World Suicide Prevention Day 2023: Depressed people will have to be shown the right path

‘World Suicide Prevention Day’ is celebrated every year on 10 September in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) with the aim of curbing the rapidly increasing trend of suicide worldwide. The day was started in 2003 by the ‘International Association for Suicide Prevention’ (IASP). These days a yellow ribbon is worn as a symbol to help spread the word that speaking out about suicide prevention can save lives. The main purpose of celebrating this day is to research, spread awareness and collect data on the behavior of a person who commits suicide. In fact, according to WHO, one person commits suicide every 40 seconds in the world, that is, every year about eight lakh people end their lives through suicide, out of which a large number of suicide cases are in the age group of 15 to 29 years. While the number of those who attempt suicide is much more than this.

Every year a theme is set for World Suicide Prevention Day. The 2023 theme of Suicide Prevention Day is ‘Creating Hope Through Action’. The aim of this theme is to create hope among people through their work. Depression is continuously increasing among people, due to which some people take heartbreaking steps like suicide. The increasing tendency of people to commit suicide due to frustration with life is becoming a cause of serious concern. Frustration and despair have increased among people during the Corona period, due to which the percentage of suicides is also continuously increasing. According to WHO statistics, 79 percent of suicides worldwide are committed by people from lower and middle class countries and a large number of such youths are on whose shoulders the future of any country rests.

Although the incidents of suicide have increased rapidly in the world in the past years, but the number of suicides in India is quite worrying. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) had released the ‘Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India-2021’ report regarding suicide cases in India in the year 2021, according to which 164033 people committed suicide in the country in 2021. According to NCRB, professional or career related problems, feeling of isolation, abuse, violence, family problems, mental disorder, alcohol addiction, financial loss, chronic pain etc. are the main reasons behind the incidents of suicide. It is clear from this report that suicides in the country increased by about 7.2 percent in 2021 as compared to 2020 due to many other reasons including fluctuations in economic condition due to Corona, family troubles, breakdown in relationships and problems due to illness. In 2020, the number of suicide cases was 153052. According to psychiatrists, Corona has caused more mental stress to humans than making them physically ill. Students are deeply confused about their education and future. Some are worried about career or job and some are facing financial crisis. During times of stress, personal relationships have also become sour and the increasing flow of negative thoughts among the common people and the above mentioned worries sometimes take the form of depression, due to which some people choose the dangerous path of suicide to get rid of the problems.

When a person goes through a very bad mental condition, he suddenly goes into depression and due to this depression, some such people commit suicide, which has a very negative impact on their family as well as the society. According to experts, due to depression and stress, suicidal tendencies are increasing among people and when a person sees a way out of the problems, he takes the heart-wrenching step of committing suicide. Although people who have strong morale often overcome difficult situations, some people suffering from depression surrender themselves to death instead of fighting the adverse circumstances. According to psychiatrists, suicide is a very serious problem and depression is mostly held responsible for suicide, which is also the main reason for about 90 percent of such cases, but depression alone cannot be held completely responsible for all suicides. According to him, the thought of committing suicide develops in a person when he is unable to come out of any difficulty.

Human life is considered the most precious thing in the world because our life is the only thing which we cannot get again. However, if ever there is a feeling of excessive stress or any mental illness, then immediately meet a psychiatrist and talk openly about your problems. A Mental Health Rehabilitation Helpline (Kiran Helpline) number was also issued by the Central Government in August 2020, on which one can call and seek help or counseling in such a situation. Apart from this, there are many suicide helpline numbers available, which can be used to curb the incidents of suicide. Cases like suicide can also be reduced to a great extent by spreading awareness about mental health among the people. It is a big responsibility of the family as well as the society to create such an environment that no one has the thought of suicide.

– Yogesh Kumar Goyal

(The author is a senior journalist continuously active in literature and journalism for 33 years and author of many books)