Hyderabad: Increased suicide rate noted in 15-29 age group

Hyderabad: ‘Painless death’ is the most searched topic on the internet, psychologists say. There are two types of suicides, one is properly planned and the other is emotional. The city has been witnessing emotional suicides in more numbers due to the lack of communication in our society.

They may not provide direct hints of their suicidal thoughts, but social media profiles may contain hints about such thoughts that friends and relatives have missed, doctors say.

These deaths are the result of poor relationships with parents, excessive expectations, the feeling of being unwanted and poor understanding of peer or romantic relationships, which ends in the decision — impulsive or long thought-out and deliberate — of suicide.

Stress, frustration and disillusionment that a person may experience makes living difficult for him/her and hence the quest to end one’s life, said Purnima Nagaraja, consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist.

She recalled a bizarre incident where a housewife who wanted to commit suicide had planned it carefully over a year and a half.

“She would buy a prescription tablet of 100mg from the druggist citing different reasons, and collected a quantity that was enough to kill her. One day when her husband had left for a business trip for two days, she consumed them. Fortunately, her husband’s trip was cancelled and he returned home after six hours, found his wife in an unconscious state, and rushed her to hospital where doctors said that she had gone into coma. Had it not been for the husband’s sudden return, she would have been dead,” the doctor said.

People naturally opt for a painless, quick and effective method of committing suicide. Dr Anjali Shubham says there is nothing like “suicidal tendencies”.

“People who commit suicide are doing so to avoid a problem they cannot resolve. Women in general choose ways like pills but men go for more lethal methods like guns or jumping in front of a train,” she said.

There has been a massive increase in suicides in the 15-29 age-group over the past few years. Better awareness and helpline services should be made available to all.  Relatives or friends should keep a close watch on people who show signs of suicide and help them out of their depression.

Dr Atul Kumar, a child psychologist, advises parents to build a relationship of trust with their children that would help relieve stress during the fast-approaching results season.

“Suicides due to failure in examinations are common among children. If a WHO report is any indication, depression symptoms and signs of suicide should be considered seriously given that India has the highest suicide rate among people aged 15-29 years. Children as young as six say they feel stressed. Clearly, pushing them to excel in anything they do is not conducive to the well-being of children,” Dr Kumar said.