By: Mahoor Haya Shah
People referred to as ‘psychotically depressed’ who try to kill themselves don’t do so because Grim Reaper is enticing for them or owing to their cowardice. Absolutely not! Can we stop considering these people namby-pamby? When the invisible throes reach a certain unendurable level and the person is trapped in a Catch-22 situation she/he will eventually jump from the window of a burning high-rise. Why do we misunderstand people who leap from burning windows. Their terror of falling from a great height is same like everyone of us; yes the fear of falling remains a constant but the variable here is much larger throe … the pangs of fire seem to outdo the fear of falling. No one of us can claim that we understand their predicament.
There are certain theories in Psychology which seem to suggest that depressed people have better know-how of reality than the mentally sound ones. Well, this remains a question and the answer is absolutely personal viewpoints per se. Apart from commonly discussed causes of suicide including Depression Bipolar, Disorder Schizophrenia, Eating Disorders, Family Trauma, and others, Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) can be considered an another cause regarding the same.
The defining feature of SAD is the fear of negative evaluation by others. SAD is directly linked to social standards and role expectations which are culture-dependent. In conjunction to it, suicide rates are also high amongst vulnerable groups who experience discrimination, such as refugees and migrants; indigenous peoples, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, intersex (LGBTI) persons; and prisoners. By far the strongest risk factor for suicide is a previous suicidal attempt. Also, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), women are more likely to attempt suicide than men. It is reported 20000 people have attempted suicide during the last fourteen years of socio-political turmoil in the valley.
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About 3000 of them have died and most of them were in the age group of 16-25. In Kashmir, it is alleged that suicides are said to have claimed the 2nd highest number of lives after 90’s . 77% of global suicides occur in low- and middle-income countries so unemployment is also a leading cause for suicides in the valley. Apart from the lives, suicides take a huge toll on family members, friends and society as a whole including the financial toll which is estimated that suicides and suicidal attempts cost the nation over $70 billion per year in lifetime medical and work-loss costs alone. Apart from this Primary motivations for requesting euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide were associated with psychological well-being and not physical pain, according to recent findings. Some situations that appear to be suicide may actually be an accidental death.
The choking game (also known as “pass-out challenge,” “flatliner,” and “space monkey”) where teens strangle themselves to achieve a high-like sensation and autoerotic asphyxiation are examples of suffocation suicides. Other accidental suicides include unintentional overdoses and firearm and poisoning suicides. Also language matters a lot and has the power to shape ideas and feelings; so let us use it more carefully , the phrase “committed suicide” is frowned on nowadays because it reeks of an era when suicide was considered a sin or a crime. It’s difficult to imagine what led a friend, family member, or celebrity to commit suicide. There may have been no clear warning signs, and you may wonder what clues you might have missed. Often, many factors combine to lead a person to the decision to take their own life. However, suicide is preventable and everyone has a role to play to save lives and create healthy and strong connections, families or other relations and communities on the whole Suicide prevention requires a comprehensive public health approach.
Author can be mailed at hayashah546@gmail.com
