10th of September 2017 ,marks the 15th time the world health organisation is endorsing the idea of SUICIDE prevention.

suicide in Latin means “self murder”.

It ranges from thinking that life is not worth living to actually completing the act.

It is one of the very few Psychiatric emergencies we come across.

like time,suicide has a past ,a present and a future.

past implies to the previous mental illnesses (studies suggest suicide is almost always the result of a mental illness).

present implies to the act of committing it .

and with future i imply ,the devastating legacy it leaves for those who have lost a loved one to it.We refer to them as the SURVIVORS of suicide.

room no. 501 has left its paint on my mind,

it reminds me of allot ,

it reminds of both good and extremely bad times.

the beginning was the toughest ,it was a ‘house full’ of lonely nights , hopeless evenings and mundane Sunday mornings.

then with help it became easier, and coming out of the phase changed me immensely.

i came out as a more confident , less anxious , more forgiving ,less judging and a more positive being.

after the phase i understood my patients’ agony better ,may be it was purposed to happen ,so that i would come out stronger.

I now connect better with my patients,I listen more intently, observe more keenly and take more interest.

Just about last year i received a call from my mother ,in between my exams that one our known expired ,on inquiring she said it was a completed suicide.

this was the first time I came across someone who ,not related to my work background ,

had done so.It was perturbing.when other people in our circle discussed about it,

I understood suicide’ position in our society.

1. most commonly people said “what was so bad in the persons life that she has to resort to such a huge step.”

to that i would usually say that it is very rare that suicide occurs as a result of a single factor,usually there are many.and it is very difficult to explain.

2.others would try to ignore suicide and just concentrate on the death part.it is a big taboo to talk about it.

to that i would usually surrender (my bad).

understanding the risk factors can help us all to curb the rising rates .

1. age :over 45 yrs.
2. divorced/widowed.
3. unemployed.
4. conflictual interpersonal relationships
5. chaotic family backgrounds
6. chronic illnesses.
7. substance abuses
8. hopelessness
9. previous suicide attempt(the most important determinant).
10. social isolation.

there are many others and it should be noted that anybody ,anytime of their lives can become suicidal ,and anyone ,anytime of their lives should be taken seriously if they report so.

action to be taken is i would say report to a doctor immediately ,preferably a person who is trained in the field of mental illness.

following is the link to my previous article on the similar topic.

ROOM NO.501

reach out.take help.your life is precious.all problems have a solution.your suffering can be lessened .it is an illness like any other physical illness that demands attention and treatment.