Worrying about yourself can be an act of courage

Kathleen Lanoue

Suicide is a difficult topic to think and talk about. Please take care while reading this.

Suicide, the act of taking one’s own life, is a declared crisis in Nunavut.

The Canadian Mental Health Association says rates of suicide in Nunavut are between five and 25 times higher than the national average.

Canada’s history and treatment of Indigenous Peoples has contributed to why this social problem exists. Suicide is distress response, loss of hope and safety, and perception that things cannot change.

Prevention requires we recognize the social problems created partly by a lack of resources for healing after loss, abuse, trauma and subsequent forced sub-standard conditions of existence since colonization.

In 2024-25 the Government of Nunavut announced $54 million for mental health and addictions care. No doubt helpful; but not solutions to the social conditions of life for Inuit that pose significant stress, anxiety and difficulty coping for many in the North.

The way we understand suicide has evolved over time.

In the 1800s, sociologists and physicians talked about suicide as mental illness; a response to a sickness of sorts. Although some serious mental illnesses can present risk, there are far more people who complete suicide related to how they feel, cope or perceive their lives.

Émile Durkheim, a sociologist, challenged the idea that suicide was a biological problem and argued “social factors,” meaning what happens to a person in society, their support system and their quality of life were more likely important factors when trying to understand reasons for suicide.

These ideas began to change the way we understand suicide and think about prevention.

One of the strongest antidotes to suicide is seeking help and connection to others. Resisting the temptation to isolate or to be alone in our pain is powerful. Often people feel ashamed about how they feel, or what they may have done, or what has happened to them.

It is common for people to be mixed up about their trauma. We can become convinced we are the problem and that silence is the best way to cope. It’s not.

It takes courage to be worried about yourself, and to decide you deserve to feel better. Asking for help is an act of hope. Where there is hope, there can be safety, and a different life than the one we feel stuck in. What we don’t talk about weighs us down.

Truth and reconciliation is a call to address the harms associated with forced colonization; giving people the resources, compassion and support they need to learn how to talk about and heal from trauma, and healing is possible with help.

Kathleen Lanoue is a registered social worker and senior ddvisor, violence against Indigenous women with the Ottawa Police Service. She has lived and worked in Nunavut, in both Naujaat and Iqaluit.