With the suicide of famous Bollywood actor, people on social networking sites are talking about it left right and centre. Why suicide? Most common causes are Untreated Psychotic Disorders (Like Schizophrenia-no contact with reality, space, position, orientation etc.) or Untreated Depression (as people lose total hope of future, nor feel interest in life, feel miserable, alone and pathetic all the time). Untreated drug abuse and domestic violence are other major causes. Reactive depression which is caused by failure in examinations, teenage love affairs & domestic violence have become common in Kashmir. People in agriculture sector must put under lock all insecticides. Although it’s always recommended to visit a psychiatrist even if somebody just casually says that the person will commit suicide, still try to follow thee things, and ensure you are non-judgemental.
Why does he or she want to die?
- Presence of psychiatric or organic factor that’s psychotic depression, thought disorder, sedative self-medications (Librosar being common in Kashmir).
- Determine the role of impulsivity in young person’s (Parents, School teachers to be alert)
- Discuss recent loss – self-esteem, examination failures, or loss of job or death of a closed person.
Individual risk factors
- Sense of hopelessness (major depression) loneliness.
- Alcoholism and Drug addiction increases risk of all by manifolds.
- Schizophrenia or insane person also known as PAGAL in Kashmir, especially when lonely, depressed, with hallucinations of self-destructive command – that’s patient of Schizophrenia hearing or seeing a holy person or angel or a ghost asking him to commit suicide.
- Impaired impulse control for any other reason in teenagers.
- Do not write of patients as just manipulative especially in adolescents.
Treatment principals and society.
- Let our respected Imams reserve one Friday every month for sermons on suicides and domestic violence, means at least 12 Fridays every year without a break, same can be requested of other religious leaders od all faiths.
- Every high school, college and other educational institutions should have a full time counsellor that can detect personality disorders and other ailments at a very young age.
- Need for qualified counsellors is also must for other departments like banks, army and police. The counsellors should be there practically rather than papers.
- Awareness programmes on all mental health diseases be must for all institutions from colleges to banks.
- We should allow people to express anger, unacceptable thoughts, feelings of rejection and hopelessness with counsellors or parents. Don’t label them.
- In a friend circle never ever agree to hold suicide plan in confidence.
- Involve the family and significant others in treatment, try to reduce isolation and withdrawal.
And for those who want to commit suicide just one request; look at the boy who committed suicide after he failed in an examination in Kashmir, latter it was known he secured highest grade. Life is like that. God’s plans are unique. We sometimes don’t get what we desire because what we had desired for was less and God wants us to give more, rather than becoming ordinary by committing suicides we can become legends by fighting difficult times. Steve Jobs, Bill gates , Amitabh Bachan all were failures first, now look what they have achieved!!!
We often define success in life only through the prism of our financial position, and career graph. Unfortunately we run after such success and ultimately get stressed, depressed; thus anger, jealousy and other vices become part of our life. In order to achieve these successes we have stopped caring for the inner being (the soul) and relationships. This resulted in stress, pain, anxiety, family break ups, personal and relational disintegrations. As a consequence, we feel empty. Reaching fame, financial wealth, the power of a visible position, and reaching it with a broken soul, broken up family and a sick body, causes depression or leads to drug addiction which explains why, in last 30 years, even famous people have ended up committing suicides. As a society we have to re-evaluate our man made beliefs that lead to ill-conceived perception of failures and success. Lastly do not taunt people suffering from any stress disorder as weak, or wrong.