I don’t know if there’s been a sudden increase in suicides, or if I’m just paying more attention to it.
Every now and again there seems to be a sudden surge in people taking their own lives.
I was reminded of it again last week when a police officer in Hout Bay shot his wife while on duty and then shot himself.
It was just a week after music star Hip Hop Pantsula (HHP) was found dead in his bedroom.
He had made no secret of his struggle with depression and previous suicide attempts; so while nobody was prepared to say it outright, it is widely believed he took his own life.
It has resulted in an ongoing discussion on social media about depression and has also brought to light the fact that 22 South Africans take their own lives every day.
The SA Depression and Anxiety Group says it has subsequently been inundated with calls and emails from people saying they are feeling “helpless, hopeless and desperate”.
I have previously written about how mense on the Cape Flats just carry on with their lives and don’t appear to have much time for being depressed.
I also said that I think we have just become so used to living with our circumstances that it is normal for us.
But I worry that with the constant threat of violence, together with the never-ending struggle to make ends meet, while prices just keep skyrocketing, we could see frustration taking a toll in this way soon.
CONCERN: Teenage suicides has become common in SA. Photo: MICHAEL WALKER/INSLA
While suicides are most common among adults, there’s a worrying statistic that shows a rise among young people, especially in the 15-24 age group.
But we have also seen suicides among children as young as seven and far too many among high school kids, especially during exam time.
It seems the pressure of expectation is making its way down the age ladder.
And that’s really why I am paying attention this time, because matric exams are in full swing.
Last year there was a wonderful meme making the rounds and I went to find it, so I can share it with you.
It was apparently written by a school principal in Singapore, to the parents of his charges, asking them to remember that among school children “... there is an artist, who doesn’t need to understand maths. There is an entrepreneur, who doesn’t care about history or English literature. There’s a musician, whose chemistry marks won’t matter. There’s a sportsperson, whose physical fitness is more important than her physics marks”.
It concludes with: “don’t think that doctors and engineers are the only happy people in the world”.
Of course education opens many doors and we as parents want to help our kids see those doors and show them all the wonderful possibilities on the other side.
But not at the expense of their psychological well-being; and definitely not at the expense of their lives.
Unfortunately, our education system is not yet set up to identify the different (non-academic) talents in our kids and to help them exploit their natural gifts.
That is for us as parents to do.
So I hope that everyone in the class of 2018 does very well.
And for those who don’t do as well as we as parents would like, encourage them and make sure you tell them that you love them anyway.
As that meme also says: “please don’t take their self- confidence and dignity away from them”.