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Courtney Weatherburne
"800,000 people from around the world die from suicide every year and it's the second leading cause of death among people between the ages of 15 and 29, so talk to us more about Belize's case."

Eleanor Bennett, Coordinator, Mental Health Program in MOH
"In Belize we have a suicide rate of about 5 per 100,000. So if I can track from 2011 - 2012 and 2013 - in 2011 our suicide rate was 10.6. In 2012 was 6.2 and in 2013 it was 6.5. When you disaggregate that by male and female we have a suicide rate of about 10 to 1, for every 10 male per 100,000 that commits suicide, 1 female per 100,000 commits suicide."

Courtney Weatherburne
"In the release it also outlines some of the preventative measures, but what are some of the signs and also are we knowledgeable enough and have enough awareness in Belize to recognize those signs?"

Eleanor Bennett
"The most important one is if someone is talking about suicide, as a society sometimes we tend to not want to hear people say things like this and then we quickly dismiss it or we change the subject and we hope that they wouldn't say it again, but that is a key sign that someone is thinking about hurting themselves. Other signs might be that the person is very depress and withdrawn. The person may suddenly get a lot of energy and start to give away their stuff, they write notes and letters as if they are saying goodbye. I think those are some of the cardinal symptoms that we would look for, but most importantly I would say that if someone is talking about hurting themselves that should always be taken seriously."

Courtney Weatherburne
"While those cases are overt, they are other cases that we would consider more close, for example, there is this young man, very energetic, vibrant and going sociable and then a couple days or weeks later we see in the media that he committed suicide. How about those very unique cases? Talk to us more about those."

Eleanor Bennett
"Suicide is very complex. It's almost never that there was no warnings. We call it one of the most preventable forms of death because in 90% of the cases there is some form of mental illness. And so that for us should be the thing that causes someone to take notice. There are some cases yes that people commit suicide on impulse and so in those cases what as a country what we are trying to do is to have better regulations on the methods that people use to impulsively kill themselves like pesticides and guns. Causes are as diverse as the people who commit suicide, it's hard for us to pinpoint one cause. When you talk about suicide, you look at thing that puts people at risk. For example, if you have had someone close to you that committed suicide before - we consider that a risk for suicide. Of course we talk about depression and alcohol use - that's a very big risk for suicide. A mental illness come into play like bipolar disorder, people who are very impulsive sometimes would end up killing themselves."

Courtney Weatherburne
"In terms of the treatment available for people suffering from depression and these other issues that lead to suicide. Is it effective? Are you guys reaching out to the wider society?"

Eleanor Bennett
"We have help a lot of people with depression. We have had a lot of people who were at the point of suicide and have been and were able to move away from there and now live very successful lives because treatment works. Also treatment for alcohol and drug problems; a lot of people who commit suicide, commit suicide when they are under the influence and at our clinics we do provide some form of intervention for drug and alcohol and this goes towards the prevention of suicide."

Courtney Weatherburne
"In terms of counseling, looking at our culture here in Belize we tend to be a close people. We tend to hesitate and cringe at the thought of talking to a counselor about our personal issues or discussing our personal issues. How is that treatment effective here in Belize given that a reality?"

Eleanor Bennett
"One of the reasons why people don't want to come for treatment is that stigma. They fear that people are going to label them if they are seen accessing services and its one of the biggest battles any mental health provider face. It's not just a problem for Belize, it's a problem for the world that people are very reluctant to show that side of themselves. Of course in other societies people are very cavalier about seeing their therapist. That's where I want us to be. We never say that suicide is a choice, people don't choose suicide, it's what happens. It's a very bad outcome of mental illness or other stresses that the person is probably under."

Guyana had the highest suicide rate in the region for 2013.

In observance of World Suicide Prevention Day the Ministry of Health is encouraging Belizeans to light a candle near a window in their homes at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow night.