By Keshav Pariat
SHILLONG: Mary (name changed) cannot put her finger on it, but she thinks that she was depressed for five or six years before she got professional help when in her early 20s.
In that time thinking of her own death was not uncommon and she reached out to her mother, who was sympathetic, but thought that her feelings of depression would lessen over time.
That did not happen, and it was only when in college that her mother took her seriously enough; the impetus was when Mary had inflicted cuts on her arms and legs.
According to figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau, there were over 1.3 lakh suicides in India in 2012, which equates to around 15 every hour. There is, however, one suicide every 40 seconds globally, according to the World Health Organisation.
Suicide is one of the greatest killers in the world, with more people dying through suicide than by murder and war put together. According to the WHO, there were nearly a million suicides around the globe in 2012.
In Meghalaya, there were 836 cases of suicide last year, according to Meghalaya Police figures. But Dr Sandi Syiem, a noted psychiatrist, suspects that the true figure is probably many times higher.
“Most cases are not reported,” Dr Syiem claimed. “Criminalization (of suicide) has led to stigmatization. Even a doctor doesn’t want to deal with an attempted suicide case because he lands up in a police case.”
Tuesday will mark World Suicide Prevention Day and this year’s focus is on how stigma is a major barrier to suicide prevention.
Dr Syiem describes the stigma as multi-faceted and identified three priorities to tackle depression – greater access to caregivers; more caregivers and training for caregivers and the need for society to be made aware that suicide is a cry for help and that empathy, not judgement, is a necessity.
A major factor is the criminalization of suicide in India – perceived as a crime in the country despite a widespread move to decriminalize it in many other countries.
Religious factors also play a big role as well as the ignorance among the general public surrounding suicide.
“Every suicide attempt is a cry for help,” Dr Syiem said. “People don’t understand that. People think those who take their own life are cowards, but that is not the case.”
He added that one in five women will suffer from depression in their lifetimes, with the figure for men being one in seven.
“Depression will be the second most common cause of disability by 2020 and depression is one of the main causes of suicide. And we’re not equipped to handle it,” he stated bluntly.
He also said that 25 percent of the total disease burden will be down to depression by 2020, which will be a greater share than cancer or heart disease.
The increase in its prevalence is because of the pressures of modern life. “Mental illness is what we call a lifestyle disease. The fragmentation of society and breaking of family ties has made humans more prone to developing depression. The stress is too great,” Dr Syiem said.
He pointed out that 74 per cent of suicides are below age 40 – the most productive years of a person’s life.
“We’ve held several programmes over the years. We’ve trained people, spread awareness, talked to children and counseled those who self-harm. We need to see a concerted societal response, but we’re just not getting it.
“The government has not woken up to the magnitude of depression. The stigmatization of depression has led to gross underfunding.”
Apart from what action the government could take, there is also plenty that schools, religious bodies and parents can do, Dr Syiem said.
“Children are the most vulnerable section,” the doctor said.
Programmes have been organized for teachers to try and help them recognize the signs and symptoms of depression, how to talk to children, but, ultimately, they need to be referred to mental health professionals.
The doctor’s most damning indictment was, however, reserved for parents.
“Parents have nowadays absolved themselves of their responsibilities. They don’t bring up their children, they pay someone else to do it for them,” he stated.
“If we spend more time with them, understanding them, rather than pandering to their wants, then we’d be a healthier society.”
Girls in Meghalaya are also put under tremendous stress because they are made to feel responsible from a very young age, more so than boys.
Dr Syiem also said that the church has done little towards helping society change its mindset towards depression.
“We need to teach people how to cope with disappointments. You may feel that it’s the end of the world, but it’s not.
“We have a helpline – call us. It’s as simple as that. It’s just a phone call away.” The SAN-KER helpline is a toll free number – 1800-345-3655 – and is open from 9am to 5pm.