An Alarming Trend
About 800,000 people commit suicide worldwide every year and 135,000 (17%) of these are from India. It’s heartbreaking to hear about so many suicides on a daily basis, a number which is on the rise. With increasing social media addiction and stress levels, a lot of us suffer from depression, anxiety, and many other mental health issues that can lead to such tragic outcomes if left unchecked. It’s time this stops and it can only happen with the help and unconditional support and love from family and friends.
There are so many people who show us how happy they are but face these issues internally. Bottling up emotions never helps in the long run and in the worst cases can be fatal. Essentially the message that we need to keep repeating is this: there is not just one kind of person who is susceptible to depression or likely to have suicidal thoughts. From rich, successful celebrities like Anthony Bourdain and Kate Spade to young boys and girls who feel too much pressure from the education system, and even quite possibly someone you know, who seems perfectly fine from the outside—depression doesn’t discriminate.
Depression can present itself in a myriad of different ways, it doesn’t always have to be outward sadness. From social withdrawal and lack of appetite to an inability to concentrate and sleeping excessively, there are various ways different people show signs. But the one thing everyone has in common is the fact that the only way to treat it is to address it, talk about it and ask for help. Also check the latest Government Schemes for health security.
The Importance of Seeking Help
A lot of us deal with this on our own and it honestly doesn’t need to be that way. As the old saying by Spider Robinson goes “Shared sorrow is lessened, shared joy is increased”. Once you share your problems, chances are, they’ll start to reduce considerably. There’s nothing embarrassing about suffering from these mental health challenges. If you’re having trouble dealing with it, talk to someone you trust. If you’re not comfortable speaking with someone you know, there are many helplines a person can call to seek help, and the stats make it clear that you are not alone. Here are a few helplines you can call if you know someone who shows signs of depression or even if you feel like you’re going down that road. Call them and they’ll surely help you out.
10 Mental Helplines in India
1. Lifeline Foundation, Kolkata
Contact Info: +913324637401/7432 or email them on reach@lifelinekolkata.org
2. Maithri, Kochi
Contact Info: 0484 2540530 or email maithrihelp@gmail.com
3. Kashmir Lifeline, Srinagar
Contact Info: 18001807020
4. Roshni, Hyderabad
Contact Info: +914066202000/2001 or email them on roshnihelp@gmail.com
5. Samaritans, Mumbai
Contact Info: +91226464 3267/65653267/6565 3247 or mail them on samaritans.helpline@gmail.com
6. Saath, Ahmedabad
Contact Info: +91 79 26305544/26300222 or email saath12@yahoo.com
7. iCall, Mumbai
Contact Info: +912225521111 or email them on icall@tiss.edu
8. Sneha, Chennai
Contact Info: +914424640050/60 or email them on help@snehaindia.com
9. Sahai, Bengaluru
Contact Info: +918025497777
10. You Matter by COOJ, Goa
Contact Info: 08322252525
Every time we hear of suicides, it makes us wonder what happened and why someone would do this to themselves. What we don’t think about is what we can do to change these statistics.
Let’s be more compassionate and patient with people suffering from depression so it gets easier for them to confide in us. Let’s start asking questions like ‘what can we do to help’ instead of ‘why did it happen’? The more we speak about these issues openly, the more we can turn the statistics around.