By Berrin Yeshil (11th grade)
On Feb. 6 Berrin Yeshil and Alexandra Sarieva visited the Mental Hospital Burgas in order to interview the hospital’s main psychiatrist, Dr. Teodor Sariev, about the reasons why people commit suicide and also the symptoms of depression. Unfortunately nowadays these things are becoming very common, especially for students.
Berrin asked how suicidal patients are treated and if it is right that people with suicidal thoughts are considered to be mentally ill. According to Dr. Sariev, the statistics show that about 90 percent of people who commit suicide have not been diagnosed with a mental illness. He added that there is no general rule about how to treat suicidal patients because suicide is a result of any of several diseases and each case is individual.
The psychiatrist then talked about depression. According to him, this is the most common cause of suicide and some of the factors can be psychological, while others are physical, such as substance abuse, or may involve changes at home, financial difficulties, conflicts, heartbreaks, problems with friends or school.
To his mind, the most effective way to reduce suicidal risk through prevention is through educating family members, social workers, and teachers on how to recognize the early signs of depression. These may include: non-ambitiousness, anti-desire, negativism, and expressing a wish to be gone from the world.
When the same interviewer wondered how many suicidal patients there are, the doctor answered that he couldn’t count them, but according to statistics on everyone, two Bulgarians per day commit suicide and 41 of every 1,000 Bulgarians have unsuccessfully tried to take their own lives.
The other interviewer, Alex, asked about what friends or relatives could do when someone is going through depression. Dr. Sariev answered that they should contact a specialist or the Bulgarian National Helpline organization, Animus, for good results (Call 116 111). He repeated the main causes of depression, and said that for teenagers it depends on how they accept or manage their problems and what problems they have.
When he was asked about the recent tragic death of a high school student in Ruse, Dr. Sariev said that every changeable mood or behavior should be considered as a potential risk of a suicidal factor, not only depression, but also psychotic disorders and substance abuse.
Dr. Sariev added some interesting facts: that there is a successful suicide every 40 seconds in the world; that men commit suicide more often than women, but women are four times more likely to try, which he said is called the “gender paradox”; and in the late 19th century in Great Britain attempting suicide was deemed to be equivalent to attempted murder and was punished by hanging!
In conclusion, if you or someone you know is struggling with depression, you should talk to the school counselor, Milena Panteleeva (Tel: #0879375123) in Room 108, any time between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. on first shift, or 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on second shift; or call the national Animus hotline, 116 111.
Alexandra Sarieva (8th grade), who is the daughter of Dr. Sariev, contributed to this article.