ALARMING INCREASE OF SUICIDES

1,35,585 suicides in India in 2010 according to the National Crime Records Bureau data. The ten-year period from 2001 to 2010 witnessed an alarming increase of 25 % in the number of suicides strangely in Kerala, the state with the highest literacy rate, the rate of suicide was 25.3 per one lakh population, which is more than twice that of the All India average. The reported reasons for suicides in 2010 were : family problems (24.3%) ,illness (19.6%) , failure in love  (3.4%), drug and other addiction  (2.7%) , dowry disputes (2.4%) , financial problems (2.2%) , poverty (1.7%), other causes (26.7%), and unknown factors (17.0%). A highly distressing feature is the growing incidence of suicides among adolescent boys and girls.

Suicide is the culmination of the existential conflict in a human being. It has been an universal phenomenon in all societies. The seeds of the self destructive act of suicide are usually sown during the early childhood. According to Eric Berne’s Transactional Analysis theory, the messages that the growing person’s inner child received from parents and significant others translate into the growing person’s life script. The subsequent life experiences, interactions and relationships are crucial in the formation of personality of the individual. The famous French sociologist  Emile Durkheim’s book ‘Suicide’, published in 1897, is considered a sociological classic on suicide and the existing sociological theories are influenced by Durkheims’s work. Suicides, according to Durkheim, are of four types : fatalistic, altruistic, anomic and egoistic.

Studies of survivors of suicide attempts reveal that they wanted to survive having tried to kill themselves. Suicide prevention needs a multi-pronged approach. For instance, suicides by indebted farmers could be averted by sympathetic action from the government and lending agencies. The reasons of suicides in India mentioned earlier are only triggering factors. Ultimately, the capacity to cope with stress and problems in living would decide the course of action an individual might choose. Helplines, counseling centres, and support from various agencies will help prevent many suicides. Suicide prevention and mental health education should start from our schools.