Aqissiaq Semsen has twice come close to becoming part of a grim statistic.
When he was 18, he was only a few steps away from taking his own life. He had fallen into an addiction marked by alcohol, cannabis, and violence, which also made it hard for him to control his anger and landed him in prison.
In the end, he no longer felt that life had any meaning. But then a feeling hit him.
»I thought that if I took my own life, I’d be remembered as the one who gave up. I didn’t want that. On the contrary, I wanted to be remembered as the one who managed to change his life«, he says.
At first, he managed to pull himself back up. But when one of his close friends took his own life five years later, he spiraled again. That time, too, it was tempting to simply put an end to everything.
But again, he told himself he didn’t want to be remembered as the one who gave up.
»That saved me«, says Aqissiaq Semsen, who is 33 today and lives in the West Greenland town of Aasiaat.
In recent years, he has worked as a volunteer to help prevent suicide among Greenlanders. A couple of years ago, he was behind the documentary film ’Life on the Edge’, which followed him in his community work.
That is why it hurts him to his core that Greenland’s suicide curve is now tilting upward.
Greenland’s chief medical officer publishes an annual report on suicides, and the latest shows that 50 people took their own lives in Greenland last year. It is the highest number in eight years and seven to nine times higher than both the Danish and global rates.
Eighty-four percent of those who died were men, and the highest incidence was among very young men between 15 and 24. Thirty percent had a psychiatric diagnosis, and 24 percent had previously attempted to take their own life.
Moreover, none of them had contacted the health care system with suicidal thoughts in the seven days leading up to their death. In ten cases, there was information about possible alcohol consumption prior to death — and in all ten cases, intoxication was recorded.
The report offers no explanation for why the suicide rate has risen. But it points out that suicide is often linked to mental illness, previous suicide attempts, and substance abuse, and that research in Arctic and Inuit societies also underscores the role of stressful childhood conditions, sexual abuse, social marginalization, loss, and rapid social change as contributing structural factors.
Competition mentality
Aqissiaq Semsen is not surprised by the numbers.
»They make me very sad«, he says, and he has a clear sense of why things are moving in the wrong direction.
According to him, a competitive mindset has taken hold in Greenland, where only the young people who are good at Danish, English, and math — as he puts it — get recognition.
»We’re letting down everyone who’s good with their hands but maybe not so academic«, he says.
On top of that, he says, it is still difficult to talk about problems.
»We have a pronounced culture of masculinity. Especially in the bigger towns, young people are met with the attitude that they should just toughen up«, he says.
Aqissiaq Semsen also points to two other reasons for the high number of suicides: Donald Trump and the war in Ukraine.
»It affects your thoughts and feelings when you’re constantly getting bad news and also experiencing that times are getting harder. Trump is threatening to take over Greenland, and the war in Ukraine is pushing prices up«, he says.
His observation is supported by a study conducted this year by Greenland’s Center for Public Health, which shows that 76 percent of Greenlanders surveyed report a moderate to high level of concern in connection with Trump’s statements. Thirty-one percent show symptoms of psychological distress. Last year, the comparable figure was seven percent.
Aqissiaq Semsen’s experience is that it helps to focus on the good things about Greenland – like the magnificent landscape – especially if you are sad and having suicidal thoughts.
»Of course, you also have to be able to talk about what’s hard. But mostly, you should talk about how good we do, after all, have it in Greenland. It gives you motivation, a sense of agency, and self-confidence«, he says.
More online psychologists
Nivi Olsen, Greenland’s minister for children, youth, and families, agrees. She belongs to the social-liberal party Demokraatit.
»If we don’t talk about all the success we’ve achieved, everything becomes very dark. But it’s also a balancing act. Because when things are truly falling apart, it doesn’t help to talk only about the good«, she says.
She herself is »deeply moved and sad« that the suicide rate is rising, and she also believes a shift in attitudes is the way forward, so it becomes acceptable to talk about the things that are gnawing at people. That should happen by helping one another locally, she says, because there are also many people with resources.
»The strong have to help lift up the weak«, she says.
But Nivi Olsen believes more professional help is also needed. The challenge, she says, is that Greenland has particular obstacles because many people live in settlements and smaller towns where there is no direct access to a psychologist or other health professional.
She points out that her ministry has created a self-help app that has already attracted 3,000 users, and she wants to work to expand digital options, for example, access to a psychologist, social worker, or other health professional through online consultations.
»We can’t compare ourselves to the Nordic countries, because we can’t send a psychologist to every settlement or village. That’s why we have to think in solutions that work in Greenland«, she says.
In addition, she believes a stronger effort is needed to curb binge drinking – consuming large amounts of alcohol in a short period of time.
»For many years, things have been moving in the right direction, and we drink less than the Danes, for example, but the problem is the way people drink. There are far too many who binge drink«, she says.
Nivi Olsen also agrees that there is a fourth factor, even if it may be a bit more diffuse: Donald Trump and his threats.
»Many people are very frustrated by Trump’s pressure. I think a lot of people are thinking, OK, I have some personal problems, but there are also big societal questions about where we’re headed. I think it’s all connected«, she says.
On top of that, Greenland is already in a kind of mental transition, because the country is beginning to confront some national traumas.
»We saw it with the spiral case. It’s only now that we’re starting to realize how big the problems are and how extensive the work of processing them will be. I think that’s where we are right now as a society«, she says.
