The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

SONIA Cox-Hamilton did everything she could to support her son Sean through his struggle with depression, but couldn’t stop him from tragically ending his own life.

She discussed his challenges during a suicide prevention symposium yesterday, warning people to be aware of signs that their loved one is struggling.

Yesterday’s symposium, hosted by the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA) and Sandilands Rehabilitation Centre, came after suicide attempts sharply increased in 2023.

Mrs Cox-Hamilton said her son had been “the most bubbly, happy, friendly, outgoing person you’d ever have” and was not someone one would expect to consider suicide.

“You never know what could trigger a person,” she told an audience at Zion South Beach Baptist Church.

“Awareness is where we should be at — total awareness. We have to become aware of a situation before we can prevent a situation.”

Panellists yesterday included mental health professionals and press liaison Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings, who highlighted the importance of paying attention to subtle behavioural changes.

Experts emphasised the need to go beyond casually greeting people, encouraging people to ask meaningful questions when someone says they are not feeling well.

“Suicide itself is preventable, but how we prevent is complicated,” said Dr Tracy King, a clinical psychologist. “What brings one person to consider suicide differs from person to person, and that is what the research kind of indicates. And so when we talk about prevention, it has to be in a multifactorial way.”

“This is not just a mental health issue; this is a community issue, this is a school issue, this is a parent issue, this is a church issue because there are many different factors that lead to the pathway of considering suicide.”

Mrs Cox-Hamilton told The Tribune her son’s first suicide attempt happened not long after he lost his job and faced mounting stress.

She said his outwardly cheerful facade began to crumble.

She said one day, he started giving away his belongings, including valuable items like jewellery.

She said after Sean’s first suicide attempt, she got a call one day from her daughter, who reported seeing him with a bag that appeared to contain a gallon of gasoline.

She described the devastating moment she arrived at an unfamiliar house where her son had been found. As she walked down the corridor, her son recognised her by the sound of her footsteps and called out: “That’s my mummy.” When she finally reached him, she found him already severely burned, his skin pale. She was horrified by the sight.

“He said the prayer, and by then the ambulance came,” she said. “They took him, of course; he went to the hospital. I went there, but by 5am the next morning, they called me and they said he didn’t survive. I had hoped, but I wasn’t shocked, but his death really shocked a lot of people, and still does to this day.”