CAUSES OF SUICIDE

 

DEPRESSION:

The main factor that leads to suicide is depression. Depression is a mood disorder that affects an individual‟s feelings and adjustment to how they feel. This does not imply that the individual has no feelings rather they are depressed and often depend on the time and can change without a warning or thought process. The challenge with depression is that it does not have any specific emotions that can be associated with it. Depression has been identified as a major cause of suicide in the society.

ACADEMIC PRESSURE:

In trying to understand the youth as a group that is at a higher risk of suicide, it is important to note that they are attending university to attain a diploma or degree .As a social burden on them, the pressure to perform has been noted as one of the main stressors experienced by university students. Whenever student performance is not adhered to students tend to find different means to overcome the academic burden placed on them .

ALCOHOL AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE:

Alcohol and substance abuse is amongst the greatest vices that students engage in. the manner in which the people consume alcohol is worrying. Drug abuse on the other hand, is the use of substances that alter the mood, emotion, or state of consciousness of an individual. Unlike alcohol, drugs are illegal.

FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS:

People don’t have enough money to lookout their basic day to day needs , its difficult for them to afford one time meal throughout the day or people who have a huge loan or debt over them tend to suicide alot of times.

TRAUMA:

 Five main categories of traumatic experiences that can lead to suicidal tendencies. They included: STB, parental psychopathology, childhood-adolescent traumatic experience , mental disorder and dating violence prior to the age of 17, physical abuse prior to the age of 17, and 12- month betrayal by someone else other than the partner were the most common form of traumatic experiences.

INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP:

Another major cause of suicide  is intimate relationships particularly love triangles. There is this perception  that one does not have a life without a partner. They then peg their happiness and comfort on their relationships and once there is a break-up, they sense hopelessness. Specifically, some people commit so much time, money and emotions to their partners and forget that it is just a circumstantial relationship after all. So after all this investment including time, attention, emotion, money and effort go to waste, it feels like a core part of you has been ripped out.'

LONELINESS:

Many people undergo experience solitude. This is a feeling of being alone.  It is a feeling that is made worse when an individual is an introvert. When people find it hard to socialize with others as a result of loneliness, the feeling of loneliness may grow further with time.

CONFLICT:

A conflict is identified as differences between individuals due to their opinion, or beliefs. Conflicts in their extreme differences can result into arguments as well as physical fights among individuals. In universities students get involved in Peer conflict is a disagreement between people of the same age group. Any form of ideological differences between people can lead to uneasy relationships such as bullying. People who are at a higher risk of being affected by peer pressure are mostly introverts. Conflict among people is not restricted to their schools rather extends to their homes. Therefore, there are other forms of conflict between siblings or between children and their parents. People faced with conflicts can get into depression and if the conflicts are extreme can lead to suicidal tendencies.

ILLNESS:

Illness is defined as any health disorders that affect the physical or mental status of an individual. Additionally, health ailments can affect the psychological status of an individual  considering the social burden they bare as well as the transitional stage they are undergoing in life. Health ailments can result from infections or poor hygiene and include HIV/AIDS, cholera and tuberculosis among others. Medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, sickle cell anemia are hereditary. All these diseases if not handled well, can be fatal.