IN honour of World Mental Health Day, which was observed under the theme, “It’s time to prioritise Mental Health in the Workplace,” the Guyana Equality Forum (GEF) hosted a symposium during which the root causes of suicide in Guyana were discussed, along with recommendations for intervention in the workplace and other sectors of society to prevent this scourge and promote good mental health.

Leading the discussion was Dr. Ayodele Dalgety-Dean, who recently completed a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD), in Social Sciences at the Nottingham Trent University in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Dalgety-Dean’s thesis, “Echoes in the Rainforest: Unravelling the Tapestry of Suicide in Guyana” explores the root causes of suicide locally.

During her presentation on Thursday, Dr. Dalgety-Dean explained that through her careful research, she sought to find out what beliefs Guyanese have about suicide and its causes; how these beliefs manifest in social norms, practices, and language; and what the social and cultural underpinnings of suicide ideations are across Guyana’s diverse demographics.

She utilised the ethnographic approach as a method of gathering information, because ethnography seeks to understand complex social phenomena. This she noted, is what we have in Guyana, a complex social phenomenon.

During her research, she found that most Guyanese know someone who died by suicide. Dr. Dalgety-Dean stated that this was a shock for her.

She also found that Guyanese had a strong sense of wanting to do something about suicide prevention.

Dr. Dalgety-Dean pointed out that stigma remains the same when it comes to our culture. Relationship issues as well with parents and partners, also perpetuate suicide in addition to intergenerational conflict, parental acceptance, community surveillance, societal sharing, and isolation, she noted.
“Community surveillance basically means, coping with psychological challenges, family rejection, family dynamics, being private about one’s personal life, family approval and societal expectations, family honour and societal expectations again, family and social expectations, and substance use as a coping mechanism,” she added.

In addition, Dr. Dalgety-Dean said: “The amalgamation of various cultural elements and themes demonstrated how suicide has become a multifaceted cultural resolver within Guyanese society. This is intertwined with economic, relational, and ideological facets; this embedded normalisation of suicide highlights the urgent need for a comprehensive approach towards prevention, one that not only tackles the immediate triggers, but also deep-rooted economic, cultural, and systemic precipitants.”

Added to this, she noted that initiatives to combat this, must strive to break down the stigma surrounding suicide and its ideation, while also encouraging open and supportive dialogues within families and communities, and critically assess and challenge the media, specifically social media’s portrayal of suicide to transform Guyana’s current cultural narratives.

The government, in April of this year, launched a National Mental Health Action Plan, and National Suicide Prevention Plan 2024-2030.

These plans were handed over to Minister of Health, Dr. Frank Anthony by Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) Assistant Director, Dr. Rhonda Sealey-Thomas.

The focus of this plan is to decentralise services and integrating individuals with severe mental illnesses into communities. This approach aims to reduce stigma and human rights violations while bringing care closer to where people live.

The new plan also aims to implement a needs-based assessment to guide the redistribution of resources across regions. Inpatient and outpatient facilities are expected to be established to further ensure that mental health services are accessible throughout the country.

The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security is also expected to collaborate with the health ministry to re-integrate long-term patients with their families.

These families will be supported through disability and caregiver pensions, while those without family care will be housed in community rehabilitation facilities. (Faith Greene)