Details of unprecedented horror in Zrenjanin: Youth found hanged from basketball hoop in school playground

Photo: Nikola Andjic

"He was my friend for years. This morning they told me that he was found hanging from a basketball hoop in the school playground. He'd jumped over the fence..." - this is what a friend of the youth who most likely committed suicide in Zrenjanin told Telegraf.rs.

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The body has been taken for an autopsy.

"He had personal problems. We talked a lot...I thought he would overcome them. However, this morning I found out that he hanged himself," said the friend.

The elementary school in whose grounds this happened did not provide many details because of the ongoing the investigation. The school was closed for classes today, but will work as usual tomorrow.

Horrible data

Last year, 668 people committed suicide in Serbia - 496 men and 172 women.

According to the Institute of Public Health, it is not easy to explain behaviors that lead to suicide, but eight out of ten people give clear warning signs. Therefore, they advise paying attention to the needs of the loved ones, talk to them, express empathy and support, but also instruct them to seek professional help.

"Conversation gives a person the opportunity to express their pain. Numerous studies show that people who are thinking about suicide want to express their pain. It is precisely an open conversation that can bring relief to their emotional suffering, to understand their emotions without judgment, and thus provide support," explains Dr. Nada Kosic Bibic, the head of the Center for Promotion of Health.

"Withdrawing from society, anxiety, avoiding family, friends, aggitation, these are just some of the indicators that a person is experiencing a problem. When we see a person we know, who has obviously changed their behavior, gives signals that they are suffering, saying their situation is hopeless, that they are thinking about suicide, these are all warning signs. If a person begins to neglect themselves, to shut themselves off, if they feel anger, these are warning signs we well, we should talk to that person and ask them to get professional help."

Hotline for people with suicidal thoughts

The phone number 0800 309 309, option 1, is a hotline available around the clock. It is operated by suicide prevention experts - doctors from Belgrade's Psychiatric Diseases Hospital named after Dr. Laza Lazarevic.

The emergency psychiatric service accepts patients 24 hours a day without an appointment, without a health insurance card and without any charges, while the Center for Mental Health accepts patients without an appointment from 9 am to 6 pm.

If you need help, you can also reach volunteers of the Srce Center every day from 14:00 to 23:00 by calling 0800 300 303, or contact them by email at vanja@centarsrce.org, as well as through the chat feature on the website www.centarsrce .org.

Volunteers talk to people who feel lonely, anxious, hurt, sad, desperate, insecure.

(Telegraf.rs)