World Suicide Prevention Day

World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an awareness day observed on the 10th of September every year. This day is dedicated to a very important message: Suicides are preventable.

The goal is to not only raise awareness about the same but more importantly to throw some light on the problem in hopes of reaching people who are struggling or have struggled with similar issues.

In the end, all we want to do is to reach a point in time when no suicides are committed in this world.

Impact on Mental Health

Mental health and suicidal tendencies are like two sides of the same coin. One leads to another and vice versa. Suicidal thoughts, quite literally, drain an individual altogether. Not only do they cause the onset of mental health problems (like depression, bipolar disorder, panic attacks etc), but also reduce one’s ability to fight with them.

This creates a vicious cycle of mental health disorders; suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempts, shock and pain amongst the individual. However, during such situations there is also an adverse impact on the mental health of one’s near and dear ones.

It is quite common to find the family and friends, of people struggling with suicidal thoughts, to themselves show severe mental health problems and lack of coping mechanisms. Moreover, suicides go beyond the private realm of family and friends and are now amongst the biggest social issues that our society is trying to grapple with.

How are we responsible?

We are all part of a society and hence directly or indirectly play a significant role in the development of suicidal behaviours.

Society itself led to the birth and propagation of many social evils like stigmatisation, injustice, patriarchy and sexism, inequality, discrimination stereotypes, prejudices and much more.

Our environment (including our household, workplace and society in general) can become increasingly toxic, intolerant and apathetic. Thus, pressing issues like mental health and suicide are extremely stigmatised and instances of bullying, victim-shaming, guilt-tripping etc make the situation worse.

Let’s take an example- The suicide rate of men is higher than that of women. Why? Men also have to pay the price of living in a patriarchal society. They are forbidden from and shamed for being vulnerable and expressing their pain. An unhealthy environment makes them bottle up their feelings. Resulting in not only poor mental wellness but also an increase in the risk of suicidal tendencies.

What can we do?

At the macro level, what we simply need is a change. We need, to change ourselves as well as our society, to become more empathetic, kind, helpful, positive and tolerant.

The world would be a better place to live in if we tried breaking the stigma, broadening our mindsets, being informed, educated and accommodating, seeking and providing help etc. Thus, by doing our bit we can create an environment of positivity that can go a long way towards ensuring the well being of the people living in it. Moreover, if someone going through something this dire, is provided with a safe and healthy environment, one would not be afraid of coming out & talking about problems, seeking help etc.

Thus, working tirelessly towards this cause in any way we can, will indeed lead to a day when our world would be a much better place to live in; when people won’t hopelessly struggle with such severe mental health issues and when we would finally be able to describe our society as one worth living in.

Helpline Numbers

● (91)-8376804102 (Fortis 24/7 Stress Helpline Number).

● (91)-9820466726 (Aasra 24/7, Mumbai).

● (91)-1722735436 (Asha Helpline 8am-7pm, Chandigarh).

● 9152987821 (iCall Helpline Monday - Saturday, 8am - 10pm).

● 1-800-273-8255 (National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, open 24/7 throughout the week).

● Text HELLO to 741741 (Crisis Text Line, open 24/7 throughout the

week).

● http://www.aasra.info/helpline.html (website containing helpline numbers for various states throughout India).

✏️: @tarini_puri & @ishani_jaiswal

🎨: @tarini_puri