Over the past week Richmond Foundation received “a worrying amount” of phone calls from people who said they were thinking of suicide. 

The increase - which was also reflected in calls by concerned parents - follows the unexpected death of three young men. 

“The calls were non-stop,” said Lynn Sammut from Richmond, an NGO that supports people with mental health issues and runs supportline 1770.

The online discussion on suicide was organised by the University of Malta’s Faculty for Social Wellbeing. 

Sammut said the demographics of people seeking help were also changing.

“We are seeing many in their late teens and early 20s wanting to end their life. Most are young men…  and it’s because of relationship issues. This is very concerning as we all go through break-ups in our lives.

"We need to help young people cope and deal with these things. We need to help them see that this is not the way to get rid of problems,” she said.

Last year, the foundation received just under 400 calls from people seeking help or from their loved ones.

Around 81 such calls were received in the first six months of the year.

Sammut spoke about the need to integrate services, enhance early intervention and invest in the education of young people and parents. 

Pressures on young men to ‘deal with it’

Andrew Sciberras, from the Law Students Association, said young people's challenges were often downplayed.

“You often hear the term: 'if you think it’s hard now, wait till you grow up - then you will know how difficult life is.'

"This puts off people from seeking help... There are pressures on young men. It is harder to reach out and find help: society is not organised to make them speak up. There is the pressure to deal with everything by themselves and get through life without help,” he said.

"In some cases life sucks and we don’t talk about it. According to social media everything is perfect."

Nikita Cassar, a youth worker, said social media created high expectations.

“In some cases, life sucks and we don’t talk about it. According to social media, everything is perfect,” she said, adding that the mental health system is outdated and exhausted with NGOs having long waiting lists and private practices “milking it”.

She also called for an open conversation about euthanasia, saying that, in some cases, “suicide is inevitable and we need to restore dignity to people who want to do it”.

More resources needed in schools 

Paulann Grech, lecturer at the Department of Mental Health, spoke about the lack of resources in state schools when it comes to mental health.

Guidance teachers, she said, had limited resources which meant that a student who needed help did not have immediate access.

“We need to focus on happiness and mental well-being and stop this fixation on the academic side of life,” she said.  

Psychiatrist Lorainne Azzopardi underlined the importance to teach children the skills on how to face life’s stresses.

This was ideally taught as part of the school curriculum, she said, adding there was a need for an injection of resources for the prevention and cure of mental health issues.

Psychiatrist Daniela Zammit, meanwhile, spoke about the stigma surrounding suicide, noting there was the misconception that, if someone spoke up about their suicidal thoughts, they would end up in a psychiatric hospital.

This was not always the case, she reassured.

“We are seeing people with a lack of connection. People who do not have that one person in their life they can trust and talk to. They are alone,” she said.

Investing in mental health

Economist Marie Briguglio meanwhile told the discussion EU data showed that suicide was the main cause of death among young people between the ages of 15 and 18, following traffic accidents.

One had to take note of the context and the world we live in, she said, questioning how the economy was impacting the vulnerable in terms of burnout.

Addressing the same discussion, Stephania Dimech Sant from Richmond Plus - set up to encourage investment into mental health research and prevention - said that Malta’s health and safety laws did not give much attention to mental health at work.

She quoted a recent Misco survey showing that 77 per cent of employees suffered from stress or anxiety at work and called on the private sector to invest in the well-being of society.

Sam Debattista, from Aġenzija Sapport flagged a lacuna for people with disabilities who also had mental health problems and suicidal thoughts.

She said they were not being given the help they need as the expertise was lacking 

If you need emotional support, you can call Richmond Malta’s helpline on 1770. Alternatively, type OLLI.Chat on your desktop, mobile or tablet browser to chat with a professional 24/7.