“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”
Buddha
Suicide is one of the major concerns and one of the biggest causes of death amongst youth across the world. According to the WHO, almost one million people die from suicide and 20 times more people make a suicide attempt every year with an average rate of one death every 40 seconds and one attempt every 3 seconds. The suicide rates in India rose from 6.3 per 100,000 in 1978 to 8.9 per 100,000 in 1990, an increase of 41.3% during the decade from 1980 to 1990, and a compound growth rate of 4.1% per year.
The numbers are terrifying and increasing each day. This makes us question what is the cause behind people taking such drastic measures.
Young people currently show the highest rates of suicide in the world. In an age when life is to be lived carefree, what is it that is forcing the youth to end their lives. An Indian study showed that the suicide rate was highest in the 15-29 years age group followed by the 30-44 years group. Among young people, suicidal behaviour was found to be associated with female gender majorly because of not attending school or college, lack of independent decision making, premarital sex and rapes, physical abuse at home due to dowry demands, lifetime experience of sexual abuse, and probable common mental disorders. Lack of education resulting in unemployment, low income and lesser societal status also leads to a 2-3-fold increased risk of suicide. The primary reason of suicides among youth is excessive academic pressure, unemployment caused by lack of skill development, lack of mental health awareness etc. all leading to depression and anxiety ultimately resulting in suicide.
However, there is also a lack of awareness about various mental health issues like depression, anxiety etc. which go unnoticed.Since many people might not be open to sharing the traumatic events or do not cope easily, it becomes hard to understand these manifestations. However, if someone around you is showcasing these manifestations, its high time to acknowledge the stress one has encountered and normalise healthy discussions about it either with friends, family or professionals. People should be made aware of various mental illnesses with its symptoms and treatment. Getting therapies and seeking professional help should be normalized. There is an ardent need to put a stop to the increasing suicide rates and for this the community and the state should work hand in hand to bring about a positive change. Whether it is personal reasons or due to economic and social pressure, suicide should not be encouraged and getting help or being there for the person suffering from it should be normalized.
