At 23, *Mercy felt like the world had closed in on her.
The pressure of a toxic relationship and the unspoken pain she had carried since childhood weighed so heavily that she almost ended her life.
Today, she tells her story not as a victim, but as a survivor who wants others to know they are not alone.
Mercy once felt the heaviness of a burden she could not control. She survived a suicide attempt that left her hospitalised for weeks. In that period, she realised she was not alone.
Doctors, counsellors, and her family stepped in to provide support she had never sought before. Slowly, she began to heal.
“I just wanted the pain to stop. I didn’t think anyone would understand. If I had spoken earlier, maybe I wouldn’t have reached that point,” she recalled.
Mercy’s journey is one of many.
Globally, suicide claims more than 700,000 lives every year, according to the World Health Organization.
For every life lost, many more attempt and survive, often carrying scars both seen and unseen.
“I want people to know it is okay to struggle, but it’s also okay to ask for help. Talking about it can save a life.”
On World Suicide Prevention Day, marked every September 10, survivors like Mercy highlight the urgent need for open conversations around mental health.
This year’s theme, “Changing the Narrative”, calls for compassion, understanding, and breaking the silence that too often surrounds suicide.
According to the World Health Organisation, this year’s theme calls on the world to challenge harmful myths, reduce stigma, and foster open, compassionate conversations about suicide.
It is about shifting from silence and misunderstanding to openness, empathy, and support, creating environments where people feel able to speak up and seek help.
All about World Suicide Prevention Day
WSPD was established in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention in partnership with the World Health Organization.
Each year, on 10 September, WSPD focuses global attention on suicide prevention, uniting communities, organisations, and governments with the shared belief that suicides are preventable.
According to a report by WHO: WHO policy brief on the health aspects of decriminalisation of suicide and suicide attempts, one in every 100 deaths globally is by suicide.
Suicide was ranked the fourth leading cause of death in 15–29-year-olds. Subpopulations particularly affected include, for instance, Indigenous peoples, members of LGBTQI+ communities, persons who are incarcerated or in jail, refugees, and migrants.
Suicide is linked to multiple, complex and intersecting social, economic, cultural and psychological factors and challenges, including the denial of basic human rights and access to resources, as well as stressful life events such as loss of livelihood, work or academic pressure, relationship breakdowns, discrimination and other life crises.
Suicide is not a mental health condition, but some people with mental health conditions may be at greater risk of suicide.
Reducing the global suicide rate by one third by 2030 is a target of both the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the WHO.
By endorsing the SDGs and the WHO’s action plan, countries have committed to taking concrete measures in this direction.
To support the right to health and address the health impacts of suicide, the WHO Secretariat recommended that there is a need to engage with relevant stakeholders to understand and dispel moral, cultural or religious justifications for criminalisation or those based on the notion of punishment as a deterrent to suicide.
Stakeholders may include religious and community leaders, policy-makers, parliamentarians and other politicians, mental health professionals, legislators, representatives from the criminal justice system and police, as well as persons with lived experience relating to suicide, family members and other relevant civil society stakeholders.
