On World Suicide Prevention Day (September 10), psychologists advise youngsters that it is important to have multiple goals, have faith in oneself and that life is much more important than the present turmoil one is in.
Bengaluru: Assuming that you take 2 minutes to read this article and by the time you end reading it 3 people would have committed suicide. That translates to 1 person committing suicide in every 40 seconds.
September 10 is the day that dedicates itself to prevention of suicide.
According to the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP), every year suicide is among the top 20 leading causes of death globally. It is responsible for over 800,000 deaths, which equates to one suicide every 40 seconds. In America, it was the 10th leading cause of death, with over 47,000 people dying by suicide in 2017, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP).
IASP estimates that for every person that dies by suicide, 135 people suffer "intense grief or are otherwise affected." This amounts to 108 million people per year. Further, the organization says that for every suicide, 25 people make a suicide attempt and many more have serious thoughts of suicide.
Moving to a bigger question. How does one prevent suicide?
The moment one gets suicidal tendencies, one must remember that life is much, much bigger and more important than the present turmoil one is in.
When a person decides to kill himself, he must summon a lot of courage to meet death face-to-face. And there is a school of thought that the same courage can be used to face the strife in life.
However, this thought is not espoused by experts.
“When the image that you have created for yourself is being destroyed, it makes you uncomfortable. When they feel things are not working in their favour, they convince themselves about the vanity of leading a worthless life and the need to give up the body,” says Dr Shridhara, a psychologist.
The psychologist advises the youngsters thus, “Let your goals be within your reach. The goals can be varied, not limited to a single goal. Live for the day. Don’t think of tomorrow. There will be problems. Solve them with your intelligence. Work on the ability to solve it. The problems are a challenge to your brain and not your life.”
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