KOCHI: Nearly 10,000 suicides were recorded in Kerala among the elderly between 2016 and 2020, according to the data with the State Crime Records Bureau. Officials in the social justice department say the number could be higher as in some cases suicides are reported as ‘natural death’ by families who fear backlash from society. The data also reveals that more elderly men die by suicide as compared to women. Medical experts claim that attempted suicides, however, are higher among older women than men.
While 7,148 elderly men died by suicide in the state in the four years, the number of women was only 2,460. Dr Arun B Nair, associate professor of psychiatry, Government Medical College, Thiruvananthapuram, said women in old age get more care and warmth from their children and grandchildren, which may not be true for men who are prone to ‘acting tough’. Older men are more vulnerable to ostracism and solitude because of this. Legal experts claim the ill-treatment of the elderly is the equivalent of abetment to suicide and should be taken very seriously.
Causes of elderly suicides
Empty nest syndrome
Parents are keen on sending their children abroad for studies and employment and take pride in announcing the same to their peers. But as they grow old, these parents are left alone while their children set up their lives elsewhere. The parents experience emptiness and feel they no longer have a purpose in life.
Social isolation post retirement
When those who held high positions in their jobs or business and experienced a certain stature retire, the titles are taken away and they are unable to socialise. That pushes them into solace and slowly into suicide.
Chronic physical ailments
Diseases like cancer are pushing many elderly people into suicide. Gastrointestinal cancer, pancreatic cancer and brain tumour put a lot of strain on mental and physical health, pushing a patient to end the suffering. The pain caused by the disease, cost for treatment and inability to take care of themselves induce a feeling of unworthiness. This might reduce their quality of life and a patient starts feeling that he/she is a burden for the rest of the family.
Ill-treatment by kids
Parents who give away all their wealth and property to their children while they are alive only to be expelled from their own houses later or pushed to elderly care homes and orphanages face plenty of mental torture. The cost of medical treatment and lack of medical insurance planning dry up their savings, and they can’t depend on their kids either. Ending their lives would seem like the only option in this case.
Battling the odds
Better health insurance system, ensuring posthumous transfer of property and wealth to children, better planning by the social justice department and introduction of time-bank culture as a mandatory social service for students could bring in some changes, say experts.
Time banks provide youngsters with an option to serve the elderly people living alone. Countries like Switzerland have adopted this. Young volunteers take the elderly to their hospital visits or visit the bank on their behalf and help them buy groceries. If a youngster completes one year of such service, he/she will be given a time-bank passbook, which documents the number of hours they served the elderly. They can use the hours when they grow old.
Old-age ordeal
Lives of the elderly are not easy anymore, be it with their families or at old-age homes. With Covid and subsequent financial crisis worsening the situation, TNIE explores the hardships faced by senior citizens — homelessness, legal issues and availing of schemes to name but a few
(If you are having suicidal thoughts, or are worried about a friend or need emotional support, someone is always there to listen. Call Sneha Foundation - 04424640050 (available 24x7) or iCall, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences' helpline - 9152987821, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm).
