Macau recorded 23 suicides – 16 males and seven females – in the second quarter of this year, one more than in the previous quarter and unchanged from the same quarter of 2022, according to a statement by the Health Bureau (SSM) yesterday.
The statement noted that among the 24 victims, aged between 14 and 84, 21 were local residents, accounting for 87.5 percent, while three were non-local residents, accounting for 12.5 percent.
The statement pointed out that chronic, physical and mental diseases, gambling issues and financial problems were the most probable causes of the suicides.
According to the statement, the causes of suicide are complex and often involve mental illness, psychological factors, socioeconomic reasons, family struggles, interpersonal relationships, as well as genetic factors, but suicide is preventable, requiring the community to unite to prevent suicidal thoughts.
In order to help reduce the incidence of suicide, the bureau urged members of the public to contact, communicate and care more about people around them in their daily lives, and encourage people suffering from emotional distress to seek professional assistance.
The bureau said that its mental health clinics in Tap Seac, Fai Chi Kei, Areia Preta, Ocean Gardens, Our Lady of Carmo-Lago, Coloane’s Seac Pai Van and on Rua da Praia do Manduco are open to the public without referral from the city’s hospitals. It also urged all those beset by anxiety or despair to phone Macau Caritas’s Life Hope Hotline – 2852 5222 for Cantonese and 2852 5777 for English speakers.
Image courtesy of Harvard University
