Suicide

If you feel like committing suicide or harming yourself, it is important to contact someone to talk about it now. If you are in Chennai call Sneha Hotline NOW –  04424640050. For suicide hotlines in other cities in India click here.  Or contact your local hospital casualty department.

The most common cause of suicide is an underlying mental disorder which includes depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism and drug abuse.

Please note: The information here should not be used as an alternative to professional care.

If a friend or family member talks or behaves in a way that makes you believe that he or she might commit suicide, don’t try to handle the situation yourself. Get help from a trained professional as quickly as possible. The person may need to be hospitalized until the suicidal crisis has passed.

• Don’t leave the person alone.
• Take the person to the nearest hospital emergency room yourself.
• Try to find out if he or she is under the influence of alcohol or drugs or may have taken an overdose.
• Tell a family member or friend right away what’s going on.

Do’s & Don’ts

If you have a friend who is showing some of the warning signs and you’re worried, here a few suggested dos and don’ts (the term “she” is only used for convenience):

Do

• Talk to her – ask her how she is feeling and what is bothering her.
• Ask about suicide, speak openly – mentioning suicide will not give her the idea.
• Offer your unconditional friendship and support. That doesn’t mean that you have to agree with everything she says or does but let your friend know you still care no matter what has happened to her or whatever she does.
• Listen to her. Listening isn’t always easy – to really listen you need to listen with your ears, your eyes and your heart. It doesn’t mean you have to find all the answers. What a person often needs more than anything is to feel understood. Try and listen and understand.
• Be non-judgemental
• Look after yourself. You need to be healthy yourself if you are to offer support to a friend.
• Talk about the things that are good in her life, her strengths and the people who care and are supportive.
• For your friend’s safety it is important to tell a responsible adult that you trust.
• Your friend might need professional help. There is help around. Go to the Resources in South Australia at the end of this health topic.

Don’t

• Don’t tell your friend not to worry. Whatever is upsetting him may not be something that would upset you but it is very important to him. If you tell him it’s not really important it will seem that you don’t understand and you won’t be very helpful.
• Try not to seem shocked by anything your friend says. This could make it seem that you don’t understand.
• Don’t interrupt with stories of your own.
• Don’t panic especially if your friend talks about feeling suicidal – it may be a relief to be able to speak openly and have someone understand how he feels.
• Don’t dare him to try it, make fun of it or use guilt to prevent suicide.
• Don’t leave your friend alone with anything that could be used to harm himself.
• Don’t try to handle this alone – for your friend’s safety it is important to tell a responsible adult that you trust.

Be very watchful when a person begins to lift out of depression. If necessary, take turns keeping watch. Even if the person goes to the bathroom, someone should be either ready at hand to force open the door, or have the person not lock himself in at all. After all, it is not difficult to keep a knife or pills hidden in the bathroom and use them at that time. Keep all objects such as blades and sharp knives away because they could be used to slash wrists. Also, keep insecticides, kerosene and matches in places that are difficult to find. Be specially careful with medicines of all kinds, including those used for diabetes and blood pressure.

Who can commit suicide:

Suicidal thoughts have numerous causes. Most often, suicidal thoughts are the result of feeling like you can’t cope when you’re faced with what seems to be an overwhelming life situation. These situations could include financial problems, the death of a loved one, a relationship breakup or a debilitating illness. If you don’t have hope for the future, you may mistakenly think suicide is a solution. You may experience a sort of tunnel vision, where in th

Depression: Suicide can be committed when a person getting is having or getting better from a severe depression. This is without question the most common reason for people to commit suicide. Severe depression is always accompanied by a pervasive sense of suffering as well as a sense of hopelessness with the belief that the only way to escape from it is suicide. The pain of existence often becomes too much for severely depressed people to bear. The state of depression warps their thinking, allowing ideas like “Everyone would all be better off without me” to make rational sense.

Because depression is treatable, we should all seek to recognize its presence in our close friends and loved ones. Often people suffer with it silently, planning suicide without anyone ever knowing. Despite making both parties uncomfortable, inquiring directly about suicidal thoughts almost always yields an honest response. If you suspect someone might be depressed, don’t allow your tendency to deny the possibility of suicidal ideation prevent you from asking about it.

Cry for help: Problems of living, dowry, marital disharmony etc., can lead to suicidal attempt as a CRY FOR HELP. These people don’t usually want to die but do want to alert those around them that something is seriously wrong. They often don’t believe they will die, frequently choosing methods they don’t think can kill them in order to strike out at someone who’s hurt them—but are sometimes tragically misinformed. The prototypical example of this is a young teenage girl suffering genuine angst because of a relationship, either with a friend, boyfriend, or parent who swallows 20 tablets to Crocin—not realizing that in high enough doses Paracetamol causes irreversible liver damage.

Impulsive act: Alcohol or drug abuse etc. make a person more prone to attempt suicide and any attempt can cause accidental death. Those abusing drugs and alcohol become maudlin and impulsively attempt to end their own lives. Once sobered and calmed, these people usually feel emphatically ashamed. The remorse is usually genuine, and whether or not they’ll ever attempt suicide again is unpredictable. They may try it again the very next time they become drunk or high, or never again in their lifetime.