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Recently, there have been several reports of the youth using suicide as their last resort when life seems to be crumbling down on them.

Just in a month, there's been about 10 suicide incidents with two of the victims being students of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Ghana.

The issue of suicide has since become terrifying and the question that puzzles the minds of many Ghanaians is why would a person claim his or her own life?

With this question in perspective, the Production team of Peace FM's flagship programme 'Kokrokoo' invited some resource persons into the studio to address this threatening trend.

Addressing the issue on 'Kokrokoo', Clinical Psychologist and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana expressed worry over the pressures that students are subjected to, which compel them to resort to suicide.

He made mention of high academic expectations from students and also the grading points for admission into the Tertiary institutions as some reasons that force an individual to claim his or her life.

He explained that because parents expect their wards to excel in their academics, they tend to downplay their intelligence particularly when their wards are unable to produce the exact results they require.

Due to this, their wards may become depressed and desperate resulting in suicide which they may consider as the best option to escape ridicule.

To him, the academic pressures on students should be minimized and further called on parents and guardians to show love to their wards.

He also noted that, due to the grading points, sometimes a child may attain an "A" in all subjects but "D" in a particular subject and so he or she may not gain admission into his or her choice of University, or the person may become disappointed because he or she couldn't gain admission to study the course of his or her choice.

All these factors among others, he stated, are some causes of the rampant suicide cases in the country.

A Psychiatrist at the Pantang Hospital, Dr. Kwadwo Obeng, also urged all Ghanaians to look out for one another and be empathetic towards each other to avoid any suicidal tendencies in any person.

He noted that depression and other mental disorders should be reported and not treated with shame so as to prevent people from committing suicide.

Also touching on the matter, Professor Angela Ofori Atta of the University of Ghana - School of Medicine and also the Department of Psychiatry - at the University told host Kwami Sefa Kayi that to solve the issue; it behoves the entire nation to show compassion to each other.

She cited that instead of talking down on a person when he or she is facing crises in life, it is advisable that people encourage each other to withstand the test of time.

She advised particularly families to adopt an approach where they sign contracts to check the wellbeing of their loved ones.

Prof. Ofori Atta believed showing care to each other is a step to giving hope to people whose last resort in life is suicide.