To raise awareness about suicide prevention, September 10 is observed as World Suicide Prevention Day.
A number of people lose their life to suicide every year. Surprisingly, this number is higher than the deaths caused by war and homicide combined. While there are a number of reasons due to which one commits suicide, no reason is ever good enough to lose your life for it. One of the greatest reasons for committing suicide is the turmoil in the life and the situation around it.
However, suicide is not the wisest option, not matter how difficult the circumstances are. To raise awareness about the same, September 10 is observed as World Suicide Prevention Day. The International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Federation for Mental Health (WFMH) to host the day every year.
A famous German poet and novelist, Hermann Hesse experienced personal turmoil and conflict with his parents in the early age. As a result, at the age of 15 in 1892, he attempted suicide. However, he was saved. After a long struggle, he became a great writer and in 1946 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
This story is to remind everyone that life is a great gift and it should be cherished every day. The world is full of opportunities. If someone fails in doing something, he should take it as a temporary setback or an inordinate delay, and not as a final failure.
If life seems to be running out of track, find reasons for it and correct it. As it is said, ‘when one door closes, another opens.’ Instead of giving up and accepting the failure, one should continue the search for a possible solution. Eventually, one should open up to someone or the other. Sometimes, when our mind is too chaotic to find an answer, someone might find it rather easily.
Always remember, everyone is born with some purpose, and suicide is not on the list.
India has the highest suicide rate in South-East Asia: WHO
India has the highest suicide rate in the South-East Asian region, according to the World Health Organization’s latest report.
The report released a day before World Suicide Prevention Day pegged India’s suicide rate at 16.5 suicides per 100,000 people. Sri Lanka stands second in the region with a suicide rate of 14.6 and Thailand (14.4) third.
India also had the third-highest female suicide rate (14.7) in the world after Lesotho (24.4) and Republic of Korea (15.4).
All the data pertains to the WHO estimates of 2016.
Around 800,000 people commit suicide every year in the world, according to the WHO report. This is when suicide prevention features in one of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs) 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Suicide is responsible for more deaths than malaria, breast cancer, war or even homicide, according to the WHO. It was the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds, claiming 200,000 lives in 2016, topped only by road injury.
It also ranked second among women (after maternal conditions) in the same age group and third among men (after road injury).
Suicide is the third-most deadly for 15-19 years age group. Among men, it was second only to road injury and was on the third position among females.
More than 50 per cent of the suicides globally were committed by people younger than 45 years, read the report. Also, it added, 90 per cent of the adolescents who kill themselves are from low- and middle-income countries.
“While most of the world’s suicides happen in low- and middle-income countries (79 per cent), high-income countries had the highest age-standardised suicide rate (11.5 per 100,000),” according to the report.
Even though high-income countries had the highest male suicide rate, it had the lowest suicide rate among females.
Guyana has the highest male suicide rate and in Lesotho topped in the female suicide rate.
A region-wide comparison by the WHO found that, South-East Asia has the highest female suicide rate (11.5 per 100,000), much higher when compared to the global female average of 7.5.
On a similar note, Europe had the highest male suicide rate (21.1 per 100,000) amongst all the regions, the global average being 13.7. Eastern Mediterranean region fared the best in terms of male, female as well as overall suicide rates, with the lowest numbers in both the categories.
In the years between 2010 and 2016, it was seen that global suicide rates decreased by 9.8 per cent with the Western Pacific region experiencing the highest decline (19.6 per cent) and South-East Asia the lowest (4.2 per cent).
While all the other regions showed a decline, the Americas saw a rise in overall suicide rates by 6 per cent in the same period.
Even though most regions are seeing a decline in suicide rates, the existing rate of decline is not enough to meet global targets to reduce suicide mortality, read the report.
Suicide being a preventable cause of death, it becomes imperative to strengthen ongoing efforts to implement effective suicide prevention interventions, said the WHO.
Restricting access to means of suicide, interaction with the media for responsible reporting, training young people in their life skills, and early identification, management and follow-up, are some of measures the UN health agency recommended.
Disclaimer: All information, data and material has been sourced from multiple authors and is for general information and educational purposes only and are not intended to replace the advice of your treating doctor.
The views and nutritional advice expressed are not intended to be a substitute for conventional medical service. If you have a severe medical condition or health concern, see your physician.
