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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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Consum announces the opening of new stores in Aldaia, Alaquàs, Sueca, Xàtiva, Massanassa and Torrevieja

Consum expands its operations in the Valencian Community and announces the opening of additional stores in six towns throughout Valencia. The Valencian cooperative’s comprehensive network of supermarkets in the region is further enhanced by these new openings.

New Consum stores are scheduled to open in Valencia in 2025

The following are the new stores that Consum will establish in the towns of Valencia:

Alaquàs

Aldaia

Massanassa

Sueca

Xàtiva

Torrevieja (Alicante)

Three of the stores that were acquired from Kuups last year have enabled the establishment of some of these new supermarkets. These have already been assigned an estimated opening date:

Massanassa (C/ Medi Ambient), which is scheduled to commence operations at the conclusion of May.
Alaquàs (Av. Blasco Ibáñez) and Aldaia (Av. Miguel Hernández) will launch under the Consum brand in the middle of the year.
Consum intends to maintain its pace of establishing 53 new supermarkets in 2025, including 18 of its own stores and 35 Charter stores, as well as to execute 31 renovations and expansions.

In 2024, Consum achieved revenues of €4,707.03 million, a 7.3% increase, and profits of €108.7 million, a 7.5% increase from the previous year. These figures substantiate the business model advocated by the Valencian cooperative, which is founded on price competitiveness, a diverse selection of leading brands without sacrificing the quality of its own brand, and a steadfast dedication to ensuring customer savings through discounts and gift vouchers. More than €62.2 million has been allocated to this initiative.

Antonio Rodríguez Lázaro, the CEO of Consum, stated that “these results are indicative of the dedication of our entire team, the confidence of our customers, and our capacity to adjust to change while maintaining our commitment to sustainability and innovation.”

It maintained its sixth position in the national classification of distribution companies by surface area throughout the year, increasing its market share by 0.1% to 4.7% of the national market. Nielsen reports that its market share by sales in its area of influence is 13.45%.

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The El Raso, Guardamar celebrates with a Tapas Route and concerts between May 15th and 17th

The programme for the third edition of the Guardamar del Segura City Council’s festivities has been unveiled in collaboration with the residents’ association of the El Raso Urbanisation, an area that is home to a significant number of international residents.

Between May 15th and 17th, the El Raso Urbanisation will commemorate its festivities with a Tapas Route and concerts. The festivities will take place on Thursday, May 15th and Friday, May 16th, and will feature an International Tapas Route featuring twelve establishments, which is two more than the previous year. María Venerdi, the Councillor for Festivals, has announced that participants will be able to experience tapas and a drink for 3.50 euros. Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to participate in a drawing for a variety of rewards and vote for their preferred tapa on the “Tapaporte.” Last year’s edition saw the sale of over 7,000 tapas, as emphasised by the local organisers.

José Luis Sáez, the mayor of Guardamar, has emphasised the significance of “neighbourhoods becoming increasingly integrated into the dynamics of the municipality,” and he has noted that this event has “consolidated itself and become a great gastronomic celebration for the municipality.”

The city council will also offer a transport service that will travel to all participating venues in order to simplify the process of travelling.

Auditorio del Campo will host a grand celebration on Saturday, May 17th, commencing at 6 p.m. The event will feature a variety of musical groups, including the Costa Blanca Singers, who will serve as the opening act.

The charitable nature of these festivities has been emphasised by the Guardamar councillor for Festivals. The El Raso festival committee has sold T-shirts for the Tapas Route at a price of 10 euros. The proceeds of these sales, in addition to those from the bar service on the 17th, will be donated entirely to charitable causes, including the ‘El Milagro de Ver’ Foundation, which is dedicated to enhancing eye health in developing countries, and to those impacted by DANA in Valencia.

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Elche joins the national protests for Palestine on May 10th

Tomorrow, Saturday May 10th, the Elche Palestine Solidarity Committee has scheduled a demonstration in accordance with the national mobilisations under the slogan “Move for Palestine.” The march will commence at 7:00 p.m., and the rally will be held at the Chimeneas de L’Algeps in Elche at 6:30 p.m.

The initiative aims to denounce the situation in Gaza and Palestine as a whole, and to encourage citizens to demonstrate their solidarity and demand genuine action to halt the violence. The Elche Palestine Solidarity Committee extends an invitation to all individuals, irrespective of their gender or age, to participate in this collective demonstration.

As part of a coordinated campaign to increase awareness of the situation in Palestine and demand an end to the violence and occupation, this mobilisation is one of a series of demonstrations that have been organised in various cities throughout Spain.