Suicidal Ideation

Posted on by Parul Thakur
Picked as a "Spicy Saturday" read on June 29, 2014
Picked as a “Spicy Saturday” read on June 29, 2014

10 suicides over last 24 hours and 19 over the last 6 six days! Sounds alarming, right? Well, those were plain hard facts for you. It came as a surprise to me when I read that per National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Bangalore is India’s suicide capital. These stats hit me right in the face. The people of Bangalore are calm, peace loving, down to earth, helpful, laid back and this piece of news kind of showed that there is so much boiling in hearts and obviously expressed through killing oneself.

Stats this week. Source : The Hindu
Stats this week.
Source : The Hindu

For me, suicides are hard to decipher. On one hand, we all know that we own our lives and we are the ones who can make it better or worse. On the other hand, life is a beautiful gift. Things may not be as you want them to be but does that justify suicides or suicide attempts? Of all the above cases in Bangalore – the reasons were

  • fear of what’s next
  • pain of what’s gone

Looking over both the categories broadly – no one knows what’s for store in future. This young teen was scared of upcoming class 10th examinations but then there were still 9 months of preparation left.  Anticipating failure even before trying is unfair. And what’s gone is gone. An unsuccessful marriage, an unfaithful girlfriend or a husband who never cared – these are all lessons that life has to teach us. No one succeeds in everything they do. We have all faced failure in some form or the other but it should never become the cause of death and the loss of our own lives.

A suicide always seems as an easy solution to run away from the problems of life. What people forget is that a suicide does not take away just one life. It kills many more people – parents, spouse, children and friends. A successful attempt takes away the life of all those who loved and cared. Suicidal Ideation is a medical condition and it means something is not right either mentally or medically. It’s tough to understand and even more tough to handle symptoms like depression, severe anxiety, low self-esteem, constant feeling of loneliness and inability to engage in anything that meaningful and progressive. However, what is easy to understand is that these conditions do not develop overnight. They develop over a period of time and others do have a role to play.

Why do we have to live our lives under so much pressure? What will happen if I fail in my exams? What will I do if my husband abandons me and my children? How do I handle my life if my girlfriend walks out? What will my parents feel if I do not score the highest? So many what ifs but who said life is perfect and things will be as you want? Open up, communicate, share your feelings and let go of everything that keeps you up at night. All you parents, think of the times when you were in high-school.  Every child is different. Never compare children. They are all special. Motivate and inspire but do so positively. Choose the right friends and partners. If you fail, move on! Life is the other name of hope and hope for a better tomorrow!

Let’s get together and kill suicide.

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. Tagging this post to Write Tribe’s initiative towards #suicideprevention

 

20 thoughts on “Suicidal Ideation”

  1. Move on…. I guess it’s easier said than done. I feel taking away ones own life would be hardest thing to do. I can not ever imagine what the person must be going through that he feels dying is easier than fighting. I don’t see that as sign of weakness rather it’s helplessness. Our minds are such a powerful thing. We can never understand what made others take their life. Superficially it may be fear of failure or pain of loss but it’s tough to decipher the actual helplessness the victim suffered!!

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    1. I agree it’s easier said than done. However, since this is a thing of mind I think it can be handled. All that is required is a very strong support. No doubt it’s helplessness and hence such an extreme step. But it’s never justified.

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  2. good question.

    you know it is very difficult ot understand the mind set of a person, but sometimes life is such that everything seems lost and there is no other option but to commit this.

    as you say above a strong support is required .. you say its not justified but then the person who has taken that decision , it is justified to them .. god know what all that person has gone through to take that step..

    I know because been there and beleive me at that moment it is the most justifiable step to take

    I agree with that it develops over time and if we can help notice those signs than we can help someone for sure

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    1. So it may be justified from the angle of the person involved but what about others who care? what about those who will fail forever if the attempt succeeds. People obviously go through a lot but how will killing oneself solve anything? I know that even when the person dies, people makeup stories and the family dies a hundred deaths.

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      1. you are right.. but I think the important part is to think of what is going through the mind of the person .. rather than worry what stories people make..

        justified in a sense .. yes in the eyes of the person who is taking the step .. because beleive me all such thoughts are going through there mind too, all pro and cons have been thought of .. and then that decision has been made .. so imagine the plight of a person who has given it all that thought and Still cant find a solution and the only way out is to take the step..

        maybe at that time if we can see those signs then we can help the person ..

        jo taar se nikli hai woh dhun sabne suni hai
        Jo saaz pe guzri hai woh kis dil ko pata hai

        I am not justifing anything here , just trying to think of that mind .. which is thinking all these bad thoughts

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  5. Profound and simple. If only people could learn from everything, be it success or failure, believe in themselves and accept that life isn’t about walking on an easy path, and it’s all more fun all the way till end, may be, they wouldn’t consider getting off the hook early. The stats though old were surprising.

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  6. How sad that Bangalore is so high in suicides. A very informative and thought provoking post. You touched on so many important points about suicide. Such a devastating condition and sad it’s so prevalent in every country. It’s bad here in Canada, too. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. Why do we have to live our lives under so much pressure? Guess… cos the society expects that from us. Others want us to be perfect and no one can see failure. But if we could accept everyone as they are… maybe these escapisms can be erased.

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