THE pain in Dr Saphire Longmore’s voice was palpable as she reflected on the death of former Miss Universe Jamaica contestant Tyra Spaulding.

“My immediate thought was: Why couldn’t or didn’t I see it before, to maybe help if I could? I know that I probably could,” Dr Longmore, a consultant psychiatrist, lamented in reference to Spaulding’s social media posts in which she shared her struggles with mental health over a period of one month before allegedly taking her own life.

The news of Spaudling’s death was heart-rending for Longmore who, given her experience as a mental health specialist, called for social media screenings and health checks to identify trigger words that signal the need for intervention.

“My further thought was: Why are we not having something that catches this on social media? Why are we not screening? Why wasn’t an alert triggered with the posts that she made and what she was voicing? Why wasn’t something triggered by that to alert need? And maybe that is something that we need to look into and really pursue doing in this time of the online life that people live,” Dr Longmore told the Jamaica Observer.

“If somebody mentions suicide — let’s say they mentioned the word suicide in more than one post, or whatever it may be, but once it’s mentioned or you hear self-harm or something — it should trigger something, or certain hashtags must trigger a certain response,” she reasoned.

Spaulding, a 26-year-old accountant, was reportedly found last Tuesday at her home hanging from her bed frame with a pink curtain around her neck. The police are now probing a suspected suicide.

Moments after her passing Jamaicans took to social media to share clips of YouTube videos Spaulding had posted sharing the details of her struggle with suicidal thoughts. In the clips, the former Miss Universe Jamaica contestant expressed that she felt two versions of herself existed; one fighting to stay alive, and the other willing to succumb to the dark thoughts of suicide.

“My mind is trying to kill me, and if I do nothing, I am going to die, guys,” said Spaudling in a video posted on September 4.

“Every day I get up my mind tells me to go and jump off a building, it tells me to go and overdose on pills, it tells me to go and hang myself. I am fighting for my life,” she said.

In an interview with Television Jamaica aired Friday night, Spaulding’s mother, Margaret Jones, described her daughter as vibrant. However, she said sometime this year her demeanour began to change.

“We used to talk and so, and she refuse. She was just locked away in her room from morning ’til night,” her mother recalled.

She shared that Spaulding would only leave her room to eat and use the restroom, until one day she did not.

“That was the day she killed herself,” said Jones.

Asked what advice she would extend to others who have suicidal thoughts, the mother said: “It is the worst thing you can ever do, because the ones who you leave behind are devastated.”

After Spaulding’s death, the Miss Universe Jamaica organisation extended condolence to the family of the 2023 contestant, stating that: “Tyra was more than a contestant; she was a vibrant, intelligent, and inspiring young woman whose grace and spirit touched everyone she met.”

Spaulding’s death comes just three years after it was reported that Cheslie Kryst, Miss USA 2019, who competed in the international Miss Universe pageant, died after falling from a 60-storey building in New York. Media reports stated that Kryst struggled with depression. Her death was reported as a suspected suicide.

According to data from the Jamaica Constabulary Force, 67 suicide deaths were reported last year, one more than the 66 reported in 2023. In 2022 the number was 63; the prior year 50 such deaths were reported. In 2020 the number was 43, while in 2019 there were 58. Last year’s figure was the highest the country has seen since the year 2000 when 77 cases were reported, followed by 75 cases in 2001.

Individuals struggling with suicidal thoughts or their mental health are encouraged to contact the Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Helpline at 888-639-5433.

Looking at the similarities in Spaulding’s and Kryst’s cases, Dr Longmore noted that, generally, “most persons who commit suicide, their self-esteem is shattered, so it makes sense that in a space like a beauty pageant, where there is a whole lot of focus on self and self-esteem, that you could see a greater risk for completed acts or for risky behaviour based on not feeling good about oneself”.

Dr Longmore, who represented Jamaica in the 2000 Miss Universe pageant, noted that in some of the videos Spaulding posted, she expressed feelings of hopelessness, concerns about her stage in life, and referred to voices that indicated some level of severity to her situation.

“In the pageant space, where there is a whole focus on what you’re doing and self-progress, if you don’t feel like you’re progressing, it can affect you. She actually mentioned that she was aware of her biological clock. She’s in her late 20s… and to be so concerned about things like that is also telling in terms of stage of life, and her basically not feeling endorsed and, of course, it seems she was alone,” said Dr Longmore.

The consultant psychiatrist noted that the situation also highlights the dangers of social media, where individuals are often exposed to peers and sometimes compare their lifestyles with others.

She pointed out that, unfortunately, there is little to no guidance in the social media space and urged individuals to be mindful of how they manage their content and appreciate the uniqueness of their life journey.

Dr Longmore further encouraged people to speak up and offer support when they notice social media posts suggesting that someone may be struggling with their mental health.

“I’ve had situations where people, I was concerned, they weren’t expressing suicidality or anything like that, but you could see they were going through a rough time, and I direct messaged them and said, ‘Hey, what’s going on? Are you okay?’ I’m here,’ and the bad phase passes, and you see them go through it,” she told the
Sunday Observer.

“Sometimes it’s just a matter of knowing that, especially in the social media space, that there is a contact out there, that there’s somebody who you can just connect with,” she added.

Dr Longmore noted that people often display warning signs of mental health challenges and urged others to remain alert and attentive to them.

“There are signs of depression, especially when they get what we call melancholic, especially when they are in this phase where the suicidality can be such that no matter how many persons can be surrounding them, they’re still wanting to take their lives, and that is just truly some of the realities. We have seen those cases,” the former Government senator explained.

“For persons who are usually just not engaging as they should, or as they normally would, persons who you recognise they are not going for the things that they usually enjoy, probably negative changes, like maybe overeating, not sleeping, sleeping too much; even with sexuality, they can get an increased libido or a decreased libido.

“There are different signs, different things, but if somebody is verbalising it, the one singular thing you look for is if somebody expresses hopelessness, then it becomes really very concerning and, in my mind, all bells should go off,” Dr Longmore said.

LONGMORE… if somebody mentions suicide, let’s say they mentioned the word suicide in more than one post, or whatever it may be, but once it’s mentioned or you hear self-harm or something, that it should trigger something

Tyra Spaulding was reportedly found last Tuesday at her home hanging from her bed frame with a pink curtain around her neck. The police are now probing a suspected case of suicide.

According to data from the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) some 67 suicide deaths were reported last year, an increase when compared to 66 in 2023, 63 deaths in 2022, 50 deaths in 2021, 43 in 2020, and 58 in 2019.

People often display warning signs of mental health challenges.