Varanasi: World Suicide Prevention Day is observed every year on September 10 to create awareness about suicidal tendencies and the preventive measures thereof. The theme of this year's World Suicide Prevention Day has been decided by the WHO as 'Creating hope through action' to underline despair as one of the predominant reasons for suicide and conversely instilling hope in people to prevent suicides.
But the question arises that why a person takes such a drastic step like suicide to end his/her own life. ETV Bharat had a special conversation with Dr Manoj Tiwari, senior consultant of IMS BHU in Uttar Pradesh, who shed a light on the suicidal thoughts and the preventive measures. Dr Tiwari said that first, a person has repeated suicidal thoughts and then attempts suicide.
According to a survey, not all suicide attempts are successful while one out of 25 people attempt suicide. The major reasons for suicide according to Dr Tiwari include economic stress, social isolation, lack of healthy entertainment, job loss, domestic strife, adjustment problems, mental disorder and emotional outbursts. As per the symptoms of suicidal thoughts, the person discusses ending life with the family, friends and acquaintances, expressing pessimistic thinking, despair, expressing high levels of guilt, helplessness, drug addiction and social isolation.
Dr Tiwari recommended people stay connected with family and friends because loneliness is a major risk factor for suicide and consult a trained and experienced psychologist in case of suicidal thoughts and keep their enthusiasm level up. He also advised to be patient with life situations and keep a positive mindset and focus on situations that are under one's control.
Also read: India official records reveal rising trend in suicides
Dr Tiwari further recommended spending quality time with family and friends to keep the suicidal thoughts at bay. He said that the participation of every section of society is very important in the prevention of suicide and emphasised the role of family members as most important given that 40% of people are compelled to commit suicide due to family situations.
“From early education, children should be made aware of the importance of struggle in life. They should be told that if there is any problem in life, it can be changed but life cannot be brought back,” he said. He said that the government should focus on the mental health of the people as it does on their physical well-being. He recommended setting up mental health care centres at the village level so that precious lives can be saved in time.
Significantly, India ranks 43rd among suicides, with 77% of suicides occurring in low- and middle-income countries. One person dies by suicide every 40 seconds in the world. According to the World Health Organisation, about one million people have died due to suicide last year. India accounts for 21% of the total suicides in the world.
Gender-wise, 36% of women die by suicide every year, Dr Tiwari said that according to a magazine, 18% of the world's women live in India thereby making the country's women vulnerable to suicide. Domestic violence is a major reason behind suicides. Farmers constitute 7.4% of the suicides. According to the report, there is a suicide every four minutes in India.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, the rate of suicide among students is also increasing every year. Around 12,526 students died by suicide in 2020 which rose to 13,089 in 2021. A total of 44% of the student suicide victims are from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people aged 15-24. Significantly, the tendency of suicide is spreading among the soldiers engaged in the security of the country.
