Suicide Prevention Week: experts’ tips on how to recognise someone is at risk, and how you can help – listen, stay calm and never dismiss their feelings

Be aware of changes in a person’s behaviour, don’t be afraid to ask how they feel, be supportive and don’t judge them. Let them know you care and want them safe

You can offer emotional support simply by giving them space to talk and listening. It can be upsetting to hear that someone is distressed, but try to stay calm

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In Hong Kong, the most recent data reports the suicide rate as 10 people per 100,000, but the number could be higher. The better informed we are about suicide, the more confident we feel to speak to someone who may be at risk. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 12:15pm, 5 Sep 2021Updated: 2:57pm, 13 Sep 2021

This week is Suicide Prevention Week, to raise awareness about suicide prevention and teach people to recognise the warning signs.

Simply put, the better informed we are about suicide, the more confident we feel to speak to someone who may be at risk and the more lives can be saved.

Taking a few minutes to read this story could help save the life of a family member, friend or colleague.

In Hong Kong, the most recent data (2019) shows a suicide rate of 10 people per 100,000, but the number could be higher, as we cannot be not sure how many suicides are accurately recorded because of the stigma attached to taking one’s life.

There are a lot of taboos attached to talking about mental health and a lot of anxiety about asking, ‘Are you feeling suicidal?’. Photo: Shutterstock

“In Hong Kong, it’s quite shameful to have a family member die from suicide and deaths are often recorded as accidental,” says Dr Hannah Sugarman, a clinical psychologist with Central Minds, a private psychology practice in the city’s Central district, and a clinical adviser for non-profit organisation Mind HK.

For many, talking about mental health has long been taboo, and although that is changing, Sugarman says there is still some way to go. So what does the layperson need to know to be better equipped if someone they know is struggling?