Tony Byrne CSSp Sr. Kathleen Maguire PBVM Acute public awareness of the problem Many people are aware that suicide is one of the most significant contemporary problems in Ireland.
Awareness can be either na ve or acute.
Na ve awareness makes us vaguely conscious of the problem of suicide. Acute awareness makes us deeply and personally conscious of the problem, as happens, for instance, when a dear one a near relative, friend, neighbour, work colleague or parishioner dies by suicide. A minimum of fifty people suffer from loss, grief, guilt, blame or shame as a result of a single suicide. Because we live in the shadow of one another we can make a difference by facing up to the ever-increasing rate of suicides in Ireland. We should not leave this task to the professionals to solve if we face up to the problem and become acutely aware of it, we may be able to find appropriate responses to it.