Mind Matters
“FOUND HANGING FROM THE CEILING FAN, SHE WAS STILL WEARING HER DANCING SHOES.”
A
By Nishtha Bhargava
s likely as this line is to come
from fiction, it can find
place in a real death report.
Teenage suicide. Did you
know that one student commits suicide
every hour in India? Often in disbelief,
parents of these victims cannot find
reasons for such an ‘extreme step’ in
their seemingly normal lives. Most of the mental illnesses today remain
unreported, unattended and undiagnosed. Your
next-door neighbour, who doesn’t step out of
the house for months might be suffering from
depression without even realizing it.
Have you ever found your mind
playing tricks on you? The devil
on your shoulder telling you how
unworthy you are, how useless your life
is? You are not alone. Many people that
you see around you might have felt the
same way at some point or the other. biggest killer, with depression the
leading cause of early-age disability
globally. In fact, mental disorders are
thought to affect more younger people
than statistics suggest.
mental disturbances can sometimes
be hard to pin-point, passed as simple
quirkiness of character than a disorder
of the mind. But is the matter really
that straightforward?
DATA SPEAKS LOUDLY
Mental illness contributes to 7% of
global average disease burden. The
number of suicides in India is double
than the global average of 11 persons
per 100,000 population annually.
Mental maladies affect about 15% of
Indian (and world) population as per
latest estimates. One in six people are
victims of mental illness. Depression
and anxiety disorders alone affect
around 8% of us. IT’S COMPLICATED
People experiencing mental disorders
resort to one of several coping
strategies: discussing the problem with
friends or family, social isolation to
escape being noticed, or camouflage
true emotions into acceptable actions
for fear of being judged or abandoned.
Unfortunately, the latter two are more
popular, driving forces being social
stigma and taboo. There is little or no
support to sufferers and their families.
Surveys reveal that society even feels
fearful of the sufferers!
LURKING AROUND DARK CORNERS
As a society, we are usually shocked at
news of successful, high-performing,
wealthy young individuals killing
themselves. Celebrities like yesteryears’
actor Guru Dutt and Miss India 1997
turned VJ Nafisa Joseph took their
own lives over strained personal
relationships. On the other hand,
when farmers drowning in debt kill
themselves, the reasons are evident
and understandable. Similarly, while
some mental illnesses are conspicuous,
others are not.
Among the young, suicide is the third Undoubtedly, behaviours that indicate
People closest to us know us the best; be it
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Volume 4 | Issue 1 | January-March 2019