India 21 in number of suicide cases reported in the world, says expert

MYSURU: The tragic death of the founder of Café Coffee Day VG Siddhartha, who ended his life by plunging in the Nethravathi River, has resulted in an audible rise in the volume of the conversation revolving on suicide.
Consultant clinical psychologist at National Institute of Mental Health And Neuro Sciences (Nimhans) Sunny Joseph on Friday cited Siddhartha’s recent demise during his address at Christ College in the city.
A behavioural neuropsychologist, Joseph, participating in the national workshop on ‘Suicide Prevention: Role of Mental Health Professionals’ organised at the college, pointed out India slotted in at the 21st position in terms of the number of suicides reported each year. “Suicide is the third largest cause of death across the globe. The past five years have witnessed a huge spike in the number of suicide cases across the world, and in India. While seven individuals per 100,000 people committed suicide in the rest of the world, the number stands at 14 people for one lakh people in India,” said Joseph, citing that majority of the suicide cases were attributed to depression.
“Most of those who take the extreme step of ending their life fall in the 15 to 35 age group,” said Joseph.
In an age marked by contracting boundaries where peer pressure has taken on a malicious dimension, Joseph highlighted the need to raise awareness among the public, and called on them to detect signs of depression at an early stage and emphasised the need to seek psychological intervention at the earliest. “This workshop is an attempt at underscoring the importance of mental health,” he added.
Psychology students from various colleges are participating in the workshop, and will be encouraged to interact with their peers. In a bid to make the seminar more interesting, a conducive atmosphere wherein the students will feel no hesitation in sharing their experiences has been created.