59 cases of completed suicide and 98 attempted suicides from Jan to 1st Nov this year

There have been 59 cases of completed suicide and 98 attempted suicide cases from January to 1st November this year.

Out of the 59 cases, 43 were men while 11 were women.

Renowned psychotherapist, Selina Kuruleca says it is important that we give people ideas on healthy coping mechanisms as there has been an increase in attempted suicide cases this year compared to last year.

Kuruleca says the regular coping mechanisms including support systems have been disrupted due to COVID-19 and we have a mental health epidemic on our hands.

She says they have noticed that the level of frustration and stress is at an all time high.

Kuruleca says COVID-19 has really pushed people to seek help and in the month of May alone, Lifeline Fiji received close to 800 calls.

She adds the loss of jobs and freedom was a major contributor to people being stressed out and needing assistance regarding their mental health.

If you need to talk to someone, you can contact Lifeline Fiji on 1543, Empower Pacific on 5626, Domestic Violence Helpline on 1569, Child Helpline on 1325, COVID-19 helpline on 165 or Alcoholics Anonymous on 9392190.