very marked sleep or anxiety disorders that incapacitate them in their daily work and this can also lead them to a point where they wish to end their own life.
Sanchez referred to the studies of the World Health Organization that indicate that eight out of ten people who threaten to commit suicide may succeed, which is why he makes a call not to neglect this type of cases.
“He is going to try and will continue to try, if he does not receive help, until he achieves his goal. That is why any threat of suicide should be taken seriously, it is a wake-up call, but for them to seek help,” he said.
Sanchez indicated that people with suicidal desires want to live, but do not have the necessary tools, hence the importance of mental health care and attention.
“Mental health must be fostered from the home, validating our children’s emotions, teaching them to express themselves. Teaching our adolescents to seek help when they have a situation that is beyond their management and understanding,” he explained.
About the foundation
The Guardian Angels Foundation was created to prevent suicide and promote mental health. It offers psychological and psychiatric assistance to all people who have attempted suicide, or who have had suicidal ideation, as well as support to their family members. Most of the patients they receive are between 16 and 27 years old.
Due to the pandemic, they had to close their physical doors, but continued to offer online consultations. With the gradual return of activities in the country, they reopened and began to receive many cases of people with conditions related to the effects caused by COVID-19.
Sanchez explained that the main problems reported by people due to the coronavirus are related to sleep, anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, with many of these cases occurring in children and adolescents. From April to the present days of May they have assisted more than 150 people in psychiatric consultations.
The foundation has psychometrists, a child and adolescent psychologist, clinical psychologists and family therapists.
Campaign
On the occasion of its seventh anniversary, the foundation launched the “Guardian Angel” campaign with the aim of providing assistance to people who have developed a mental illness as a result of having been infected by the coronavirus or by the effects of the pandemic.
“Public Health presented a study that indicated that 30% of the population that had been affected by the virus was going to develop or was developing a mental illness and the most common is what our reports at the foundation confirm, anxiety and sleep disorder. For these people we have created this project that seeks to accompany them, that seeks to offer them the necessary help so that they can reincorporate into their normal life”, explained Sanchez.
