HYDERABAD: A Covid-19 positive patient undergoing treatment in a hospital at Malakpet on Tuesday killed himself, afraid that the infection would finally kill him anyway. The 58-year-old patient belonging to Karimnagar district, was admitted to the hospital on August 6 morning.
In a similar incident, a 45-year-old suspected Covid-19 patient was found dead at her Jeedimetla residence.
In the first case, the man was a retired Singareni employee from Karimnagar district who also had diabetes. On August 6, he got admitted to the hospital at Malakpet. He was lodged in a room on the fifth floor of the hospital. In the wee hours of Tuesday, he hanged himself.
The Jeedimetla woman had been suffering from fever for the past four days. Though doctors diagnosed her aliment as malaria, she was worried that she had contracted Covid-19. On Tuesday morning, her son, who returned home from night duty, found her hanging.
At least 14 people in the State have killed themselves in the last five months, suspecting they have Covid-19. According to B Dhanalakshmi, who heads the Hussainsagar Lake Police team, at least 40 people tried to attempt suicide by drowning themselves in July. “In one unfortunate incident, a 34-year-old man who jumped into the lake and died suspected he had been infected by Coronavirus,” Dhanalakshmi said.
The reason for death was not the virus, but health anxiety or hypochondria wherein a patient is obsessed with the idea of having a serious but undiagnosed medical condition. Health experts suggest that symptoms of hypochondria can worsen if the person is excessively worried about his financial status, health and the current scenario.
“The question: ‘What if Covid-19 infects me or anyone in my family?’ daunts the person. Sometimes, the person goes to the extreme of killing himself,” says M Uma Shankar, Superintendent of Institute of Mental Health, Erragadda. Last week, a woman who was depressed over her husband’s demise due to Covid-19, hanged herself at Yellareddyguda in Ameerpet.
Google search for ‘death’ in Telangana has become more frequent in the last five months than in five years. Also, searches for terms like ‘depression and anxiety’ have risen. According to the Lake Police, suicidal people who were rescued are citing financial debt.
Several doctors from private hospitals in the city told Express, “Many people are not sick. It’s all in their head.” A senior Otorhinolaryngologist from Apollo Hospital who wished not to be named said, “The recurrence of ‘suspected illness’ in patients is increasing. I am seeing many patients who come up with imaginary pains. They also keep changing doctors to confirm if there is nothing wrong with them.”
(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 - 02225521111, which is available Monday to Saturday from 8 am to 10 pm.)