Senior Multimedia Journalist
Joshua.Seemungal@guardian.co.tt
There has been a 25 per cent increase in suicides in T&T over the last eight years, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
Between 2016 and 2019, 371 people took their lives, an average of 93 suicides per year. Comparatively, between 2020 and 2023, 478 people died by suicide—an average of 120 per year.
Four out of five suicide victims in T&T are men, which is higher than the global average of a male being twice as likely to die by suicide.
Men have accounted for 83 per cent of self-inflicted deaths in this country since 2020. However, data about the most common motives is not available.
According to psychiatrist and former independent senator Dr Varma Deyalsingh, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a warning almost ten years ago that depression would be one of the main causes of morbidity by 2020.
“COVID-19 exacerbated those figures because when it came on the scene, there were a lot of psychological problems that also came—the isolation, the death of relatives, unemployment, the whole scenario where people questioned the meaning of life. COVID acted as a fuel and an accelerant.
“Those figures, even though it is startling, we were seeing where successive generations were having an increase in depression and suicide attempts,” he said.
More men succeed in the act of suicide than women, Dr Deyalsingh added.
This was because men tend not to seek help as often as women for depression, while men also use more lethal means to attempt suicide.
“There is data that shows that men and women handle depression differently. So while a woman may reach out—she may talk to her friends and family—a man may internalise. While a woman may decide that I need to seek help, a man may think it is beyond me—I’m a man. I’m supposed to be strong. I’m not supposed to cry. So, it’s sort of engrained culturally,” the psychiatrist said.
“Because of this, we have also seen that men may rather go and abuse alcohol, or go to bars. They will go to seek out alcohol to numb their feelings, rather than go and do other healthy activities. This is why there’s a challenge to reach out to men. It’s a challenge to tell them, hey, it’s OK to cry. It’s OK to come in to speak to a professional. It’s OK to speak to others.”
Deyalsingh said when men do come to his practice, it is usually with the prompting of a loved one. According to data, around 60 per cent of males who suffer from depression do not seek professional treatment, he said.
Signs of a depressed male, he said, include aggression, social withdrawal, increased drinking, and increased irritability.
Most cases among people in their 30s, 60s and over
* The age group with the most suicides is the 30 to 39-year-old age group, which accounted for 20 per cent of all suicides. This age group was closely followed by the 60 and over group, which accounted for 19 per cent.
* Victims in their 50s accounted for 17 per cent; 40s–19 per cent; 30s–20 per cent; and 20s–14 per cent.
* Thirty-one adolescents and teenagers took their own lives, with eight of them under the age of 15 years old.
Suicide triggers
Dr Deyalsingh identified some things that tend to lead to suicide.
“It’s a few things, like one, you may have a guy unemployed. Poverty could fuel mental illness and depression. Once you have that depression, you cannot mind yourself or your family.
“Two, relationship issues with your lover, your wife, your consort. Things are going bad. You find that you are starting to take things on. If you are being cheated on, you know Trinidad, we have tabanca as we say. If you are being cheated on and you cannot handle it.
“Relationships with family members. So let’s say you and a family member have a land dispute, or you have elderly parents and your sibling doesn’t come and take care of them. All of these things bring up this sort of anger.
“Or even if you’re a victim of crime, you know you have post-traumatic stress disorder—anxiety, depression coming in,” he said.
Other examples, the psychiatrist said, are changes in the workplace that could lead to overthinking and a lack of sleep, resulting in depression.
Substance abuse and medical conditions are other common factors.
Men and boys are left out–Feeles
President of the Father’s Association of Trinidad and Tobago Rhondall Feeles uses his voice consistently to speak out on issues affecting men. Feeles said the 83 per cent statistic was disheartening but not surprising. He believes that with the high demands placed on men in society, they are not getting the necessary outlets to vent.
“Over a decade ago, I said that men are overwhelmed and have a lot to say. Men haven’t said anything before, because we didn’t give them the avenue or social spaces to do so. We didn’t give them the physical space to do that. And even though there were spaces that were created, those spaces didn’t house personnel that would listen to men genuinely. So many men shirk going to those kinds of institutions,” Feeles said.
“It’s an amalgamation of several things. I would say in a nutshell, it’s a feeling of hopelessness, cause I mean there are social norms or social stereotypes, and there are the failings of the justice system and the social welfare system. For some reason, men are seen as secondary citizens. Men are left out.”
According to Feeles, society seems to be unbothered by the increased stresses facing men, leaving them to drown in their issues. He said an urgent change of mindset is needed.
“We can’t abandon a whole generation of men and boys. Don’t do statistics and research on men and boys, and then not expect them to be traumatised and hopeless, because we have no solutions. We have not studied or researched solutions to alleviate the stresses that may affect men directly.
“Even before legislative change, social perceptions need to change. There needs to be calls from the very podiums that have told men to stand up—the very same podiums that told men to do so much. These very same leaders of political parties, pastors, priests, and pundits that have called and made declarations that meant so much need to now identify, acknowledge, and confess that we have abandoned men and boys in a significant manner,” he added.
‘27 psychiatric clinics in the country’
However, Dr Deyalsingh said the State was doing its part by providing clinics.
“The State has provided us with clinics. There are about 27 psychiatric clinics all over the country. The State is doing its part.
“Where we’ve been missing is going out into the community and getting the elderly persons. Where we may destigmatise mental health where people could say they will come in,” he said.
Deyalsingh added, “A duty of psychiatrists, psychologists, and even therapists is that when you see those patients, you look to see their suicide risks, and also give them a safety plan.”
With 50-year-olds and over accounting for 36 per cent of all self-inflicted deaths, Dr Deyalsingh noted that the elderly suicide rate is increasing because the country has an ageing population.
“We would also have dementia increasing, levels of isolation increasing, levels of medical co-existing problems increasing. For example, If I’m an elderly male and I have a prostate problem and I have a catheter for three years, waiting for surgery, that will put me in a state where I’m losing my independence.
“The elderly population needs that special sort of care, where we go out and seek them and try and get their medical conditions handled as quickly as possible, and to engage them …
“For instance, we have found that if you’re an elderly female and your husband died, and the children moved out, you have what you call emptiness syndrome, where these women could stay and get depressed. The men who get depressed, however, may decide suicide is the way out,” he said.
Dr Deyalsingh said it was important to offer the elderly support because their support units will be decreasing through the deaths of friends and relatives.
“This is why sometimes we need to have programmes from the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services where you could now look at people in the area who are alone or isolated and provide some kind of support. Sometimes in our clinics, we see people coming in who don’t need medicine, what they need is social engagement.
“I would say come in, and there would be another patient, and I would introduce them, so when they come to the clinic, they feel happy. We try to coincide clinic dates, so they could sit down there and chat about old times,” he said.
What to do, how to get help
Globally, more than 700,000 people die every year from suicide. It is the fourth leading cause of death among 15 to 29-year-olds.
The Ministry of Health advised anyone thinking about suicide to talk and express their feelings honestly with someone they trust, seek appropriate help soon, develop a safety plan, and let others know how they can support and practise new coping techniques to maintain a positive lifestyle.
In 2023, the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services launched a suicide hotline, 800-COPE.