Suicide | Depression Blog

Students find it hard to cope with exam result stress

The biggest fear of students basically very good and average ones is the exam result. For some, expectations are high, while for others fear of failure rules the roost even before the results come out, the stress shows on the faces of such students. But once, the result is declared, it can be quite a tough time for some. Every year the announcement of CBSE results brings with it distressing stories of students ending up their own lives. Seventeen-year-old Kanpur student Pawan Verma shot himself with his father’s revolver. Because being a fairly good student, he couldn’t deal with the disappointment of failing his class XII CBSE exams. Punia, a class 12th student, says, These score mean a lot to me and my career depends on this. Parents and society pressurises, marks is all we care for, says another student Mehek. Experts say some amount of nervousness is normal in every exam. But when it comes to board exams stress levels shoot up and which might lead to depression. Child Psychiatrist Dr Amit Sen says, There is a trend where kids come and if not handled well can lead to serious consequence. India has one of the highest rates of teenager suicides, stress being the main culprit. But, one must not lose heart and be under stress because that would further complicate matters. Parents must discuss with their children, the highs and lows of examination. And must never underestimate their kids. A sense of motivation is required on the part of the parents so that no child loses his life for stress of not doing up to the mark in exams. One must relax, be optimistic and keep the faith in oneself. Because nothing can beat a self-confident person. Image Via:Ibnlive

One million suicides last year; who to blame?

Unfortunately, the year gone by would be known not because it brought some thing good, but what it left behind for us – the shocking figure of one million suicides with a life ending every 40 seconds followed by 20 suicidal attempts every minute. All this puts a serious question mark over humankind’s existence and putting forth question – where are we heading towards, any idea… The gravity of the problem is palpable form the very fact, which doles out shocking figure of 6,045 suicidal deaths occurred in the UK and Ireland alone in the year of 2005. No doubt, suicide rate has registered fall of over 9.5 percent over the last decade. Still, it gives nothing much worth gloating over, as it is still a leading cause of death for young adults, especially those between the ages 15 to 24. Defining suicide as one of the fast growing trends won’t be wrong, as this so-called trend of suicide is no longer restricted to a few countries, but has turned out to be a global trend, while registering a shocking boom of 60% suicide rates over the last 45 years. Experts have associated suicides with depression and failures rising mainly due to the cutthroat competition of today. Moreover, there was a time when suicide was considered just a problem of developed countries like the US where more than 30,000 suicides are committed each year and 5,000 of these are teenagers. However, in the last few years, it seems to have grasped developing nations like India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand… Where suicide graph goes like this: • Bangladesh: The number of suicides increased to 984 per month during 1992-1993 • India: Occupies the second highest rate of suicides in the Region • Indonesia: The number of suicides increased from 112 in 1996 to 146 in 1998 • Sri Lanka: Deaths in the past 15 years estimated up to 106000 — twice the number due to war These evidences are enough to show that how the so-called trend of suicide is even in these developing countries. In the present scenario, it becomes very important to put a check over this so-called trend of suicide, which is possible, to some extent, however, by taking strong measures like: • Reducing access to the means of suicide • Enhancing access to mental disorder’s treatments • Training primary health care workers And above all, by teaching people the lesson of contentment because when they will learn to remain content with what they have, the graph of suicide would automatically come down. Image Source

Suicide rate among elderly rises

Statistics say that apart from the youths, another age group that is particularly vulnerable to suicide is the people in the age bracket of 65 years and above. The overall U.S. suicide rate is 11 per 100,000 people. But for those 65 and older, that figure rises to 14 per 100,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although taking one’s life can be an acute, impulsive act at any age, suicide among the elderly is more often a drastic solution that has been contemplated for some time. Change, in the form of retirement, moving to a nursing home or losing the ability to drive or walk can be a trigger. Depression is the most frequent cause of suicidal thoughts and alcoholism triggers depression. Studies of alcoholics reveal that between 30 percent and 60 percent suffer from depression, and a significant proportion of alcoholics have other persons in their families suffering from depression. Sometimes the elderly are suffering from painful diseases and they put themselves out of misery by committing suicide. But, this tragic situation can change! Most elderly people don’t really want to die. Family, friends and health providers can step in to help prevent the suicide of elderly people. In the elderly people around you look for persistent sad or anxious mood, feelings of hopelessness or pessimism, loss of interest in hobbies or activities and signs of decreased energy. A mere reminder to the elderly that they are still a part of a family or a community can give them hope to live. Via:MSNBC Image1