Wearing symbolically an orange ribbon, on Tuesday 10th, members of the local corporation, with the mayor of Mijas, Ana Mata (PP), at the head; municipal workers, Local Police, members of the Association of Relatives and People with Mental Illness of the Costa del Sol (Afesol) and neighbors in general joined the commemoration of the World Day for Suicide Prevention.

The World Health Organization (WHO) established in 2003 the 10th of September as the World Day for Suicide Prevention with the aim that the nations of the world implement and promote actions for its prevention. In Mijas, a manifesto was read in which the municipality showed its absolute commitment in the fight against this public health issue. José Luis Torrecilla, user of Afesol, was in charge of reading this statement that also has the support of all political groups that make up the municipal corporation, as agreed in the last municipal plenary.

The aim of this manifesto is to focus attention on suicide prevention, since “prevention should be directed to the entire population through awareness actions on the warning signs, risk factors, myths surrounding suicide, resource maps, etc.. Because information and knowledge can save lives”.

The text states that self-harm is a major public health problem with significant social, emotional and economic consequences. It is estimated that there are currently more than 700,000 suicides per year worldwide.

 

A social problem 

In 2023, according to provisional data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), there were 3,952 deaths by suicide in Spain, being one of the leading non-natural causes of death. Suicide attempts and suicidal ideation must be added to suicide deaths. The WHO estimates that there are about 20 attempts for every suicide, meaning that in a year there could be around 80,000 suicide attempts in Spain and that between two and four million people have suicidal ideation throughout their lives.

The Mijas Town Hall, as stated in the manifesto, is aware that “the involvement and commitment of the community is necessary to make this problem more visible and to be able to progress in the understanding and prevention of suicidal behavior”. In this sense, it is essential the study, research and coordination of different sectors, such as security forces, health, education and social sectors.

Mijas, a model municipality

That is why, from the area of Social Inclusion, within the Suicidal Behavior Program, a technical working group has been created which includes the departments of Social Inclusion, Youth, Senior Citizens, Education, Health, Mijas Local Police as well as Afesol, the Community Mental Health Unit, the Fuengirola-Mijas School Guidance and the Health District.

The mayoress stressed the need to work together, as a whole, to promote good mental health and to eliminate stigmas. “From Mijas we are going to put all the necessary tools for prevention, always supporting life and people so that they do not feel alone and helpless and have all the professional support but also the support of the society. We can all be susceptible to situations in which our mental health also breaks down. The involvement of families and education are essential, we must look after the young people, the population in general”, she said.

 

“Mijas is a benchmark in the prevention of suicidal behavior and mental health”, added Mata, as demonstrated by the awards received by the FEMP in 2023. The development of the plan was approved in the plenary session on November 29th, 2022 with the unanimous agreement of all the political groups. The initiative 'Encounters with families', promoted by the areas of Education and Health, which includes training activities for parents to promote the psychological, emotional and social well-being of their children, was launched. Also workshops such as 'Educate from the heart' which began on March 14th 2024 with talks on bullying and emotional management and technical and coordination meetings have also been held with the different sectors involved.

Currently, from the technical working group, “a municipal action strategy will be established to collaborate and influence the promotion of mental health and emotional well-being by promoting healthy environments for people through information, dissemination, awareness and training,” recalled Torrecilla in the reading.

The importance of prevention

The text also urges the Junta de Andalucía and the Government of Spain to allocate more resources to ensure early diagnosis, dignified care and rapid and quality intervention for people with mental health problems. In this sense, the Mijas Town Hall, according to the manifesto, shows its concern about this problem and “raises its voice to move forward on the path of prevention".

“This is also the voice of many colleagues, who are here with us today, and that of many other groups, such as social services, health professionals, the educational environment, security forces, the media, associations, family and friends”, continued the Afesol user, who was supported in his reading by all the attendees.

For his part, the president of the entity, Francisco Cristian González, explained that this year they are working on suicide prevention under the title 'Changing the narrative', since nowadays “there are many myths about suicide and it is something that must be addressed in a clear and comprehensive way, so we need more means from the system”. 

Gonzalez also thanked the support received by the Mijas Town Hall: “and thanks to the entire corporation for the support we always receive in mental health matters, not only by giving us the possibility of employment, but also by providing grants and, of course, holding conferences like today's in which visibility is given to a problem we have".

Reactions

For her part, the councilor for Social Affairs and Education, Melisa Ceballos (PP), also stressed the importance of “giving visibility to the problem of suicide. From the Town Hall we want to prevent people, young and old, from having suicidal ideation and reinforce in their heads the idea that life is beautiful, that we must enjoy it and that we must know how to manage certain emotions and certain thoughts that we may have had at some point in our lives".

The councilor also emphasized the value of the technical working groups on suicide prevention that are carried out in Mijas and recalled that the ‘Educate from the heart’ educational workshops will soon be resumed in schools: “I also want families to get involved, both parents and teachers, the whole family, to get involved, to come to these workshops, because it is very important for the education of our children”, she concluded. 

The councillor of the Municipal Socialist Group Hipólito Zapico stressed the importance of “making visible the problem of suicide, because in some way it has been hidden and it is a very serious situation that is necessary to make visible and mark a day and talk about it is important and also make the campaigns we did in Mijas 3.40 TV in the last term of office, we should remember them so that people who may have these suicidal ideations know that behind that darkness there is always a light”.

Everyone's problem

According to different sources, there are currently more than 800,000 deaths a year in the world: that is, one suicide every 40 seconds. Suicide is everyone's problem. Experts speak of the need for a “broad social change”: a new approach. Taboos and myths must disappear and people must dare to ask for help. 

Share it with this link: https://mijasint.com/?a=31983