Features
Dealing with suicidal tendencies
There have been a few suicide cases that have caused a lot of concern due to the ages of the persons involved. I recall the jumping to death of a female student of the University of Ghana, Legon.
Another case was the death of the daughter of a Member of Parliament of the current ruling New Patriotic Party. These are but a few of the suicide cases that have happened in our country and it is definitely a cause for concern.
This month, we will be celebrating the International Suicide Day which provides opportunity for government to highlight the issue of suicide and focus the attention of society on it.
Life is a much cherished thing and the survival instinct is very great and, therefore, for someone to deliberately decide to end his or her life is quite bizarre. It strongly suggests a certain degree of mental confusion which borders on insanity.
Someone said that “there is a certain degree of madness in every individual and the fact that a person goes and comes on a daily basis without any display of mental instability, does not mean that you are of a sound mind”.
It only needs something small to trigger the mental instability and the demonstration of the mental problem would start manifestation.
Causes of suicide vary from person to person. It is generally caused by stress that can be due to loss of say a loved one, rejection by family, lover etc. In the case of the young lady at KNUST who committed suicide, it was attributed to her being jilted by her lover and led to her decision to take her own life.
The lady who jumped to her death at Legon, it was also reported that she hinted that she sometimes felt like jumping from the top floor. All these point to the need for a psychiatric or counselling support centre that is easily accessible to students and society in general, so people who feel stressed can easily walk in to seek help.
There is also the need for an intensive educational effort by the Ministry of Health aimed at sensitising the populace about alertness towards potential suicidal people. In the case of the lady who committed suicide at Legon, may be a bit of awareness towards signs of suicidal tendencies by her colleagues might have saved her life.
People around us are those who can easily detect any changes in our normal behaviour and be the best people to detect if there is anything wrong with us.
However, if they are not trained to detect signs of danger in terms of mental disorders, they cannot help raise the alarm and before it is realised that something is amiss, it might be too late to save the situation.
COVID-19 has brought in its wake a lot of stress upon individuals both young and old and immediate steps must be taken by government to increase awareness of the potential for suicidal thoughts.
A couple of days ago, there was a reportage of a young boy in the Cape Coast Municipality who jumped to his death. The report had it that, the boy who was living with his father and step mother, had been receiving beatings on a frequent basis according to neighbours.
According to neighbours, on several occasions they had heard the boy crying at dawn due to beatings he had been subjected to by his father.
On the fateful day that he jumped to his death, he was apparently trying to escape from a similar beating from his father who had earlier gone to bring him to their room from outside and beaten him.
The neighbours claimed that it was after his father had left him briefly that he tried to escape by jumping from the storey building, resulting in his untimely death. If the neighbours had been a bit more proactive, they might have reported to the police about the abusive situation the child was going through and might have saved his life.
There is this social value that is gradually eroding but must be brought back. Those days that a neighbour would not hesitate to discipline you when you went wrong without waiting for your parents to return before informing them, is something worth considering.
The idea of being each other’s keeper seems to have vanished due to so-called human rights, modernisation and what have you. We are in an era where parents are bold enough to go to schools to attack teachers for caning their children and somehow get away with it. The times where people made it a point to interact cheerfully with their neighbours and were able to notice the changes in their mood, are long gone.
It has become an each one for himself situation and so there have been occasions where people have died and it has gone unnoticed till after a few days have gone by. That aspect of our social lives that served as a huge source of stress reliever, is gone and so a lot of people, especially women are stressed up.
The Ministry of Education has already initiated a programme of counselling for tertiary institutions but they must make it more proactive. The counsellors must interact with the students such that it would be easy for students to contact them and be ready to open up to them.
This is the only way that issues that are troubling these young adults, can be handled to relieve them of the pressures or stresses that push them into contemplating suicidal actions. The other group that has to be taken care of is the young people who are outside the educational system.
Special attention must be given them and government must develop a means for addressing their needs and also make “where to go for help” easily accessible.
The internet has also become an avenue for children to be abused and parents must pay attention to what their children do on the internet. Government must assist parents in this direction by making access to a hotline for parents available, so they can seek guidance should they find out that their children are being abused on the internet.
Again, should they want to block their children from certain sites, they must be given the assistance to do so. We are in a very complex and very challenging world and young people especially, are under a lot of pressure and everything possible must be done to protect them.
Parents now have a responsibility to pay more attention to their children and the government must do more to provide them with the necessary tools such as TV programmes that would educate them on how to detect signs of stress in their wards.
Civil society and the religious organisations must also be involved in this crusade to assist the parents so they in turn can assist the efforts by government, so that collectively, the protection of the youth from suicidal tendencies, would be achieved.
Laud Kissi-Mensah
In a country like ours in which we are aware of our challenges, all that is required is focusing on strengthening our institutional processes by making them more robust and transparent. In this regard, investment in digitilisation must be prioritised since the human element to cut corners is inherent in the psyche of some people and therefore cannot be trusted to do the right things out of their own volition.
Enforcement of existing laws and regulations must be reviewed to see what is working, which ones have to be tweaked to be able to address current challenges, and those that have become obsolete and must be discarded.
One issue that needs to be given priority attention is remuneration. A former President is alleged to declare that we pretend to pay workers and they also pretend to work. This indeed sums up the quandary facing government after government. Workers’ salaries are crucial in the fight against corruption. A realistic living wage must be given to workers; otherwise, they will seek avenues to address their personal budget deficit.
On day one, what should engage the attention of government is Energy, making it available and affordable. The industrialisation agenda cannot be successfully executed without power that is readily available, reliable, and affordable. Solar energy must be factored in the quest for affordable and reliable power for industry.
The fuel sector issues must be urgently addressed so that it can impact positively on the transportation sector, which plays a key role in the supply of goods and services. The railway infrastructure plan linking places like Boankra Inland Port to prolong the lifespan of our roads and to fast track distribution of goods from the Capital City to the inland areas of the country should be a top priority item.
A well-structured system linking industry to academia must be quickly established to serve as a catalyst towards the industrialisation drive. Research findings from the universities must be channelled to captains of industry in a timely manner. Effective channels of communication should be established to facilitate shorter product-to-market times.
An effective mechanism for fishing out needy but talented children must be established, as well as a sponsorship package for talented individuals who are needed for certain critical areas of the economy — what I term critical investment in education.
Certain changes must be made in the constitution, particularly the appointment of the heads of certain constitutional bodies or institutions. This is to ensure that the Executive arm of government does not wield too much power to ensure accountability and checks and balances really work.
The Attorney General’s Office must be detached from the Executive arm of government. The Nolle Prosequi provision must also be amended to compel the Attorney General to give an explanation of why he or she is declining to prosecute a particular case or discontinue it. The provision that protects sitting Presidents from prosecution must also be reviewed.
The punishment for some of our laws needs a review. We must review the removal of CJ provision to ensure the independence of the Judiciary.
Above all, there must be a mindset of change, i.e., a paradigm shift from inability to capability. Inferiority complex must give way to a pacesetters mentality, and all will be well. God bless.
NB: KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
BY LAUD KISSI-MENSAH
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Features
The impact of emotional surgery and emotional elysium on neurological and neurosurgical procedures
Abstract
THIS comprehensive review aims to explore the impact of emotional surgery and emotional elysium on neurological and neurosurgical procedures. We examine the scientific literature on these approaches, including their definitions, theoretical frameworks, and applications. Our analysis highlights the potential benefits and risks of these approaches and discusses their implications for practice.
Introduction
Neurological and neurosurgical procedures are complex and delicate, requiring precision and accuracy to achieve optimal outcomes. Emotional surgery and emotional elysium are two innovative approaches that have the potential to enhance the success of these procedures. Emotional surgery involves the use of art and other creative techniques to promote relaxation and reduce stress, while emotional elysium focuses on cultivating positive emotions and promoting emotional well-being.
The Role of Emotional Surgery in Neurological and Neurosurgical Procedures
Emotional surgery has been shown to be effective in reducing anxiety and stress in patients undergoing neurological and neurosurgical procedures. By promoting relaxation and reducing stress, emotional surgery can help patients prepare for procedures, leading to improved outcomes and faster recovery times.
The Role of Emotional Elysium in Neurological and Neurosurgical Procedures
Emotional elysium has been shown to be effective in promoting emotional balance and resilience in patients undergoing neurological and neurosurgical procedures. By cultivating positive emotions and promoting emotional well-being, emotional elysium can help patients cope with the stress and trauma associated with these procedures, leading to improved outcomes and enhanced quality of life.
Benefits of Emotional Surgery and Emotional Elysium
The benefits of emotional surgery and emotional elysium in neurological and neurosurgical procedures are numerous. These approaches can:
- Reduce anxiety and stress: Emotional surgery and emotional elysium can help patients manage anxiety and stress, leading to improved outcomes and faster recovery times.
- Improve emotional regulation: Emotional surgery and emotional elysium can help patients regulate their emotions, leading to improved mental health and well-being.
- Enhance patient experience: Emotional surgery and emotional elysium can improve the patient experience, leading to increased satisfaction and improved outcomes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, emotional surgery and emotional elysium are two innovative approaches that have the potential to enhance the success of neurological and neurosurgical procedures. By reducing anxiety and stress, promoting emotional balance and resilience, and improving patient experience, these approaches can lead to improved outcomes and enhanced quality of life for patients undergoing these procedures.
Recommendations
- Further research is needed: More research is needed to fully understand the benefits and risks of emotional surgery and emotional elysium in neurological and neurosurgical procedures.
- Integration into practice: Emotional surgery and emotional elysium should be considered for integration into practice, as they may offer a valuable tool in the treatment of a range of neurological and neurosurgical conditions.
By exploring innovative approaches like emotional surgery and emotional elysium, we can improve patient outcomes and enhance the quality of life for individuals undergoing neurological and neurosurgical procedures.
BY ROBERT EKOW GRIMMOND-THOMPSON
