Suicide a public health crisis, needs to be addressed on priority

BENGALURU: Suicide has become a public health issue in India. The number of suicides in the age-group of 15-29 years or even younger is increasing by the day. However, the attention thats being given to it is less, said child and adolescence psychiatrist Dr Kavitha Arora. Speaking at a panel session, Panel Suicidality: A concern for all, at Manotsava2025 here on Sunday, Dr Kavitha highlighted that only mental health disorders cannot be reasons for suicide. There are different reasons if a person dies by suicide. Farmers suicide are due to economic issues, in other cases it might be due to discrimination, sexual abuse, and domestic violence, among others. This issue needs to be addressed on priority. The panel also involved Naveen Kumar of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) and Arjun Kapoor of the Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy (CMHLP), with Neha Kirpal from Amaha Health as moderator.Telemanas has received over 25 lakh distress calls from October 2022, of which, 40,000 were related to suicides. While some state governments, including those of Meghalaya and Maharashtra, have their own mental health policies, its not enough. We need to have mental health programmes at the district level too. It must be mandated that these concepts are included in the school curriculum, so that such cases may be prevented, Kumar explained. Its not the responsibility of one department; all departments need to work together and take multi-sectoral initiatives, as there are various reasons for suicide, he added. Kapoor emphasised on overcoming fear and shame to talk about suicidal feelings. We need to start these conversations at home. It is essential to overcome shame and fear, and theseconversations must be brought into the mainstream. Besides, criminalisation of suicide prevents people from reporting it to the police or even discussing it. Therefore, governance and policies must be framed in the interest of the public to prevent suicide.