Thursday, September 12, 2024

5 THE STAR NEWS • Thursday, September 12, 2024 @JamaicaStar www.facebook.com/JamaicaStar • www.jamaica-star.com S enior Clinical Psychologist at the Western Regional Health Authority, Dr Georgia Rose, is urging men to seek help and express their emotions, as a means to reduce the high suicide rate among males in the country. The suicide rate in Jamaica reflects an average of two per 100,000 people over a five-to 10- year period, with men accounting for more than 80 per cent of suicides, or 52 of the 63 recorded over the same period. Rose told JIS NEWS that the statistics point to the deeply ingrained cultural narrative that discourages men from acknowledging or sharing their emotions. “Therefore, they may be struggling with a lot of things and not seek help,” she said. Rose said that while both genders may attempt suicide, men resort to more fatal methods in a bid to ensure their success. She noted that in comparison to women, men are often left to fend for themselves, allowing the challenges that they may experience to be more difficult. Consequently, she said that men resort to drugs as a means of coping, which has become a cause for concern. “So, there is an increase in alcohol consumption, marijuana consumption, and any other drug that they may be able to access,” Rose said. “These drugs and substances will reduce healthy coping capacities and increase the likelihood of the exacerbation of a mental illness and place them at greater risk for engaging in behaviours such as suicide,” she added. Rose said the situation is not without hope, as a growing number of men are beginning to seek help at mental health clinics across the island, seeking support on how they can better cope with the challenges and stressors that they face. She called this is a positive step towards breaking the stigma around mental health and emotional vulnerability among men. “No matter how difficult it seems, no matter how impossible it may appear, there is always hope. Sometimes it seems easier said than done, but there are many individuals that have reached out and have walked away with positive experiences,” Rose said. Men urged to stop suffering in silence Suicide rates in Jamaica reflect an average annual incidence of two per 100,000 people over a five- to 10-year period. Georgia Rose C ontributed TIFFANY TAYLOR STAR Writer A painter who returned home from work to eat his lunch but found neither the food nor his common-law wife at home, is facing assault charges in the Kingston and St AndrewParish Court. It is alleged that the accused, who will not be identified by this publication, approached the complainant while she was talking to another man along South Camp Road in Kingston and hit her in the face repeatedly, causing a wound which bled. However, he denies hitting the complainant. ”I am a painter and I had a work in the morning. I left the house and gave her $5000. She make porridge and I left the work and come home to eat the porridge. I reach home, look in the microwave and I don’t see the porridge and she not in the house. I look outside and see her coming out of a vehicle and she start flare up pon me say ‘A send dem send yuh fi watch me?’” the accused man explained. The complainant said that she sustained injuries during the altercation and had to receive medical attention. “Me use a cream fi get out of scar. It was on my nose,” the complainant indicated to Senior Parish Judge Sanchia Burrell. The matter was referred to mediation and the matter was set for mention on November 11. Missing porridge sparks assault Tuesday, September 10, 2024 $240,000,000 12 16 17 18 30 8 No Winner No Winner No Winner 1 Winner 1 Winner 11 Winners 53 Winners 333 Winners 264 Winners 312 Winners 334 Winners 1,002 Winners 986 Winners No Winner No Winner No Winner 9 Winners 20 Winners