'Treatment of mental disorders can help prevent suicides'

As many as 110 persons, including nine teenagers, have hanged themselves in the district since January, according to Lord Mahavir Civil Hospital.

On the eve of World Suicide Prevention Day, the doctors say mental disorders are one of the major risk factors behind suicide cases.

According to the World Health Organisation, every year about 10 lakh people die from suicides across the world and the cases have seen a 60% increase in the past 45 years.

The data collected from civil hospital revealed that of the 110 people, who committed suicide by hanging, 77 were males, 24 females and nine teenagers. Last year, 104 cases of hanging were reported. The city-based doctors say the total of number of suicides done through other methods could be much higher.

Sharing concern over the increasing number of suicides, Dr Kunal Kala, psychiatrist at The Mind Plus, a private psychiatry hospital, said, “Majority of people who die from suicide suffered from mental illness. Psychiatric conditions such as depression and schizophrenia commonly become reason for people to end their life. Many people who commit suicide have expressed pessimism, hopelessness and negative beliefs about the future.”

Dr Kala said, “A large number of patients and their families are unaware of their illnesses, and there remains a stigma against psychiatric conditions and their treatment. There is need of proper awareness regarding the treatment of mental disorders to prevent suicides. These health problems are treatable.”

Giving details, Dr Kala said, “There are three stages to evaluate how likely someone is to take their own life. The first of these is experiencing thoughts that life is not worth living and that they would be better off dead. The second stage involves actively thinking about how they would go about taking their life.

The final stage is where the person has made up their mind on what they would do and have made acts such as writing a letter informing people that they leave behind of their motives for committing suicide.”

Dr Rajeev Gupta, psychiatrist at Manas hospital, said, “Due to decrease in direct social connectivity, many youngsters suffer from stress and depression these days. People connected to other people through social networking websites and other advanced ways of technology sometimes fail to share their problems and feelings with family members. Sometimes when high expectations are not met, people are driven to suicide.”

“People also commit suicide due to lack of tolerance, abuse of alcohol, drug addiction, long-term illnesses, financial crisis, breakups in relationships, death of close relatives and loneliness. The patients under depression rear suicidal thoughts, and require treatment and counselling,” Dr Gupta added.