Suicide is the fatal act of killing oneself. It is neither an immediate response nor a disease that causes death. But there is a negative behaviour that is triggered by society, friends, or family that leads one to commit suicide. Sometimes it injects the idea in the person’s head to commit suicide. Most suicidal incidents are preceded by a period of struggle and pain. No one can see the struggle or pain except the person who is experiencing it. A person attempts suicide after the tireless struggle to get something but in the end failing to get whatever he or she wished for. They also lose their courage to face failure which causes mental health problems. These, emtal health problems are increasing rapidly in today’s younger generation since the most reported incidents of suicide are in younger people.
Every year, more than 700,000 people die by suicide all over the world. It is the fourth leading cause of death in the younger generation. According to some estimation, the current suicide death rate in the world is 9.17 percent (men 12.58 percent and women 5.68 percent). In Pakistan alone, the current suicide rate is 8.90 percent (men 13.30 percent and women 4.30 percent). The estimations have confirmed that suicide mostly happens in lower and middle-income countries, like Pakistan.
If we take a look at gender-wise suicides, then males are more commonly victims of it compared to their counterpart females. (Even females seem more depressed in their lives but do not seem to be trying to attempt suicide. On one hand, their endurance level is high and, on the other hand, they share their problems with others like sisters, mother, or friends. This is not practical in the male portion of society. Holding stress for a long time makes a person hopeless that causes death or injects the idea of suicide in minds. That’s why the current suicide rate for men is higher than women in Pakistan. Thus, males constitute13.30 percent and female 4.30 percent of suicides.
It can happen in every generation of people but mostly the cases of suicide occur in between the ages of 15 and 24. Most importantly, this age group is also experiencing student life where one faces a lot of problems, such as living without a family, academic stress, failing to get a high score, bullying, lack of confidence, financial issues, fake friends, uncooperative staff, and so on. (At this stage of life, one over-reacts to many things. Instead of taking things lightly, they take them head-on. Most students are found depressed for the above-mentioned reasons. At the same time, managing different problems causes mental disorders in them, and they fall depressed. Some experts say every 5 out of 10 students are depressed these days.
If we know someone in our friends, family, or community who is suffering from any mental health problems, then we should try to help them out. For instance, if we observe that our friend has any sort of mental health problems then our responsibility is to provide them with a happy atmosphere. We must listen carefully to them when they are sharing their problems with us. In this way, they would put out their anxiety and would feel relaxed. It is human nature or fact that when we discuss our problems with others, then 70 percent of our stress is released.
Depression has mostly been found to be a key factor in every suicidal case. It mostly happens when a person continuously feels anxious, depressed, unloved, alone, a failure, unimportant, and so forth. Sometimes, bullying due to race, gender, caste, religion, and so on, can also become a major cause of depression. Constantly feeling or facing these sorts of things and finding no way to get rid of depressive behaviour develops negative thoughts in individuals. Factually, when a person sees no hope and no solution to these things then they will think the only option is to kill themselves.
Talking about mental health problems is still an awkward or taboo subject for people. All that happens is just because of a lack of awareness of mental health in people. Our educational institutions should work on these problems. They should train teachers how to motivate students during lectures. Also they should start weekly or monthly counselling sessions on mental health issues for students. They should teach students how to maintain their health while studying and dealing with other life issues during sessions. These sessions will enable students to think about their mental health positively. If they are finding something destructive, then they should consult their doctors. As human beings, all of us should help those who are suffering from such problems.
If we know someone in our friends, family, or community who is suffering from any mental health problems, then we should try to help them out. For instance, if we observe that our friend has any sort of mental health problems then our responsibility is to provide them with a happy atmosphere. We must listen carefully to them when they are sharing their problems with us. In this way, they would put out their anxiety and would feel relaxed. It is human nature or fact that when we discuss our problems with others, then 70 percent of our stress is released.
