HYDERABAD : There is no one to blame but the stigma of loneliness, the stigma of asking for help, the stigma of mental illness, the stigma of being famous and hurting. We must do more and be better. Anthony, our friend, would want it that way,” wrote actor-author-director Rose McGowan, Anthony’s beloved Asia Argento’s friend. Her letter has set a trail of anxiety across people both on and off social media making them post their numbers on social media timelines requesting those in need of help to reach out. Most of the messages brooding over ‘if we/others are fine from within?’ Anthony was found dead in the room of Strasbourg hotel, France last week.
What shocked all the most is that he was the least of those to commit suicide. “He had everything. Success beyond his wildest dreams. Money beyond his wildest dreams,” Anthony’s mother Gladys Bourdain told the New York Times. “He is absolutely the last person in the world I would have ever dreamed would do something like this,” she was quoted as saying.
And what he had anyone could kill for that. Parts Unknown series star had everything: success, fame, gift of story-telling and exploring cultures through cuisines along with several other accolades. So what went wrong while he was in France to shoot for the next episode that he went ahead and killed himself? He would practise ju-jitsu to deal with the demons in his head that persisted even after he gave up drugs and chose to live life differently. Was he the only person? Or people who are happy and successful actually mask their depression for the sake of keeping other happy? What are we doing as fellow humans?
Back home, the reasons listed according to government statistics say that 28,602 people killed themselves due to family problems, while 23,746 Indians committed suicide due to prolonged or incurable illness. Does it mean we are missing something somewhere? And on top of it we don’t have a national hotline for suicide prevention. All the counselling work is being done by NGOs or independent counsellors. The Suicide Prevention India Foundation (SPIF) is there, but it lists just a few numbers which doesn’t suffice for people living in different geographical locations. Says Nelson Vinod Moses the founder of SPIF, “There’s no interest from the side of the government to set up a national hotline number. The need of the hour is that there should be round-the-clock helplines in regional languages. But we barely have 50 in our country.” It’s not just that there are less numbers, most of the crisis helplines are understaffed or lack funds.
In several countries, when a victim dials the suicide hotline a van is sent to pick him/her up and then s/he is sent to either a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist, there’s no such helpline in India. At the same time, it is interesting to see people posting their phone numbers on social media willing to offer help to those suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts. Though it’s a noble gesture by many, the question arises if common people can handle something as serious as suicide especially when they are not trained at all? “There’s something called Gatekeeper training recommended by World Health Organisation (WHO). This is what citizens, who are interested in helping fellow humans, can do,” shares Nelson. His foundation offers the online course for `300. The duration of the course is one hour. They have a tie-up with QPR Institute, USA, from which 3 million people have taken training so far. In India the figure stands at just 1,000.
Dr Radhika Acharya, a city-based clinical psychologist also stresses on participation of common people to help those in distress. She is heading Darshika, a centre for suicide prevention. She shares, “We are in association with Befrienders India and train those who are willing to volunteer. When a person is suicidal, empathetic listening is more important and that’s where common people willing to help
others can chip.” Even the strongest break down and all they need is someone to hear them out.
The statistics from www.aasra.info says it all
Every three seconds, a person attempts to kill himselfSuicide is one of the top three causes of death among the young within the age group of 15-35 yearsAbout one lakh people commit suicide in India every yearEach suicide leaves at least six people mentally ruinedSuicides all across the world are to rise by 1.5 million by 2020
saima@newindianexpress @Sfreen