Abha Anindita
Every suicide is an appeal for help, a personal tragedy that could have been stopped. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 1,64,033 suicides were reported across the country in 2021, which was an increase of 7.2 per cent over 2020.
The month of September is a call for action, to recognise and rectify stigmas related to suicide survivors and to admit the seriousness of mental health. September is to also raise awareness on the official theme of the World Health Organization, `Creating Hope Through Action.’
The number of deaths due to suicides has been the highest since 1967, when the NCRB started compiling data. The year 2021 saw the national average of suicidal deaths rising to 12 per lakh population.
Dr. Pakha Tesia, psychiatrist, said, “A suicide survivor needs to seek professional help. We should not hide it because the chances of somebody who has attempted suicide trying it again is high.”
The NCRB report, official police data lay down the reported number of people who committed suicide, but no report can ever ascertain as to how many people actually attempted, but were saved maybe by timely intervention.
“Mental health and suicidal tendencies need to be differentiated. They are two different problems. Not everybody with a mental illness is going to commit suicide, but 90 per cent of suicide cases have a history of mental illness. Suicides can also be an impuslive decision,” said Dr. Sonali Shinde Tesia, psychiatrist, Mind and Wellness Clinic, Shillong.
In Meghalaya, according to the numbers reported in NCRB, 226 people died by suicide in 2021.
The male-female ratio of suicides in India is 72.5:27.4 implying there’s a huge gender gap. However, it’s the opposite when it comes to suicide cases below the age of 18 where the female suicide numbers are more.
Dr Sandi Syiem, Director of San-ker, added, “Over the last two years, more adolescent girls took their lives. You will find people with 95-96 per cent marks taking their own lives. People have to be made aware, in this case parents, for instance, that you cannot always expect your child to score a 100 per cent. The pressure from the education system and the family has to be reduced.”
In the case of adults, daily wage earners and housewives constitute the major chunk of reported suicidal deaths. While 37,751 daily wage earners committed suicide amongst 1,18,979 male deaths, 23,178 housewives took their lives owing to reasons like domestic violence, which makes it more than 50 per cent of female suicides.
The important question is how many people can afford therapy sessions or seek help from a professional. With daily wage earners making up the major chunk of male suicides reported in the country, the moot point is how available are mental health care centres?
“This is where the role of the government comes into play. It should ensure the availability of more mental health facilities, and more mental health care professionals who are accessible to people from all strata. Preventive measures have to be taken across all sectors,” Syiem said.
“Almost a million people die by suicide every year. Every 40 seconds, somebody in the world takes his/her life. When a person says I want to die, it’s a warning sign, we should listen to it,” he said.
The antidote to suicide is empathy. Developing non-stigmatising attitudes and not belittling a survivor is crucial in this challenge. “It should be our role as a community, each and every one of us, that we should be empathetic towards survivors,” Syeim added.
Dr Lakshmi Sankaran, Deputy Director of Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health, said, We should never minimise the complexity of their issues. We must acknowledge the realities of people’s difficulties without devaluing their experiences. We must take care to be respectful and not make derogatory statements. Calling them weak or cowards is something that should be avoided.”