Healthcare professionals are emphasizing a concerning trend related to depression.
According to a community psychiatry nurse at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, men account for about 70% of suicides in Ghana.
Francis Yeboah estimates that 1,500 people take their own lives in the nation as a whole each year.
On Wednesday, April 12, 2023, the doctor was speaking on Joy Prime. He claimed on Prime Morning that “I think men are twice as likely to commit suicide every year as females.”
He attributed this development to the expectations placed on men in Ghanaian society and a lack of emotional support.
Many societies “assume men are supposed to behave in our lives in a certain way,” Mr. Yeboah said. “You know, in the journey of life, a lot of things come together and emotion is no respecter of gender.”
Why do men in Ghana commit suicide at a higher rate than women?
“So when a man is going through a crisis, the community assumes that you do not need to cry and that you need to be hard on yourself. So when he is trying to show his emotions, you hear other men questioning his manhood,” the author said.
He explained that some of these things cause men to repress their feelings, and because we do not provide a way for them to do so, tension builds inside the guy and might eventually lead to suicide thoughts.
Speaking on the same program, Dr. Abigail Harding, a psychiatrist at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, claims that divorce and marital problems are the main causes of suicide, among other factors.
Why do men in Ghana commit suicide at a higher rate than women?
“Divorce and breakup are two of the main causes for which we see a lot of people considering suicide.”
“When you look at the different factors, someone attached so closely to someone may have invested a lot of their lives into them for many years. There is a lot of emotional investment that goes into relationships, and some would even say financial investment,”
Because about 95% of people who commit suicide have a mental health condition, she said, “it can take a toll on their mental well-being, which makes them more likely to have these thoughts.” “When you combine it with the mental vulnerability they may have, it makes it more likely that they will actually carry out suicide.”
The Criminal Offences Act of 1960 has been revised by Parliament, making it a criminal to attempt suicide.
After the change approved by Parliament on March 28, those who attempt suicide will be treated as having mental health difficulties and needing legal assistance rather than being imprisoned.