A head teacher in Nyakach committed suicide just a few days before the world marked this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day. He left a suicide note and even called someone to inform him of where to find his body.

Suicide is a difficult topic to bring up in our society. Luckily, we are not completely helpless. Suicide is preventable. When someone talks about suicide or brings up concern for a loved one, it’s important that we take action and seek help immediately.

September 10th 2016 is World Suicide Prevention Day. This year’s theme is 'Connect, communicate, care'. These three words are at the heart of suicide prevention.

The World Suicide Prevention Day provides an opportunity for a responsible dialogue about suicide prevention. The whole community has a role to play in reducing suicide. Friends, family and colleagues can support those at risk along with assistance from the medical profession.

People who take their lives don't want to die—they just want to stop hurting. Suicide prevention starts with recognizing the warning signs and taking them seriously.

Some of the warning signs include; talking or thinking about death, clinical depression that gets worse, having a "death wish," losing interest in things one used to care about and making comments about being hopeless, helpless, or worthless.

Other signs may include; putting affairs in order, tying up loose ends, changing a will, saying things like "it would be better if I wasn't here", talking about suicide or killing one's self and visiting or calling people to say goodbye.

You should be particularly concerned if a person is showing any of these warning signs and has attempted suicide in the past.

People who die by suicide or attempt suicide usually feel overwhelmed, hopeless, helpless, desperate, and alone. In some rare cases, people who experience psychosis (losing touch with reality) may hear voices that tell them to end their life.

Most suicide survivors have reported wanting not so much to die as to stop living, a strange contradiction but a valid one nonetheless. If such an in-between state existed, some other alternative to death, I am sure many suicidal people would take it. Suicide may seem like the only way to deal with difficult feelings or situations.

There are several toll free suicide prevention lines in Kenya and Facebook has a suicide reporting feature that one can use when a friend posts a suicidal status update. Always take immediate action when you spot some warning signs from a loved one. It could be the act that makes the difference between life and death.

If you are depressed and feeling helpless, call suicide prevention hotlines for free suicide counselling or you can download the TrustCircle mHealth App where you will get the much-needed psychological support from experts and peers across the world.

The Author is mental health and child rights advocate and the Founder/CEO of Psychiatric Disability Organization. He can be reached on: iregim@gmail.com Website: http://www.pdokenya.org/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Psychiatricdisability/