India accounts for a large fraction of the world’s suicides

“The words ‘I was suicidal’ still taste a little strange in my mouth,” says 22-year-old Anisha (name changed). “It was a struggle to wake up every day, and nothing felt worth it. Even to this day, if you ask me to pinpoint the reason why I consistently wanted to kill myself for two years, I wouldn’t be able to tell you. But I did. And the fact that I am not able to vocalise my trauma, does not make it any less real.”

Suicide prevention is a legitimate concern in India but isn’t getting the attention it requires. While the numbers show slow declines in the suicide rate in Delhi, a lot of these statistics are likely misinformed. Data released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) in 2015 showed that over 1,00,000 people commit suicide in India every year. A study done on suicide death rates from 1990-2016 and published in the Lancet Public Health medical journal estimated the suicide rates for males and females based on various different sources. And as of 2018, India accounts for a significant fraction of the world’s suicides.

Source: NCRB.

Vikramsinh Pawar, Senior Program Coordinator of Connecting NGO, says, “We get more male callers than female callers, however, the number of attempted suicide cases is higher with women.” Connecting NGO runs a helpline that receives at least 8-10 calls every day. “There is still a stigma around suicide in India, especially with people coming from lower income groups,” he says. They have trained volunteers manning the helplines and provide a safe and non-judgemental “listening space” for the callers.

“When you start attempting to provide a solution to their problem, a part of the communication gets blocked. More often than not the callers are aware of the solutions to their problems but they lack the courage. We train our volunteers to listen and provide an objective mirror image of their issues—creating a safe emotional space for them to vent,” says Pawar.

Connecting also receives calls from family members or friends of those who attempted or committed suicide. Pawar explains that the age group of callers ranges from 14 to 50 years and the circumstances are often ambiguous. Family members who feel responsible for the suicides suffer from post-traumatic stress, those contemplating suicide just want someone to empathise. Callers dealing with different kinds of personal crises will call just for a non-judgemental ear. “We have several helplines and organisations that deal with suicide prevention, but the government has done little to draw to attention to this problem. We have the infrastructure, but it is not being utilised to its fullest capacity. If the government focuses a little more on suicide prevention, all the work that these NGOs do might actually be legitimised,” says Pawar. “We have been doing this work for donkey’s years, but the government I feel is not active enough in this area.”

Thirty-year-old Sanjay (name changed) suffers from anxiety attacks and clinical depression, and has been taking medication for a while now. “On my good days, I know that I don’t want to die. I think that most people who have suicidal tendencies know subconsciously what would happen if they actually followed through with those thoughts. But on the bad days, it really does feel like maybe dying wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen,” he says. “I speak of it this casually because I’ve been dealing with this part of my personality for a few years now, but it’s terrifying for those who are experiencing these thoughts for the first time. I certainly was.”

The leading causes for suicides are relationship issues (marital, familial and friendships), employment problems, repressed mental illnesses, and problems related to sexuality.

Source: NCRB.

Preeti (name changed), 22, had been clinically depressed for many years before she sought help. “I remember crying myself to sleep, thinking about how my friends did not care about me. I know now that they did, and still do. But at the time, there really wasn’t anything I could say to myself to feel better. I realised that I needed to get my thoughts in order and really address the problem when I started to get really violent thoughts about the people closest to me. It made me very uncomfortable.” She was prone to self-harm as well.

“We spend at least 35-40 minutes on every call, and sometimes even four hours at a stretch to talk to the callers and help them navigate their respective difficult situations,” says Pawar. “It also takes a significant toll on our volunteers.” It’s important to note that suicide helplines and other organisations can only help when help is asked for. It’s time to destigmatise the issues of self-harm and suicide and encourage conversations around it.

Connecting NGO can be contacted at +919922001122 or connectingngo@gmail.com. Other suicide helplines are Roshni (+914066202000) and Sneha (+914424640050).

This piece was first published in The Patriot.