September 10 is considered World Suicide Prevention Day. On that date, since 2003, awareness actions on the subject have been promoted around the world. In Brazil, the Yellow September was established from 2014, through a partnership between the Brazilian Psychiatric Association (ABP) and the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), to emphasize the importance of mental health care.
About 12 thousand suicides are registered annually in Brazil and more than 1 million in the world. With the arrival of the covid-19 pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been calling attention to increased sensations of fear, anguish and anxiety worldwide. The fear of acquiring the disease, the effects of social isolation and the pain of the loss of friends and family contribute strongly to the occurrence of mental disorders, which can lead the person to suicide.
In view of this new reality, we have no way of measuring how each person’s adaptation process will be, so it is important that we are attentive to our feelings and also to those of our co-workers, friends and family. Perceiving changes in behavior, countenance and attitudes can help to identify whether the person needs help. Therefore, it is important to interact with coworkers, friends and family, through video calls, messages or other contact. The empathetic and attentive reception is a powerful tool to create supportive bonds and can make a difference in the life of those who suffer from such a disorder.
Feeling discouraged, sad and having feelings of fear or prolonged anguish, changes in sleep, difficulty interacting with people and even low interaction with daily activities can be signs of depression.
At SPIC Brasil, we are always focused on taking care of our employees, which is why the Be Healthy Program was developed and offers yoga, meditation and online training classes. In addition, we encourage everyone to cultivate hobbies and have leisure time, as these habits are very important and beneficial to health.
SPIC Brasil also has the Conte Comigo Program, which provides psychological assistance 24 hours a day, via telephone.
In addition to mental disorders, SPIC Brasil’s Ethics Channel is also available to employees in cases of harassment, conflicts of interest and other irregularities in relation to laws, internal regulations and the company’s Code of Conduct.
SPIC Brasil encourages self-care – an attitude of love for life.
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