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Experts say it’s crucial to “gain time,” since suicide is hesitant until the very end

It is crucial to “gain time” so that a person with suicidal tendencies might think of other options since they are “ambivalent” right up until the very last minute, questioning whether to carry out the deed and even regretting it.

During the panel discussion “Suicide prevention is possible” at the EFE Forum “New challenges in mental health after the Dana,” which was organised by the EFE Agency in partnership with Johnson & Johnson and 8 Mediterráneo, psychiatrists Jesús Enrique Mesones and Eduardo Jesús Aguilar brought attention to this.

Experts estimate that there is one suicide fatality for every thirty attempts, but that “contagion effect” can be avoided with adequate and constructive communication: “More than saving lives, we actually help people save their lives.”

“Just by listening to people who have these kinds of problems we can do a lot from our consultations, carry out an intervention without being a super specialist,” said Mesones, vice president of the Spanish Society of Suicidology, professor at the Catholic University of Murcia, and head of the Psychiatry Service at Torrevieja Hospital.

He says that although most suicide victims “want to stop suffering, very few do so consciously and behind every suicide there is usually a mental pathology,” half of suicides are caused by depression.

The impacted individuals also visit their primary care physician. According to Eduardo Jesús Aguilar, a psychiatrist at the Hospital Clínico de Valencia, a professor at the University of Valencia, and a researcher at Cibersam and Incliva, primary care physicians are responsible for obtaining “sufficient information to be able to make the first entry” during those ten minutes of patient care.

According to Mesones, the individual who kills themselves “is ambivalent until the last moment,” citing instances where those who attempt suicide by jumping off a bridge express regret at the last minute. According to him, “at the time of the acute intervention, the essential thing is to gain time so that they can consider other ways out.”

Additionally, Aguilar thinks it’s critical to recognise that suicide behaviour “is characteristically fluctuating, even though it’s chronic,” and that in the ER, “they know that if they give enough time there is an upswing and a downswing.”

Mesones claims that a suicidal person who has attempted suicide and is in the emergency room has the chance to receive treatment during a waiting period known as “chronotherapy”: “We have the opportunity to be able to address them and we must have the capacity, training and sufficient education to assist them.”

Lithium salts for bipolar disorder patients, clozapine, an atypical antipsychotic for schizophrenia patients, and esketamine for depression patients are the only treatments that have been demonstrated to help prevent suicidal behaviour, according to Mesones. “A study conducted in several Spanish centres reflects the effectiveness of this drug in improving suicidal thoughts, which is very promising,” Mesones said.

A loss, a breakup, an existential crisis, abuse, or mistreatment are some of the things that could hasten this decision, according to Mesones. He explains that while many situations can lead someone to “think that the help they are going to receive is not worth it,” “fortunately not all people who think about suicide do so, the rate is 2%.”

Aguilar says that we need to observe how it changes “and that the rates for women do not rise, but that for men they fall,” in addition to the fact that we have tools to prevent and treat suicide because of the innovation of companies like those sponsoring this event. He says that 70% of suicides are men and 30% are women, for which there may be a variety of reasons.

Disasters like the Dana disaster, which create a sense of “unity” and the impulse to aid others, “protect at first” those who are contemplating suicide, according to the vice president of the Spanish Society of Suicidology.

“It has made many people abandon that idea and start helping families, but that is my perception, there will be no data on that,” says Mesones, who further states that “in the future, if mental illness increases, it will lead to suicides.” EFE

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Related Topics:Abuse Emergency Health Hospital Murcia People Torrevieja University Valencia

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Sticky Vicky’s daughter quits mum’s iconic Benidorm show

Adhesive the stage act has been sensationally abandoned by Vicky’s daughter, who has followed in her late mother’s footsteps, thereby leaving behind her family’s Benidorm legacy.

The unexpected decision was made after María Gadea Aragón assumed responsibility for the adult-themed magic performances following the passing of her mother, Victoria María Aragón Gadea, in 2023 at the age of 80.

María, who had been employing her mother’s stage identity in the well-known Spanish resort, has now discontinued her performances after a decade on stage.

María performed frequently at venues including the Palladium, Zodiaco, and Rockerfellers, as well as Benidorm which is a popular destination for British expatriates and vacationers.

Des Bellamy-Wright, an employee at the Benidorm Palladium, verified that María is no longer employed in the lively Spanish city. Des stated, “Sticky Vicky is no longer operational in Benidorm.” The ‘Carmen Snake – Sticky Show’ is a similarly entertaining program that is broadcast every night at 12:45 a.m. “

The official reason for Maria’s retirement was not disclosed, and her final performance was in November 2024.

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Elche’s H&M shop closing

The Swedish retail chain H&M announced in 2024 that it would be reducing the number of stores and employment it has in Spain due to “organisational, productive, and economic” reasons. Around 50 layoffs were the result of the closure of stores in the L’Aljub retail centres in Elche, Ociopía in Orihuela, and Habaneras in Torrevieja, which had consequences for the province of Alicante.

Additionally, these were the sole instances in the Valencian Community that were impacted. The Torrevieja store was the first to shut its doors in May 2024 since that time. The Orihuela store was subsequently closed on September 14th of the same year. Currently, the Elche store has shuttered its doors. The facility was closed to the public on March 14th, following its final day of operation on March 11th. It will be entirely shut down on March 22nd. Approximately 20 employees are being laid off at this Elche store. It is the final establishment in the province of Alicante that will not reopen, and the circumstances of the dismissal were negotiated in October. The employees have departed the company with an agreement as a result of these negotiations, according to Yolanda de la Casa, the general secretary of the CCOO Services Federation in Alicante.

The dismissal terms that were established following the October negotiations were 45 days until 2012 and 33 days until the present. A gratuity of 3,500 euros was granted for the first five years, 4,000 euros for the next ten years, and a maximum of 4,500 euros for the subsequent years.

Furthermore, three relocations have occurred among the 50 individuals who were laid off in the province, spanning Elche, Orihuela, and Torrevieja. Lely Fernández of UGT l’Alacantí-La Marina informed this newspaper that these were part-time employees from the Habaneras shopping centre in Torrevieja who were transferred to the La Zenia shopping centre, which continues to operate and is accessible.

H&M initiated 2024 by announcing the closure of 28 stores and approximately 588 collective redundancies. The figure was reduced to 521 reductions in a subsequent revision.

The Torrevieja store closed its doors to the public on May 17th, 2024, and the lease expired on May 24th, never to be reopened. Nevertheless, numerous employees at this establishment were granted the opportunity to relocate to other nearby stores that were still operational. In September 2024, Ociopía followed suit, and Elche followed suit in March 2025.

The H&M group operates over 100 stores and employs nearly 4,000 individuals in the country. This decision was made by the Scandinavian company in order to “adapt and perfect” its stores in a “changing” shopping environment for its consumers. Additionally, Spain would be responsible for 17% of the brand’s global closures, as indicated by the data that the company disclosed months ago when it presented its 2023 financial year.

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Man stole fire extinguishers to sell as scrap metal

A 20-year-old male is currently under investigation by the Guardia Civil for the purported theft of ten fire extinguishers. The fire extinguishers were discovered by Seprona officers during an inspection of a scrap metal establishment in Torrevieja. The store manager and the criminal are both the subject of an investigation.

The fire extinguishers, which were in near-new condition and completely charged, were discovered by the Servicio de Protección a la Naturaleza (Seprona) officers during the inspection. The investigation was initiated due to the fact that this material is “uncommon” in this form of business, as explained by sources from the Armed Forces.

Upon discovering the fire extinguishers, the officers enquired about the scrapyard manager’s documentation regarding the extinguishers’ arrival. The manager responded that he did not possess any proof of ownership. Additionally, he disclosed that a woman and her son had abandoned them there without his permission.

The company responsible for maintaining the fire extinguishers was identified by Seprona officers after they analysed the evidence and proof acquired. This verified that the extinguishers were located in a building in Torrevieja. The missing equipment was reported by the property manager of this community of proprietors shortly thereafter.

Fire extinguishers were recovered

Officers were permitted to confiscate the fire extinguishers and transport them to the Torrevieja Civil Guard barracks as a result of the formal complaint. Upon verification of their origin, they were returned to their legitimate owners.

The individuals implicated have been identified as a result of the operation. The 20-year-old man who is supposed to have stolen the fire extinguishers is being investigated for theft, while the 23-year-old proprietor of the scrap yard is being investigated for receiving stolen goods.

The Guardia Civil emphasises the necessity of reporting these types of incidents and reminds all individuals of the significance of doing so. In order to prevent the acquisition of stolen material, scrap metal dealers must establish rigorous controls, such as document checks on sellers and items received.