Don't die for yourself

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Each year nearly one million people worldwide commit suicide. Someone dies from suicide every 40 seconds. And the rate is rising.


   Why die for yourself and in vain? The factors are psychological, social, biological, cultural and environmental. Most suicides are attributed to depression, alcohol dependence, schizophrenia, personality disorder, physical illness and impulsiveness.


   For such reasons, tens of thousands attempt suicide in high-risk countries such as Lithuania, South Korea, Guyana, Belarus, Hungary, Japan, China and Slovenia.


   Surprisingly, the victims with high suicidal tendencies are professionals holding high-skill and high-stress jobs. They include physicians, female doctors, dentists, engineers, financiers and lawyers.


   In Japan, the unemployed account for 57 per cent of all suicides in the country. In Arunachal Pradesh, India,the colourful, 12,000-strong tribe of the Idu-Mishmis has witnessed more than 200 suicides in the last four decades; most of the cases were triggered by unhappy love affairs and affected girls and women in the 16-29 age bracket.


   In the US, suicide is the 11th leading cause of death. Males are four times more likely to kill themselves than females. Depression, substance abuse and easy access to weapons contribute to the death toll.


Many young suicides


   Surveys have found that 55 per cent of the suicides belong to the 15-44 age group while 45 per cent of them are aged above 55.


   In Malaysia, daily suicide attempts are estimated at 140. Seven people, mostly youths and young adults, end their lives every day.


   The Befrienders Kuala Lumpur receives as many as 3,800 calls from suicidal people in one year. The callers in despair usually seek emotional support.


   Malaysians contemplating suicide often make negative statements such as "Life is not worth living" or "I want to join my parents in heaven." They even imagine what they will put on at funerals. Such indicators are warning signs.


   Almost 60 per cent of Malaysian suicides are men; nearly 50 per cent are Chinese. The majority fall into the 20-39 age group.


Statistics show that the risk of suicide is greater among prison inmates and suspects taken into custody during  the first 24 hours.


Communication channel


   However, most suicides happen at home. Domestic quarrels, exam failures, financial difficulties and love conflicts can spark suicide. Patients suffering from terminal diseases and loners in fits of depression also have suicidal tendencies.


   It is unfair and wrong to call suicides cowards. It takes a great deal of courage to end it all. Gutless people will not be able to pull the trigger, hang themselves, jump over high-rise balconies or consume toxic substances.They may be desperate but they are certainly not faint-hearted.


   Many lives could have been saved if sympathetic, caring people had talked to suicides. Or the victims had been taken to consult qualified counsellors.


   It is when suicides do not have access to a communication channel that they decide to terminate life. In their anguish, they feel hopeless, desolate, confused and neglected. They desperately need friends and loved ones to console them, lift their spirits and even solve their problems.