Tendency to commit suicide can easily be prevented: Docs

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, October 9

World Mental Health Day is celebrated every year on October 10 to spread awareness about mental health among people. The theme for this year is ‘Suicide Prevention’, informed Dr Rupesh Chaudhary, professor of psychiatry at DMCH, and president, Ludhiana Psychiatry Society. “Every 40 seconds, someone loses their life to suicide. The suicidal rate in India is 10.6 per lakh population,” he said.

Suicide is preventable especially if we act on warning signs, which include feeling of hopelessness, feeling alone, irritability, making suicide threats, self-harm behaviour, frequently talking about death, drastic mood changes, acting recklessly, loss of interest in routine activities, guilt and low self-esteem.

The warning signs in children and teenagers are often masked and needed to be looked out for red flags such as withdrawing from family and friends, drop in academic performance, school refusal, being preoccupied with death in conversation, writing, or drawing, having aggressive or hostile behaviour, running away from home, any signs of bullying or sexual abuse. Self-harm behaviour in adults and children should be taken seriously. Although self-harm is not the same as suicide, self-harm can escalate into suicidal behaviours. Self-harmers, who have become desensitised and habituated to pain through repeat harming episodes, may view a suicide attempt as less frightening.

We all can help a person dealing with these issues by simple steps such as talking and listening to the concerned person, not taking their feelings as a joke, removing potential hazardous materials around them, not ignoring them, promising them confidentiality and encouraging them to seek help. Our efforts can help in making the world a better place to live, he said.