Delhi Suicides - Merely 15 Government Hospitals Provide Psychiatric Treatment
India can be a very stressful society to live in as the employment system, which is mostly unsatisfactory and it is not easy for those who have been laid off to find another job
Suicide has become an alarming issue in India. If you are from a tier one or two city of India, you probably know at least one or two people who took their own lives, for reasons ranging from personal to professional. The saddest issue here is that this happens every day in India and many of such incidents are underreported so the actual number of people who committed suicides may be higher.
India can be a very stressful society to live in as the employment system, which is mostly unsatisfactory and it is not easy for those who have been laid off to find another job. It is not impossible but it is very challenging due to the typed employment system created by Japanese government. Mental Health help is significantly behind in India compared to most of the developed nations. There is also the stigma in culture of that prevents many people from seeking out a mental health professional.
Delhi can be termed as capital of suicides in term of suicide count among union territories, making it a city with lots of lost hopes as well. Delhi witnessed around 1,845 suicides in the year 2015, followed by Pondicherry with 711 suicides.
A combination of these factors shown in the image contributes to the high rates of suicides among Urban in India. The government needs to do more work to ensure the availability of mental health professionals and also work on reducing the stigma around mental health. It is somehow the responsibility of society as well to deal with the issue in a little more serious manner.
Depressed people are often ashamed of themselves but they feel like suicide is the only option they have because they do not want to be stigmatized by their family, friends and ultimately by public. And sufferers themselves don’t have sufficient knowledge about mental health issues due to the poor education on this important field.
There is a mental health act which was passed in 1987 by parliament of India, the act also deals with establishment of mental health clinics, how request should be received by patients or guardians, how they will be treated in case of admission and even how visitors should visit them and all. The act also deals with various penalties and judicial intervention but on ground hardly a mentally stressed person ever visit any such centre.
In Delhi as far as Delhi psychiatry society is concerned, merely 15 government hospitals provide assistance to treat issues of mental health which is non neurological. It is sad state as if we say last census of 2011 is still valid which leaves more than 1,349,800 people of which even if five percent is the number of mentally stressed people which makes it 6,749,0 people, can they really enjoy a fruitful treatment in only 15 hospitals? Which makes it almost 4500 people in one hospital forced to take treatment of a mental stress or psychiatric disorder? Every person who committed suicide in Delhi may not have got a right amount of treatment.
This issue is very complex and will not be fixed overnight. With the help of community and the union government, it will become easier for sufferers to seek help without feeling ashamed. Death is not the answer, no matter what the issue is.