Changes around the public discourse of suicide during the COVID-19 post-pandemic
Authors of the research: Castillo Patton y Carretero García
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE), during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain there was an increase in the number of deaths by suicide. It is notable how, between 2019 and 2020, a 7.4% increase in deaths was detected as the figure rose from 3671 to 3941 confirmed cases. For 2022, the figure provided by the INE was 4097 deaths. That is, 11.6% more than in 2019. Likewise, increases have been observed in suicide attempts and hospital admissions due to suicide, especially in young people (Hernández-Calle et al., 2022).
Beyond statistics, this research addresses how the discourse on suicide has been modulated by influential factors in its shaping and distribution in the (post)pandemic. To this meaning, public testimonies of the central government and extra-institutional influential factors in the public problematization of suicide (i.e survivors and journalists). are taken into account. Thus, on the one hand, it is worth noting how the Spanish Government, especially through the Action Plan; ‘Mental Health and COVID-19’; launched in October 2021, has been discursively placing attention to suicide in a space of national intervention that did not exist in previous times during democracy. Although under a media pretext, this response to a situation considered to be of exceptional urgency led to the approval and promotion of a public suicide hotline: 024.
This measure, together with the linked documents, represents a small physical advance, but a great symbolic step forward to the consideration of suicide as a public health problem in Spain. This would make 024 a central aspect of the institutional discourse that is mobilized in relation to early suicide intervention, overtaking objectives presented in the Mental Health Strategy 2022-2026.
On the other hand, interviews with survivors and journalists have been conducted for this research, which provide another set of insights into the visibility and social problematization of suicide in Spain. Their discourse reflects issues present in government discourse, although they offer significant criticism regarding delays in taking constituent actions for effective change, especially before the pandemic. Furthermore, these factors contribute to shaping the discourse that defines suicide in Spain as a contextual and structural issue rather than atemporary one. According to their testimony, this context identifies the root of suicide in labor, economic, and psychological problems, pointing out emerging issues of emotional health in the Spanish population.
To this regard, both government discourse and that of non-institutional factors emphasize the demand for greater early intervention in the emotional sphere. However, this does not preclude the consideration of other issues related to underlying psychopathologies and mental health in general. This reflects the increasing significance of a therapeutic discourse in Spain that views the (post)pandemic period as a turning point in public discourse and in public policies for the prevention, intervention, and postvention of suicide.
References: Hernández-Calle, D.; Andreo-Jover, J.; Curto-Ramos, J.; García Martínez,D.; Valor, L. V., Juárez, G.; Alcamí, M.; Ortiz, A.; Iglesias, N.; Bravo-Ortiz, M. F.; Rodríguez Vega, B.; & Martínez-Alés, G. (2022). Pediatric mental health emergencyvisits during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology, 10(1), 53-57. doi: https://doi.org/10.2478/sjcapp-2022-0005
Original paper: Castillo Patton, A. E., & Carretero García, C. (2023). Significados del suicidio en la (pos)pandemia: ambivalencias en el discurso público y de actores cívico- mediáticos en España. RECERCA. Revista de Pensament i Anàlisi. https://doi.org/10.6035/recerca.6819