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Much as it may sound paradoxical to a content person, seeing other people celebrate accentuates a depressed person's feelings of hopelessness, and the year's largest number of suicides occur during the Christmas, New Year and Easter holiday seasons, and in the springtime. A depressed person experiences the festivities or nature's rebirth as a kind of mockery of his own misery, a confirmation that life has nothing left in store for him. Without depression, there is no suicide, and depression is the number one disease in the world, the silent killer of modern man. Most people have a period in their life when they feel depressed, but they manage to lift their spirits eventually with the help of friends, therapists and positive thinking. However, suffering from serious chronic depression can lead to feelings of desperation and hopelessness which refuse to go away and create a significant burden on the person's life. Most people who attempt or commit suicide do not really want to die; they just want their suffering to end. Suicide is a cry for help that should always be taken seriously, for it is a warning that something is terribly wrong in a person's life. Attempting to alleviate the symptoms of depression by drinking or using drugs can increase the risk of suicide, as it impairs judgment and increases impulsivity. Depression and depressive illnesses occur when chemicals in the brain, such as serotonin and dopamine, become unbalanced or disrupted. The brain is an organ of the body that can get sick just like any other. A person who has depression does not think like a healthy person, because the chemical imbalance in the brain prevents him from understanding the options available to help relieve his suffering or to remember better times. Often, a suicidal person will give clues as to how desperate he feels and fantasize openly about committing suicide. However, many people suffering from depression - and even contemplating suicide - can effectively hide their feelings and appear to be happy. Leaders of the Pack Slovenes are a tragic people. Looking at world suicide statistics, Slovenia has the highest number of suicides among elderly people (above 65 years) in the world, takes third place when it comes to the number of women committing suicide, and ninth place in suicide mortality in general. Our suicide rate reached its peak in 1984 with 36 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants. The last five years have showed a suicide rate of 25-30 per 100,000 inhabitants, but in the most critical regions (the town of Celje, the KoroSka region and the Prekmurje region) the rate can go as high as 50. This puts us in fifth place on the European suicide chart, right after the Baltic states. Obviously, geographical factors play an important role in the suicide rate, as the Mediterranean region has Europe's lowest suicide rate (which is also true in Slovenia). When it comes to our suicide preferences, we stick with the Eastern European Slavic tradition of hanging oneself (more than 75% of suicides). According to psychologist SaSka RoSkar and Andrej MaruSiC, PhD, Director of the Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Slovenia, the suicide rate among adolescents is increasing at an alarming rate. In general, more Slovenian women attempt suicide than men, but men are more successful at completing it. What on Earth is making us so miserable? Every foreigner who comes to Slovenia and sees its natural beauty says we live in a paradise - but judging by these statistics, we have a proper hell residing in our souls. Various theories exist about our national unhappiness, the most popular one being that we were oppressed by other nations for too long, and it shows. We were oppressed by the Germanic nations who are themselves not regarded as a happy lot, and after we freed ourselves from them, we jumped headfirst into Slavic socialism. Not happy in those murky waters either, we decided to create an independent state to cure our melancholy. But, our emotions failed us again. Then came a market economy - still no improvement. We are a hard-working, melancholic nation who drinks hard to forget its sadness, and finds it hard to openly discuss distress within our families. Is it surprising then that around 600 people commit suicide every year in Slovenia, and that suicide is the third most frequent cause of death among people aged 15 - 44? This is also the reality of Slovenia, not just the economic prosperity our politicians and economists so like to brag about. We might be successful economically, but our nation is none the happier or less suicidal because of it. We Need To Break the Stigma of Suicide Unfortunate life events play a crucial role in the progression from suicidal thoughts to suicidal plans, from a suicide attempt to suicide completion. However as a result of the cultural stigma against talking about depression and suicide, these remain topics that people love to avoid. Depression sufferers fear others will think them crazy, weak, or somehow lesser people. Cultural norms are slowly changing, and people are becoming more aware of the nature of depressive illnesses, their impact on a person's well-being and the importance of talking about such painful issues. Depression is a condition like diabetes that can and should be managed with the help of a physician. Research shows a combination of antidepressant medication and psychotherapy to be the quickest, most effective treatment. Medicines are a crutch that helps a person start walking again, but without psychotherapy, they cannot provide a lasting solution to the problem. Psychotherapy focuses on changing the person's negative thinking and the inaccurate perceptions he has of himself and his environment, it teaches him to think logically and to avoid negative self-talk. It focuses on social skills and teaches him how to successfully interact with others, which in return affects how others treat him. Prevention Versus Postvention In 2003, the World Health Organisation (WHO) named September 10 as World Suicide Prevention Day in order to destigmatise, and raise awareness about, suicide. According to WHO statistics, around a million people decide to take their life every year, which means that every 40 seconds somewhere in the world a person commits suicide. Each suicide intimately affects at least six other people, and unless a conscious effort is made to help these grieving people, the domino effect can bring a new tragedy in no time. Suicide is the thirteenth most frequent cause of death in the world, and today we no longer only talk about prevention, "postvention" has also become an issue. On September 8, 2006, the first International Suicide Postvention Seminar took place in PortoroZ. It brought together survivors, caregivers and researchers from all over the world. The choice of Slovenia to host the seminar was not accidental: only education and increased awareness about suicide will help destroy the stigma and save lives. While there are S.O.S. help lines and some self-help groups around, more things could be done by the government in terms of mental health care programs. There is a grave lack of professionally educated (i.e. with the European certificate of psychotherapeutic competence) psychotherapists and the problem with existing ones is that there is no official body controlling their practice and the prices they charge. Traditionally, psychotherapeutic help has come only with a substantial fee, which effectively prohibits many people from seeking help. In order to make psychological help available to those in need, not just those with money, in June 2006 the first municipally sponsored counselling office, called Posvet (Counsel) www.posvet.org, was opened at Mestni trg 8 in Ljubljana. For the price of €5 per hour of counselling with a professional clinical psychological therapist, anybody with psychological problems can get help. The centre also welcomes foreigners, as counselling is also available in English. This is a major step forward for Slovenia in terms of suicide prevention & postvention, and hopefully the centre will become a model to be followed in other towns and places around the country.