PERSONA THEME TRENDS
Mind Matters
NEWSCOPE
RESEARCH
ISSUES
WELL-BEING
“FOUND HANGING FROM THE CEILING FAN, SHE WAS STILL WEARING HER DANCING SHOES.”
A
By Nishtha Bhargava s likely as this line is to come from fiction, it can find place in a real death report. Teenage suicide. Did you know that one student commits suicide every hour in India? Often in disbelief, parents of these victims cannot find reasons for such an ‘extreme step’ in their seemingly normal lives.
Most of the mental illnesses today remain unreported, unattended and undiagnosed. Your next-door neighbour, who doesn’t step out of the house for months might be suffering from depression without even realizing it.
Have you ever found your mind playing tricks on you? The devil on your shoulder telling you how unworthy you are, how useless your life is? You are not alone. Many people that you see around you might have felt the same way at some point or the other.
biggest killer, with depression the leading cause of early-age disability globally. In fact, mental disorders are thought to affect more younger people than statistics suggest.
mental disturbances can sometimes be hard to pin-point, passed as simple quirkiness of character than a disorder of the mind. But is the matter really that straightforward?
DATA SPEAKS LOUDLY Mental illness contributes to 7% of global average disease burden. The number of suicides in India is double than the global average of 11 persons per 100,000 population annually. Mental maladies affect about 15% of Indian (and world) population as per latest estimates. One in six people are victims of mental illness. Depression and anxiety disorders alone affect around 8% of us.
IT’S COMPLICATED People experiencing mental disorders resort to one of several coping strategies: discussing the problem with friends or family, social isolation to escape being noticed, or camouflage true emotions into acceptable actions for fear of being judged or abandoned. Unfortunately, the latter two are more popular, driving forces being social stigma and taboo. There is little or no support to sufferers and their families. Surveys reveal that society even feels fearful of the sufferers!
LURKING AROUND DARK CORNERS As a society, we are usually shocked at news of successful, high-performing, wealthy young individuals killing themselves. Celebrities like yesteryears’ actor Guru Dutt and Miss India 1997 turned VJ Nafisa Joseph took their own lives over strained personal relationships. On the other hand, when farmers drowning in debt kill themselves, the reasons are evident and understandable. Similarly, while some mental illnesses are conspicuous, others are not.
Among the young, suicide is the third
Undoubtedly, behaviours that indicate
People closest to us know us the best; be it
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Volume 4 | Issue 1 | January-March 2019
