YOUTH Champs 4 Mental Health representative Matthew Galuvakadua says the latest figures on suicides in Fiji is not surprising and it’s time Fijian families seriously take note.
“We have a culture where we don’t talk about our feelings, or whatever we’re going through. It says a lot about the mental well-being of our young people,” he said.
“One thing we’ve noticed during our awareness campaign is that people born in the 90s have been the most susceptible. They don’t seem to have a sense of resilience, so if they go through a bad break-up, they instantly try to commit suicide.
“It’s scary to think that we have young people in our communities who have the potential of committing something like this.
“Which means it goes back to their families and how they were raised and other underlying factors.
“Everyone is built differently, but it’s how they’re raised to cope with those differences and struggles that matter.
“If we learnt to talk to one another, getting parents to get their kids to tell them how they’re feeling or describe what’s going on with them and not bottle it up — then maybe the kids can better understand that when they get older, they can be able to communicate that across.”
