AN INTRODUCTION TO MENTAL HEALTH - The Nossal Institute for ...

• If there is conflict or violence in the family you may need to think of alternative
support networks such as women’s groups, friends or a religious leader.
• Families often need help to understand the person’s problems and manage their
own stress related to the situation.
• Families also need help to understand the importance of not being too critical or
over protective of the depressed person.
How to help a person who is threatening to commit suicide
• Remove access to all dangerous items such as knives and poison.
• Ensure the person is not left alone – enlist help from family and friends to keep the
person company if necessary.
• Seek professional help as soon as possible.
• If the person is consuming alcohol, try to stop him/her from consuming any more.
• Listen non-judgementally, do not give advice or contradict the person.
• Let the person know that you and others care about him/her.
• Let the person know that even though the situation seems hopeless at present,
things are likely to improve – feeling bad is only temporary.
If the person has already harmed him/herself e.g. swallowed poison, emergency medical
treatment is required.
Case study E
Step 2 – Case study
Ask participants to get into groups of five to read Case study E and
discuss possible explanations for why Ahanti is feeling sad and hopeless
and thinking about suicide. Allow 10 minutes for this.
Ahanti is a 25 year old woman who is married and has one daughter and one son. She has gradually
lost all interest in life. Even her children and family don’t make her happy. She feels tired all the time
and has lost the taste for food which she used to love; she can not sleep at night and has lost weight.
Ahanti feels like she is a burden on the family. She feels embarrassed about her situation and cannot
tell anyone. Her mother-in-law complains that she has become lazy and her husband is frustrated
with her and keeps yelling at her and hitting her. Now Ahanti feels like ending her life, she is so
scared by these feelings that she has come to talk to the health worker.
Ask each group in turn to call out one of their explanations until all
suggestions have been voiced.
In their groups, ask participants to think of as many ways as possible of
helpfully responding to Ahanti. Allow 10 minutes for this.
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