Suicide Prevention Week: The last lines of defense

While counseling and treatment of underlying mental health issues are some of the most reliable methods of preventing suicide attempts, there's still the question of what happens when the warning signs of suicide go unnoticed. There are final lines of defense in high-suicide areas around the world, though, and, according to a recent report, they can be surprisingly effective at both deterring suicides and encouraging vulnerable people to seek help.

The report, from BioMedCentral Public Health, examines data collected from "suicide hotspots" in several different countries — well-known buildings and bridges at which suicides are frequently attempted. Deterrent methods used at these sites have been as crude as erecting barriers to prevent potential jumpers from getting through and as intimate as using signs or other methods of communication to encourage people to seek help, and they've significantly reduced the amount of suicides attempted at these spots.

This reminds me of a bridge I read about a while back — the Mapo Bridge in South Korea, a nation with a high suicide rate in comparison to other developed countries. Earlier in 2013, lighted, motion-activated signs were installed along the Seoul bridge, displaying encouraging, life-affirming messages to pedestrians passing by. It may seem odd, but it worked — at this bridge known for grisly statistics, suicide rates have fallen by nearly 80 percent since the installation of the signs. While methods like this will never be a substitute for quick psychological intervention and treatment, it may be worthwhile for governments and organizations wanting to help prevent suicides to look into them — after all, with issues like this, any help is valuable.

A lighted sign on the Mapo Bridge in Seoul, South Korea. Source: Digital Market Asia