End your Life to Solve your Problems?

Hanging or Pesticide Use are Common Ways of Committing Suicide

​Suicide is a coward’s way of escaping from problems is what people often comment when they hear that someone has committed self-murder. We hear news about suicide on the social media or television only when there is something intriguing about it-such as in the case of the Blue Whale game where committing suicide was the last task for the player. Such types of suicide account for a meager portion of the 8,00,000+ suicides that happen every year. Anytime in a person’s life, the individual can get into the mindset of committing suicide and this made it the second highest reason for death among those aged between 15 and 29 years in 2015. Suicide is not confined to high-income countries and actually, more than 78% of the suicides committed in 2015 was in middle- or low-income countries.

Termed a public health concern, suicides are preventable with inexpensive strategies when there is timely intervention. We feel pathetic when we lose our adorable family member or when we are unable to deal with some financial crisis. Most important reasons for suicide include:
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1. Many suicides are the outcome of on-the-spot decisions taken due to extremely stressful situations in life-for instance, chronic diseases, financial losses or personal losses.
2. Conflicts, abuse, violence, a feeling of isolation or some disaster push someone to the verge of breaking down and committing suicide.
3. Individuals facing discrimination, such as refugees, gay, bisexual, lesbian, transgender and prisoners feel more inclined to end their life due to societal abuse and pressures.
4. The one-most important reason for committing a suicide includes a previous suicidal attempt.
   
   

Hang to Death or Poison Yourself
The picture of a rope hanging from a ceiling is what many of us assume from the word ‘suicide’. While this is a common method of committing suicide, around 30% of global suicides are because of pesticide self-poisoning which is prevalent in low- and middle-income countries in rural areas. Using a firearm is also common in some places. Knowing the means of a suicidal attempt is helpful in putting an end to it by restricting access to such means.

Breaking Away from the Clutches of Suicide
Suicide is preventable, and we can take different efforts at the population level or the individual level to prevent suicide or even attempts for it. Workable ways include:
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1. Restricting access to means of a suicide, for instance firearms, pesticides, etc.
2. Preventing unauthentic, discriminatory and insensible reporting by the media
3. Introducing alcohol policies to minimize harmful use of alcohol
4. Detecting, treating and caring individuals who are traumatized mentally with acute emotional distress or due to substance use and chronic pain. Practical ways to deal with stress and live a peaceful life are discussed in the website www.firsteatright.com.
5. Training health workers to deal with suicidal behavior.
6. Following up on people who attempted to commit suicide through support groups or individualized care.
   
   

Prevention is a multi-level issue that involves people in different sectors such as health, business, agriculture, labor, justice, law, politics and media. We need an integrated approach to deal with suicide and no single approach can help resolve a critical issue such as suicide.
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Why are we Hesitant to Talk about Suicide?
Many individuals feel it shameful or uneasy to seek help for suicidal attempts and don’t try to approach a physician for help. As a society, we lack the awareness to approach suicide as a mental health problem and the taboo still exists in countries to openly discuss it. We must overcome this taboo if we want to make even the slightest progress in preventing suicide.