Various intervention initiatives have been taken to counter and tackle suicide tendencies like setting up help lines and establishing help centres. In Hyderabad, Roshni was set up 13 years ago as a help centre, which is part of the Befrienders Worldwide, an international organisation that was set up in 2003 in the UK. Lending an earSays Akheel Siddiqui, deputy director of Roshni, “Suicide isn’t a death wish. It is a cry for help. People get depressed and bogged down, the feeling of helplessness overwhelms their senses. By listening to them and helping them clear their thought process, we can save so many from unnecessary death.” However, as part of their confidentiality policy, Roshni counsellors do not ask for the identity or any other personal information that might compromise the callers identity, limiting their capacity to lending a compassionate ear only. This handicaps the organisation in following up on cases. “We don’t have a caller ID (as a part of their confidentiality policy). So we can’t trace calls back. Nevertheless, we do offer to call back if the caller is willing to give us their phone number,” explains Siddiqui. Pressure pointAccording to Siddiqui, students and IT sector employees are the ones who are most prone to suicidal thoughts. He reaveals that calls before examinations are mostly from the corporate college students who are under tremendous parental and peer pressure. “Corporate colleg es are run like concentration camps. Many of the students studying in these colleges are not even interested in being there,” opines Siddiqui. Other common problems are financial burdens and relationships, either between spouses, parent-child, in-laws, boss-employee and so on and so forth.Change in lifestylesBesides other factors, Siddiqui feels the change in familial set-up is a major reason. “In a joint family, there are many people who can provide emotional support. With the break down in this system, in a nuclear family now-a-days, both the parents are working and the child does not have anyone to go to. This lack of emotional support drives many to suicide.” The pressure to perform is at an all-time high, while working support systems are at a low. Added to this, the change in boundaries have brought together people from different lifestyles. Explains Siddiqui, “In an IT company, employees are from both the urban and rural. Urban employees are better equipped at social skills while rural people are not so adept. This creates a problem too.”Looking for signs“Raising awareness about suicide is very important. More importantly, raising awareness about the help available is crucial. Many people do not even know that there are helplines that can be called,” says Siddiqui. A person prone to suicide is most likely to be going through a broken relationship, bereavement or a financial difficulty. They will have the following tell-tale signs: Will be withdrawn from social contact displays feelings of worthlessness, helplessness and hopelessness will develop sudden eating and sleeping disorderswill have suddenly lost weight and look unhealthy might repeatedly entertain the idea of taking their own life has a planned scenario of a possible suicide attemptHelping handIf you notice a person who is suicidal, you can help by:*Showing care and concern *Being a good listener without judging or being critical*Extend acceptance and understandingencourage the person to talk about their feelings encourage them to seek help from professionals or counselling helplines.
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