BAGUIO CITY — The Department of Health in Baguio City is going around the city to help residents cope with depression.
“We have been to different schools educating teachers, students, and the youth about the risk factors and how to cope with depression,” said Dr. Catherine Crisostomo, of state-run Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center, in a press conference on Wednesday.
Aside from visiting different schools, the staff of the local health department has been providing assistance to people who seek professional help.
“Aside from our programs, we also conduct lectures together with the different government agencies to let the public know that we are here and ready to provide services,” Crisostomo said.
A 2017 study by the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that nearly 800,000 people in the world die of suicide yearly, she said.
Suicide is reportedly prevalent among the 15-29 age group.
“In every 40 seconds, one person die because of suicide,” Crisostomo said, adding that 90 percent of these were due to depression.
She added that some signs of depression include excessive working, over thinking, lack of sleep, and sleep disturbance.
Such condition needs to be immediately addressed.
Crisostomo said an average of 20 persons are being diagnosed monthly with suicidal tendencies in the Cordillera
Dr. Nowell Catbagan l, of BGHMC-Department of Internal Medicine, said in the Cordillera, cases of suicide have shot up by 37.8 percent, mostly involving females.
He said 55.6 percent of the persons who committed suicide in the region overdosed with pharmaceutical products. The rest used pesticides and household and industrial chemicals.
Last July, President Rodrigo Duterte signed the landmark Republic Act 11036 or the national mental health law, following many reports of suicide cases worldwide, one of which was that of international television personality Anthony Bourdain, who hanged himself in his hotel room in France. **Pamela Mariz Geminiano/ PNA
