Dr. Adnan Mufti added that the hospital receives between three to four cases a week.
Failure in relationships was seen as the main reason that prompts them to try to end their lives.
Mufti did not have an accurate annual figure for the number of Saudis who try to commit suicide but believed the number was increasing. The media, especially television and the Internet, played a big role in this trend, he said.
“The Internet offers an opportunity for young men and women to establish intimate relationships without any restriction,” Mufti said.
Both men and women become depressed when these relations are broken abruptly for a variety of reasons.
“These cases enter our clinics after they reach the advanced stages of depression and we have no other solution apart from giving them anti-depression pills,” he said.
Mufti emphasized the need for enlightening young men and women about the dangers of getting involved in online relationships. “Giving a lecture on the World Mental Health Day is not enough. We need more awareness programs.”
Two years ago the mental hospital launched a monthly helpline program in association with the local education department to educate male students. “We have a plan to introduce the same program for girls shortly,” Mufti said.
Mufti said a number of websites now provides advice for youngsters. “Unfortunately, not many people know about these sites,” he said, urging relevant organizations including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Culture and Information to take action.
He said mentally ill people suffer from emotional stress, anxiety neurosis and reactive depression. Some of them will have schizophrenia as well.
“A failure in relationships will give youths emotional stress and in some cases encourage them to commit suicide, especially those with reactive depression,” he said.
