Inside the hidden pain of suicide

Suicide, a phenomenon rarely spoken of in our society, continues to pluck lives, many of them young and promising. Sometimes, the deaths hit the headlines and for a while, the nation talks about this secret pain. However, many other times, lives are lost, burials are carried out and the families and friends carry the grief, shame and guilt silently. Few are willing to come forward and lift the veil on the agony of depression or the journey to the brink and back.

One survivor, Dikatso Selemogwe, rose up recently and told her story, sharing her testimony publicly as the country observed World Suicide Prevention Day, in September with a heartfelt event at Sbrana Psychiatric Hospital in Lobatse.