Chennai: Suicide is a social issue and not an individual problem. An online discussion on “Suicide Prevention: The Importance of Community” hosted by YourDOST, India’s largest online counseling and emotional support platform designed to foster mental health, appealed for more efforts from the community to raise suicide prevention awareness. The panel discussion was held to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.
The panelists included Dr Seema Sharma, clinical psychologist; Ms. Sandhya Menon, independent writer, journalist and a suicide survivor; Rajesh R Pillai, lawyer and president of Befrienders India; and Raashi Thakran, a certified QPR trainer, and a sucide loss survivor. The discussion was moderated by Dr Jini K Gopinath, clinical psychologist and chief psychology officer, YourDOST.
India has been witnessing an increasing number of deaths by suicide. According to data compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), since 2007, there has been a 52 per cent increase in the number of suicides among youth in India, with an average 26 suicides taking place every day, or one every hour. These grim figures are alarming enough for the society to bring about a fundamental change in its approach towards mental and emotional issues.
Commenting on the community’s responsibility in the massive increase in suicide rates, Pillai said, “community has a big role to play since not all suicides are due to mental illness but also due to apathy and lack of avenues to express oneself. Being able to share one’s grief and air their trauma is a basic need of a human being. A systematic change at every level to create a more supportive ecosystem is imperative – from family to teachers to governments, everyone has a role to play in avoiding these instances.”