Suicide is not an answer to problems of life, but every two minutes a person ends his or her life intentionally thinking that it was the only way out, a senior psychiatrist said on Friday. “Unfortunately, the person ending his or her life thinks it to be the permanent solution to a temporary problem,” Dr Surajit Sahu, head of department of psychiatry at the IMS and Sum Hospital (IMSSH), said at an awareness seminar on the issue.
Interacting with students and faculty members of the Sum Nursing College (SNC), Dr Sahu urged them to have a positive attitude towards life even though they pass through trials and difficult phases. “Thoughts about committing suicide come to the mind of a person temporarily and those around him or her should try to provide the required support, comfort and assistance to tide over such a crisis,” he said, adding about 80 per cent of the suicides committed were preventable.
In India, two-thirds of the youths committing suicide are in the age group of 18 to 24 years while 30 per cent belong to the 14 to 17 category. Adolescents, while contemplating suicide, give warning signs in about 80 per cent of cases and it is for others to pick up the signals and take preventive action. Some people even talk about their suicide plans which are not seriously taken by others while some others express a strong desire to die.
“Some people drop hints of not being around for long while others visit friends to bid goodbye. Some others give their things away to friends and relatives,” he said, adding these were strong signals of an impending suicide.
A person thinks of suicide when all hope is lost. The person should have something to hope for, Dr Sahu said, adding, “Man can live for 40 days without food, three days without water, eight minutes without air but not one second without hope.”