Good Mental Health – Determinant to Prevent Suicides

By: M.R. Lalu
September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. It was not going to be pretty to those who chose to put a full stop to their life – a deliberate and abysmally chosen maneuver to finish one’s life. All those who brought their lives to a hasty end have probably had no choice, a better one to make than landing on the terrains of death. World has a serious decision to make, a better plan to creatively design and implement for those who are still living with the mental condition of committing suicide. Societies across the globe have seriously been facing this threat, the threat of ‘suicidality’ – which includes suicidal thoughts, plans and attempts. The quantum of such tendencies is increasing with its rigorous impacts haunting people and families alike. A pattern of thoughts and actions in this direction would not only hamper the mental balance of a person but the atmosphere which he is a part of would equally be affected.
Certainly, being delicate and predisposed to be less courageous and inefficient to maintain an adequate level of mental ambiance of balance, those who chose to commit suicide definitely bring us a lesson to learn from. If your mental wellbeing is feeble and flimsy, you will be more susceptible to making a wrong choice. We can hear their lamentation, of those who made such wrong choices, floating in the frail moments of undetected mental predicaments. Between life’s uncertainties and relentless pressure comes the moment of hopelessness, which ultimately approaches us more menacingly than anything. The moment a person loses courage to live further but becomes courageous enough to stop life forever is the most fragile moment of his existence. Unsurprisingly, the numbers of suicide cases are increasing every year. A meaningful question resonates with indescribable alertness. With modernity marching with all comforts to soothe the complexities of life, why people often choose to Self Harm and finish it forever.
There can be multiple answers to satiate our reasoning. But statistics pouring in from various corners from across the globe do not give us any reason to remain idle. The latest Pew Research brings us alarming revelations on increasing suicidal tendencies among children, especially school goers. Its data is a highlight on an ongoing mental health and suicide crisis among adolescents in America. Comprising all demographic groups across race and ethnicity, the research on suicides and suicidality conclusively establishes the fact that suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. While various reasons have been pushing people to commit suicide in that country, economic reasons remain the principal cause behind suicides in India. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) recorded 1.5 lakh suicide deaths in 2020 during the pandemic. Most of the cases were the results of a huge financial crisis that abruptly made people take their lives. And to be specific, over a quarter of the total number of suicides happened in India were from daily wagers while almost 14 per cent of the total cases were from housewives.
Studies across the globe convincingly declare one thing that among the educated class the suicide tendency is less. The level of animosity towards the self, compelling a person to take his own life is the severest and harshest moment. We often hear students under severe pressure from their parents and teachers end their life. In many cases they attempt to commit suicide and come back from the brink of a total collapse. Conclusive facts call for education and awareness from a younger age. Probably, people with a good family atmosphere and acceptance would rarely attempt an abrupt end to their life. Education and awareness can show the way out of this menace. Ask any child between the ages of 14 to 18, you will find many who thought of slicing their nerves or consuming a poisonous substance or hanging on to the end of a rope to quell the thrust of an overwhelming thought that demanded a sudden response in the form of death. Official data in India reveal the fact that the year 2021 recorded the highest suicide since the beginning of the century with 12 suicides per 1 lakh population. Feeling hopeless and unprecedentedly distressed are the reasons that lead a person to commit suicide. This also reveals the other side of the coin, that people who nurture a tendency to make an attempt to commit suicide are naturally demanding an attention, compassion and care. They are mostly unprepared to handle the pressure of circumstances and suggestively declare their inability through the act of attempting to commit suicide.
Undoubtedly, students’ deaths by suicide are a huge concern. Most of the cases call for the parents and the stakeholders to maintain restraint. Instead of pushing the young minds through the tunnels of parental aspirations, pressing them harder to suffocate and collapse, there should be vivid interactions taking place among members in families to explore amicable possibilities to gear up with the abilities of the child. At present, there is a huge gap seemingly growing wider in terms of mental acceptance and understanding between parents and children and the ruthless spirit of competition injected by institutions slit open through the conscience of families. As per the NCRB data, over 13000 students died in India by suicide in 2021 and maximum of them had chosen to end their lives due to ‘failure in examination.’ India’s suicides should worry us, especially when the maximum number of death cases comes from among the youth. Every suicide attempt is directly linked with the mental health of the person and its prevention is all about helping someone from falling mentally sick. Constructive and sustainable goals are to be set and good practices for mental wellbeing should enjoy resounding acceptance and reach.  September 10 this year should formally be seen as a benchmark set for more creative interventions to prevent suicides, a step closer to actuality.
(The author is Freelance Journalist, Meppurathu House, Puthusserimala P.O, Ranni-689672, Pathanamthitta District, Kerala)