With the suicides of public profiles surfacing from time to, coupled by controversial TV series such as 13 Reasons Why, there has been a buzz of discussion as to how to talk about suicide among youth. What does suicide mean in some segments of popular youth culture? What is the driving force?

According to the World Health Organisation, 1 person dies every 40 seconds by suicide. On its website it says that, “Suicide was the second leading cause of death among young people aged 15-29 years, after road injury.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chan Lai Fong is Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Consultant Psychiatrist at UKM, and is the Malaysian representative of the International Association of Suicide Prevention (IASP). Dr. Alwyn Lau is presently the Dean of University-College Fairview’s Center for Post-Graduate Studies, and spent over 16 years as an educationist in various education and learning institutions. 

Full episode summary here.