Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

"Insecurity spirals down to suicidal thoughts"

S.S. Kavitha

Disintegration of the joint family system a reason, says Dheep of suicide prevention organisation `Udhavi' Disintegration of joint family system, reasons Dheep of `Udhavi'

Dr. Dheep

MADURAI: It is half-past 12 in the night. The telephone rings and three pairs of hands grab the receiver. When they hear a feeble voice, they sit upright on the bed to help the caller procrastinate, a technique to drag the caller's mind that funnels down to suicide. This is how every day and night passes for Dheep and other counsellors of `Udhavi' (Uyir setham thadukkum vizhipunarvu).

"Every individual, who contemplates suicide, always looks for a ray of hope at a crucial moment. When he gets it, he is safe. It is a decision taken in hurry, less than the time taken for batting an eyelid. Though there is a compelling urge to kill the self, the person always wants to live even at the final stage," says Dr. Dheep.

The World Health Organisation and International Association for Suicide Prevention have announced September 10 as `World Suicide Prevention Day' and the theme for 2006 is `With understanding new hope.'

Categorising the reasons for suicides, Dr. Dheep says that an escalating level of stress, dwindling social support and personal coping mechanism are the foremost.

"People, for every problem, seek the help of others and they lack the patience and self-confidence, which is the result of basic insecurity. That leads to stress, depression and finally spirals down to suicidal thoughts," he says.

It is pathetic to note that 60 per cent of the adolescent children contemplate suicide and 10 per cent commit suicide. There is a rapid escalation in the suicide rate in the country, particularly among the age group of 15 to 30 years. In Tamil Nadu, 17.4 out of every one lakh people commit suicide. Of them, 30 to 40 per cent constitute people below 30 years.

Dr. Dheep attributes the increase in the number of suicides to disintegration of the joint family system. .

The danger signs of suicide are talking about death and wanting to die, suicidal thoughts, plans or fantasies, previous suicide attempts, friends who have attempted suicide, giving away personal possessions, telling a friend about a suicidal plan and writing a note.

Dr. Dheep says grandparents or elders are capable of identifying the behavioural changes in children.

Udhavi, round-the-clock and throughout-the year-free suicide prevention helpline service, was launched on September 10, 2005. This year, Udhavi has planned to conduct more awareness programmes between September 10 and October 10 (World Mental Health Day).For details and counselling, contact 9894052543, 9842178739, 9994162999 and 0452-4225220 or e-mail udhavi@india.com.

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