Suicidal tendencies on rise, but can be fought: Experts

Mumbai: Psychologists and police officials said that there is a spurt in suicidal tendencies, mostly among young people, and if we only need to pay attention to what they say, we can save them.

Another problem that is neglected is “mental sickness”, said psychiatrist Dr Ali Gabrani. While official police counsellor, police inspector Shalini Sharma, said that the issue of suicide, especially in teenagers and youngsters, is very sensitive and needs to be handled with care, love and the warmth of strong support. Maharashtra police officials said around 200 cases of suicide have been reported in the past two months, whereas Mumbai police control room was able to stop 25 people from killing themselves in the same time period.

Dr Gabrani shed light on signs and symptoms of depression such as feeling unhappy, behavioural changes and insomnia, among others. Social changes emerging due to technological advancement, political instability, migration and stress are other emerging causes of suicide, he said.

Ms Sharma, who has experience in counselling many girls, rape victims and people who wanted to commit suicide, said, “Suicidal tendencies are on the rise, and people who are in such distress are not in a frame to call anyone or to talk with anyone.”

“Sometimes when we receive calls on our help line numbers, we try to reach them as soon as possible. The most common thing I observed was, they need someone to talk who they can trust,” Ms Sharma said.

While Dr Gabrani said, “The people who have decided to take extreme steps in some or the other way always express their thoughts and plans to commit suicide during conversation. We only need to pay attention to what they say and think.”

Dr Gabrani said most of the cases of suicide were related to failure in love life. “The youth are anxious about study or jobs but they end up having heartbreaks. We need to monitor their behaviour to save them from getting depressed and taking the extreme step,” he added.