In recent months, Malta has seen a surge in the number of suicides, and while media reports refrain from publishing the cause of death in this regard, in a close-knit community, it is easy to have known or heard of that person. Posts on social media often unwittingly expose such happenings.

There are several statistics which show that this phenomenon seems to be growing. Late last year, the Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Mental Disorders said that an average of two suicide deaths per month occurred in Malta for the past 11 years.

The Malta Independent on Sunday spoke with the dean of the Faculty for Social Wellbeing Andrew Azzopardi, who said that the mental health sector in Malta has been completely ignored.

Azzopardi said that police statistics have shown that the number of successful, as well as attempted suicides, is higher this year as compared to the last.

He also pointed out that there are also between 5% to 30% of unreported suicides, so the number could be higher.

“There seems to be a gradual increase in these numbers. An easy way to get out of that is the population increase, however a study done in the faculty in 2019, as well as in 2022, showed a large portion of people experiencing loneliness, as well as increase in anxiety and people asking for help,” Azzopardi said.

Former politician and avid speaker on mental health issues, Mario Galea, said that there’s still a lot to understand on mental health and suicides.

Galea said that the World Health Organisation has long warned, even before the pandemic, that problems around mental health and suicides will probably double, and that the current global rate is that one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds. Five persons die by committing suicide every four minutes, Galea said.

“This is how serious the situation is. In addition, with each person who commits a successful suicide, there would be 20 more attempted, unsuccessful suicides,” Galea said.

He emphasised that there is the need for a national strategy on the prevention of suicide.

Galea continued that recent studies found that people do not only resort to suicide if they have been suffering from mental health disorders, but also due to other reasons, such as litigation in court, loneliness, social isolation, financial problems and more.

On Malta’s current societal problems, Galea said that without a doubt, the country has become too crowded, people are living a rushed live, traffic has increased which adds stress and out-of-control development.

He also said that the fact that people do not have a cut-off time after work to rest, but continue seeing work emails, as well as social media, are all contributing to mental health problems.

It is clear that the country has an ever-growing silent portion of its population suffering from mental health issues.  We can argue day and night about the causes of this, but the message also has to be to encourage people who are dealing with such issues to seek help and support.

Some problems cannot be fought alone, and it is perfectly human to be going through a tough time where one may need to resort to help.  Perhaps that help can come through family members, friends, or therapy – each person should have their own comfort.

But more than anything it must be emphasised: it’s okay not to be okay.  Forget about whatever ideas which you may perceive to get from society that you may somehow be weaker than others because you are facing mental health issues.

These issues are real, and there is no shame in going through them.  It is not a fight which many can fight alone, but know that it is one where there are people willing to take your hand and walk the path to recovery with you.