The overwhelming number of bystanders inadvertently witnessing someone take their own life has been revealed by a critical incident consultant, who says his attendance at public suicide incidents has increased significantly in recent weeks.
Dimitrios Papalexis was called to Westfield Parramatta to support the management and staff who witnessed the death of a woman at the center on October 14.
Unfortunately, the death was the last in a spate of mental health-related deaths to unfold in public spaces recently, with Mr. Papalexis noting a prominent rise in similar cases.
“The last month I noticed a big increase in (suicides),” Papalexis told news.com.au, saying he had witnessed multiple deaths in shopping malls.
“It’s curious to me why so much of this is happening.”
She typically attended two to three incidents each week to support witnesses who had seen someone take their own life.
When Mr. Papalexis arrives on the scene, he has to be prepared to face almost anything.
“It’s quite an intense experience. Because you don’t know what you’re going to face or what state people will be in,” she said.
“Usually people will be shocked and traumatized, including management, and they will try to do whatever they can to support the staff.”
Those mentored by Papalexis often dealt with mixed emotions, he recalled.
“There’s a lot of intense emotion, there’s confusion, and people have questions that can’t be answered,” he said.
“There is sadness, anger, confusion, and a numb feeling.”
Papalexis said witnessing a death or traumatic incident could often serve as a trigger for people and bring other underlying issues to the surface.
“The thing about critical incidents is that they bring up other things like past duels. People are grieving for the person, even if they don’t know it, and they’re also grieving for family members they lost or recent losses, so it comes back to people,” he said.
He added that there was “definitely a problem” around the volume of deaths unfolding in shopping malls, which has prompted strong calls for A fall arrest safety net will be installed.
Mr. Papalexis frequented a variety of businesses and organizations, including schools, to help people mentally deal with traumatic circumstances.
“People dealing with mental health issues or having an accident, it can happen to anyone, anywhere,” he said.
“I’ve been to just about every place where people work. Anything from accidents, violence, suicides and anything else that can affect the mental well-being of employees.”
Typically, towards the end of the year, Mr. Papalexis’ help was needed most, as the stress of the previous 12 months combined with the pressures of work, family and lifestyle.
“It seems like people are breaking down and their mental health is getting worse,” he said.
“All the accumulated effects of the Covid lockdowns, the uncertainty and the quality of life, end up affecting people.
“I have noticed more suicide attempts and more general health problems, such as heart attacks. Healthy people are dying unexpectedly.”
The best predictor of positive outcomes for people who experienced something traumatic at work was a warm and supportive work culture, Papalexis said.
“It makes a big difference when people have a supportive workplace and colleagues they can lean on and trust,” he said.
“I see that all the time, it makes a difference.”
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