`Many more people dying from suicide than H1N1`

Visiting here for an academic conference, consulting suicidologist Gary McConahay was impressed by the nation`s preventive measures taken against the H1N1 flu virus, a subtype of the influenza A.

"When I got off the airplane, I was greeted by very nice people who handed me some sanitarian wipes for my hands. Before I got further down the hall, some persons put a little device in my ear to measure my temperature," he said.

"Everywhere I go, at the Ehwa Womans University where I`m staying, in stores and in restaurants, I get reminded the importance of the H1N1 virus."

However, the American specialist in suicide intervention said he could not find any poster preventing people from killing themselves, adding, "Many, many more people are dying from suicide than the H1N1."



In Korea, suicide was the fourth-highest cause of death last year, after cancer, cerebrovascular disease and heart disease. According to the National Statistical Office, the number of people who committed suicide in 2008 was 12,858, equivalent to 35 per day. Experts say the total number of attempted suicides is eight to 10 times more than that of the deaths confirmed.

Figures released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development also show that Korea`s suicide rate stood at 26 per 10,000 last year, the highest among the industrialized countries and more than twice the average.

"Korea was average 10 years ago. But now the number has been doubled. The rate in the United States has stayed pretty much the same for a long time at 10-11 per 10,000 people," McConahay said while attending an international conference on suicide hosted by the Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs in Seoul on Thursday.

The Health Ministry celebrated the World Suicide Prevention Day Sept. 10 by inviting several experts at home and abroad.

McConahay said the suicide issue in Korea is highly likely to worsen, considering the nation`s rapidly aging population and increasing divorce rate. Experts say older people kill themselves at a higher rate than younger people and divorced people do so more frequently than those who are married.

"Because there are multiple pathways to suicide, there are many ways to intervene. So there is a place for everyone to reduce the incidence of suicidal behavior," he said.

Proposing the government build a social strategy based on strong political will and knowledge on the issue, he said clearly, "This is not a cause of panic, but instead a call for an action."

Through its drive toward modernization and industrialization, Korea has transformed itself into a fiercely competitive society where the pressure to succeed is intense and values such as family and tradition is fading.

Consequently, people come to experience more frequent mental illness or psychological stress, but there have been few measures taken to help them.

Amid a lack of counseling agencies and a widespread fear of visiting such a place to cure mental illness, more Koreans have begun seeking the internet for help or sharing knowledge on suicide. Experts say a third of joint suicides are inspired or aided by the internet.

Early this year, a series of joint suicides made headlines, with many of them occurring in the nation`s mountainous areas in Gangwon Province. In April alone, five group suicides occurred in the area, claiming lives of 12 people.

As they had no apparent personal ties and lived in different parts of the country, the police concluded they may have met and planned their suicide through the internet. They preferred using online messenger where the records of their conversation do not remain.

Since 2005 web portals have banned words like suicide and death from the names of blogs or online bulletin board. If a user inputs those words in Korean, search engines display links to several counseling centers at the top of their search results.

Starting July this year, suicide-related website operators can face criminal charges of aiding suicide, a crime subject to a punishment of up to 10 years in jail.

"Eight out of 10 people send a signal to their families and friends before committing a suicide. So, the suicide rate can be lowered by prevention efforts. People at high risk of killing themselves need more care and education," said Kim Hee-joo, director of the Korean Association for Suicide Prevention.

Well-known psychiatrist Lee Si-hyung, another speaker at the conference, said Korean society is now suffering from bipolar disorder. "When it is diagnosed in cognitive science, I prefer to call it `serotonin deficiency syndrome,`" he said.

While other brain hormone such as endorphin and noradrenalin are produced during stress, excitement and pain, serotonin functions to regulate mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction and some cognitive and help memory and learning. Compounds containing serotonin are typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and some personality disorders.

"Korean people used to be easygoing, never hurried. But, along with the social transformation into a highly competitive society, they show symptoms of bipolar disorder," he said.

"During the 2002 World Cup, people cheered, producing their endorphin overly. But, since then, the global financial crisis hit the nation, jobless youths increased, people didn`t spend. They had nothing to cheer."

Then, the news of former President Roh Moo-hyun`s suicide came in late May and people showed overwhelming grief and explosive anger. In Lee`s words, "Roh`s death gave the rod to children who want to cry."

"In this society, people, especially celebrities whose influence is huge, need to know their suicide would affect others a lot," he said.

In a way to change the somewhat extreme social atmosphere, Lee advises to shift lifestyle to produce more serotonin. The ways include behaviors that are fundamental but often ignored during a busy life: chewing; running; walking; breathing from the bottom; sex; and a group activity.

(jylee@heraldm.com)



By Lee Ji-yoon