Could we have stopped Freddy E from committing suicide?

I am shocked.

A few days ago 22year old Youtube comedien and rapper known as Freddy E committed suicide. What made this suicide so bizarre, is that he posted his last thoughts on Twitter moments before he pulled the trigger. Freddy E. was best known for his Internet program Jerk TV, which usually featured humorous yet profane segments. On the flip side, they often came with a moral or some type of cautionary message.

Chilling posts from rapper Freddy E moments before he took his life

Social media has been a means to build brands, to educate, to market products, to entertain, to network..the list is endless. It is also used as a medium in which people may cry out for help. How many times have you read Facebook posts of friends talking about their despair or heartbreak. This is often criticized as over-personalizing social media but isn't it natural to use the means by which we communicate every day to express one's emotion?

As a medical professional, I urge you all to look out for suicidal tendencies in your friends online and act immediately if you suspect something off. Do not just tweet back or put a question mark on the post. Pick up a telephone and try and talk to the person. Let them know they are loved. Call for help. Find out the suicide hotline for your country. It could save a life.

Depression and suicide are topics I have blogged about. Looking out for the signs of a suicidal person and averting depression. Click here and here to revisit those posts.

Comments

Saving Mandy

When you have influence, it is your duty to stand up for others and help others up too We had so much in common. We were both born and grew up in the same sleepy hometown of Bulawayo, almost same neighborhood. We attended the same high school, some years apart, but both proud and loud Convent girls. At some point, we must have taken the same Parklands surburb bus from City Hall to home. Our siblings almost same age-groups; our families and friends intertwined all the way back to roots in Dombodema rural home. We both went on to study medicine, she did dentistry, I did MBChB. But eventually we both did a masters in Public Health in the same programme at the University of Zimbabwe. We both got married and set up home in Harare. Bulawayo girls stick together when they arrive in the big bad city. When I had Anashe, she had Siyabonga. We were both pregnant in 2018. Being senior medical professionals we both had access to the “best” medical care. We both had Cesarian Sections...

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