Features
Dealing with suicidal tendencies
There have been a few suicide cases that have caused a lot of concern due to the ages of the persons involved. I recall the jumping to death of a female student of the University of Ghana, Legon.
Another case was the death of the daughter of a Member of Parliament of the current ruling New Patriotic Party. These are but a few of the suicide cases that have happened in our country and it is definitely a cause for concern.
This month, we will be celebrating the International Suicide Day which provides opportunity for government to highlight the issue of suicide and focus the attention of society on it.
Life is a much cherished thing and the survival instinct is very great and, therefore, for someone to deliberately decide to end his or her life is quite bizarre. It strongly suggests a certain degree of mental confusion which borders on insanity.
Someone said that “there is a certain degree of madness in every individual and the fact that a person goes and comes on a daily basis without any display of mental instability, does not mean that you are of a sound mind”.
It only needs something small to trigger the mental instability and the demonstration of the mental problem would start manifestation.
Causes of suicide vary from person to person. It is generally caused by stress that can be due to loss of say a loved one, rejection by family, lover etc. In the case of the young lady at KNUST who committed suicide, it was attributed to her being jilted by her lover and led to her decision to take her own life.
The lady who jumped to her death at Legon, it was also reported that she hinted that she sometimes felt like jumping from the top floor. All these point to the need for a psychiatric or counselling support centre that is easily accessible to students and society in general, so people who feel stressed can easily walk in to seek help.
There is also the need for an intensive educational effort by the Ministry of Health aimed at sensitising the populace about alertness towards potential suicidal people. In the case of the lady who committed suicide at Legon, may be a bit of awareness towards signs of suicidal tendencies by her colleagues might have saved her life.
People around us are those who can easily detect any changes in our normal behaviour and be the best people to detect if there is anything wrong with us.
However, if they are not trained to detect signs of danger in terms of mental disorders, they cannot help raise the alarm and before it is realised that something is amiss, it might be too late to save the situation.
COVID-19 has brought in its wake a lot of stress upon individuals both young and old and immediate steps must be taken by government to increase awareness of the potential for suicidal thoughts.
A couple of days ago, there was a reportage of a young boy in the Cape Coast Municipality who jumped to his death. The report had it that, the boy who was living with his father and step mother, had been receiving beatings on a frequent basis according to neighbours.
According to neighbours, on several occasions they had heard the boy crying at dawn due to beatings he had been subjected to by his father.
On the fateful day that he jumped to his death, he was apparently trying to escape from a similar beating from his father who had earlier gone to bring him to their room from outside and beaten him.
The neighbours claimed that it was after his father had left him briefly that he tried to escape by jumping from the storey building, resulting in his untimely death. If the neighbours had been a bit more proactive, they might have reported to the police about the abusive situation the child was going through and might have saved his life.
There is this social value that is gradually eroding but must be brought back. Those days that a neighbour would not hesitate to discipline you when you went wrong without waiting for your parents to return before informing them, is something worth considering.
The idea of being each other’s keeper seems to have vanished due to so-called human rights, modernisation and what have you. We are in an era where parents are bold enough to go to schools to attack teachers for caning their children and somehow get away with it. The times where people made it a point to interact cheerfully with their neighbours and were able to notice the changes in their mood, are long gone.
It has become an each one for himself situation and so there have been occasions where people have died and it has gone unnoticed till after a few days have gone by. That aspect of our social lives that served as a huge source of stress reliever, is gone and so a lot of people, especially women are stressed up.
The Ministry of Education has already initiated a programme of counselling for tertiary institutions but they must make it more proactive. The counsellors must interact with the students such that it would be easy for students to contact them and be ready to open up to them.
This is the only way that issues that are troubling these young adults, can be handled to relieve them of the pressures or stresses that push them into contemplating suicidal actions. The other group that has to be taken care of is the young people who are outside the educational system.
Special attention must be given them and government must develop a means for addressing their needs and also make “where to go for help” easily accessible.
The internet has also become an avenue for children to be abused and parents must pay attention to what their children do on the internet. Government must assist parents in this direction by making access to a hotline for parents available, so they can seek guidance should they find out that their children are being abused on the internet.
Again, should they want to block their children from certain sites, they must be given the assistance to do so. We are in a very complex and very challenging world and young people especially, are under a lot of pressure and everything possible must be done to protect them.
Parents now have a responsibility to pay more attention to their children and the government must do more to provide them with the necessary tools such as TV programmes that would educate them on how to detect signs of stress in their wards.
Civil society and the religious organisations must also be involved in this crusade to assist the parents so they in turn can assist the efforts by government, so that collectively, the protection of the youth from suicidal tendencies, would be achieved.
Laud Kissi-Mensah
Features
Preventing the brain’s melting point with BOS
The human brain is a complex and delicate organ, susceptible to damage from various factors, including extreme temperatures.
The brain’s melting point, also known as the temperature threshold beyond which brain tissue begins to degrade, is a critical concern for individuals seeking to maintain optimal cognitive function.
Fortunately, the Brain Operating System (BOS) offers a revolutionary solution to prevent the brain’s melting point.
Understanding the brain’s melting point
The brain’s melting point refers to the temperature threshold beyond which brain tissue begins to degrade, leading to irreversible damage.
This temperature threshold varies depending on individual factors, such as age, health, and environmental conditions. However, research suggests that the brain’s melting point is approximately 104°F (40°C) to 107°F (42°C).
The role of BOS in preventing the brain’s melting point
BOS, a cutting-edge technology, plays a crucial role in preventing the brain’s melting point. By leveraging advanced neural interfaces and artificial intelligence, BOS monitors and regulates brain temperature, ensuring that it remains within a safe range.
How BOS prevents the brain’s melting point
BOS prevents the brain’s melting point through several mechanisms:
1. Temperature regulation: BOS continuously monitors brain temperature, adjusting neural activity to maintain a stable temperature.
2. Heat dissipation: BOS enhances heat dissipation through increased blood flow and sweating.
3. Neuro protection: BOS protects neurons from heat-induced damage.
Benefits of BOS in preventing the brain’s melting point
The benefits of BOS in preventing the brain’s melting point are numerous:
1. Prevents brain damage: BOS prevents brain damage caused by excessive heat.
2. Maintains cognitive function: BOS ensures optimal cognitive function by maintaining stable brain temperature.
3. Enhances brain resilience: BOS enhances brain resilience to temperature fluctuations.
Real-World applications of BOS
BOS has various real-world applications:
1. High-performance computing: BOS enables high-performance computing by maintaining optimal brain temperature.
2. Medical applications: BOS has medical applications, such as treating heat-related illnesses.
3. Space exploration: BOS is crucial for space exploration, where extreme temperatures pose a significant risk.
Conclusion
BOS is a revolutionary technology that prevents the brain’s melting point, ensuring optimal cognitive function and overall well-being. By leveraging advanced neural interfaces and artificial intelligence, BOS monitors and regulates brain temperature, protecting against heat-related damage.
Glossary:
1. BOS: Brain Operating System.
2. Brain’s melting point: Temperature threshold beyond which brain tissue begins to degrade.
3. Neural interface: Connects human brain with digital devices.
Contact Information
virginvtech@yahoo.com
Additional resources:
1. BOS research: Explore scientific studies.
2. Neural interface resources: Discover books and articles.
3. Brain-computer interface communities: Join online forums.
Future directions
As BOS technology continues to evolve, we can expect:
1. Improved temperature regulation: Enhanced temperature regulation mechanisms.
2. Increased cognitive enhancement: Advanced cognitive enhancement capabilities.
3. Expanded applications: New applications in various fields.
By harnessing the power of BOS, individuals can safeguard their brain health and maintain optimal cognitive function, even in extreme environments.
By Robert Ekow Grimmond-Thompson
Features
Lotto wahala and Tuobodom palaver
In Sikaman lotto is not a game. It is a profession, a noble career which people aspire to. It is the highest paying profession after armed robbery and the most widespread job on this side of the Atlantic.
In places like China, lotto is a disease that has no cure. Once you are infected, no doctor on earth can cure you. May be Kofi Larteh, Ghana’s most celebrated magician, can help ease the symptoms, but no definitive cure will be forthcoming.
Coming back to Sikaman, lotto has been the financial messiah of many. That is how people look after their large families, pay school fees, marry two wives and do their own ‘monkey things.’
If you are very poor and you win a lottery, chances are that you will die before you even collect the money. You’ll die out of excitement or you’ll start day-dreaming in the streets and an articulated truck will hit you.
As such, very heavy wins are not recommended for poor people, lest they get listed too soon in the obituary columns.
The sad story is told of a heavy-duty caterpillar driver who had a very heavy lotto windfall of several millions, his first big win after several years.
CATERPILLAR
He was driving the caterpillar home when he saw his son running towards him, shouting. “All your numbers have dropped! All your numbers have dropped! He could not believe his ears.
All the four numbers he had staked had dropped and his son, who had gone to stake them for him, was himself over-excited. The poor caterpillar man just could not handle the good news. He suddenly stepped on the brakes and the caterpillar jolted him a trifle too violently, throwing him off. He landed right in front of the still moving heavy-duty machine and it crushed him flat.
I don’t think the bloke would have died if he had won a smaller amount. Sometimes too much cash is not good for the health.
Seldom, people get too confident and that can also result in a wake-keeping, like that of a man who used his lifetime savings and borrowed extra money to crack the machine with a two-sure that the compiler must compulsory drop or the world will end.
Even the shadows of the numbers or their counterparts were nowhere near the winning numbers. His shock-absorbers crumbled under the weight of the heavy disappointment. He crashed to the floor and started foaming at the mouth. He was declared dead on arrival at the nearest clinic.
WINDFALL
Recently, there was a countrywide lotto windfall, and in Kumasi it was more than a festival. Most stakers had between ¢30m and ¢40 million on two-sure that the lotto magicians had predicted at least three weeks earlier,
Kejetia chop bars were besieged with overnight millionaires, carrying huge appetites induced by Opeimu Bitters popularly called Opeimu Peters. All the meat and mudfish got sold out within an hour and procurement agents had to double up to restock.
While some were celebrating, others were weeping and gnashing teeth. The problem was that, three weeks beforehand, the two sure numbers were declared by all the lotto sorcerers, dreamers, magicians, tellers and all the self-appointed and self-promoted forecasters.
Everybody including 10-year-olds, who staked and lost. The following week, they were advised to continue staking. The faithful did continue but the faithless stopped. All of them lost. In the third week or so, a good number of confident stakers had lost faith in the two numbers. That was when the number landed.
So the windfall was for only those who had the unshakeable faith in the numbers. See what faith can do? It can move dollars. Don’t waver, so saith the holy scriptures.
The faithless indeed gnashed teeth. The winners on the other hand celebrated with a song that is as controversial as the business of lotto. It is a song played by the group called Nkasei and has something to do with a town in the Brong Ahafo Region called Tuobodom whose capital we hear is Jinijini.
I hear it is a derogatory song and the queen mother of Tuobodom got charged and breathed out electric current during her protest on air. She allegedly ended up demanding a mobile phone from Nkasei so that she could communicate with them to settle the matter peacefully, lest wahala.
Well, the song is rising up the charts and Nkasei are making the dough, but should it be at the expense of a whole townsfolk, their forebears and generations to come?
WATERPROOF
Waterproof, the famous comedian, was allegedly given hefty slaps at the Kumasi rail station by some Frafra jingoists who felt he was deriding their tribe. And Bob Okala had to run with his tail between his legs when he was confronted and realised that slaps were going to be visited on his lean face.
Let’s not use words and lyrics to cause discomfort to others.
This article was first published on Saturday July 9, 2005
