Suicide is an act of intentionally causing one’s own death or taking one’s own life. There are various psychiatric disorders like Depression, Bipolar disorder, Schizophrenia, Personality disorders and Substance Abuse that are at risk. Suicide could also result from an impulsive act caused by financial breakdown, relationship breakups, harassment or bullying and examination failures. According to WHO (World Health Organization) report, reviewed in September, 2019, suicide is a serious global public health issue, and is among the top 20 leading causes of death worldwide. Apart from deaths caused by malaria, breast cancer, war, and homicide, approximately 800000 people across the world die by suicide every year. The available data for suicide rates across the world is much broader and frightening than it appears on the records as neither every suicide is reported nor registered.

This year, the pandemic caused many people end their lives due to job loss, financial loss, issues in dealing with the loneliness during lock downs etc. Many organizations took a step forward to help people deal with suicidal thoughts by running helplines and many professionals extended their support for the cause. In past some time, importance of mental health care facilities has gained much attention and people are more open to discuss about mental health issues. Mental health care providers have managed to contribute to the effective management of suicide and it works really well for those who seek help on time and don’t hesitate to share the load of their worries.

Following are the steps that could be used when a person struggles with the suicidal thoughts or find someone else struggling with the same. The steps could be abbreviated as LIFE and each letter holds a meaning:

L- Look Around: You are not alone who is struggling with life issues, there are many people who have been facing difficulties and coping with them as well. See how others are dealing with their issues, ask them, and don’t hesitate to seek help, sometimes even smaller advises change everything in life.

I- Introspect: Introspect your own thoughts, look deep inside yourself. Do you really think that ending life is going to be the ultimate solution of all your problems? You may find yourself weak and you may only see the negativeness in you while doing this which is okay. You just have to remind yourself that even the most worthless things in life have some sort of value, and you have to find out your value. Despite of many flaws you must be having few assets. Examine them, identify them, and come up with a new zeal to fight back with your life struggles.

F- Find a Support: Whenever you feel low, suicidal thoughts make you overwhelmed, speak to someone. That could be anyone, your close family members, friends, colleagues etc. If none of them is available, or you don’t feel confident enough to speak with, take help of the suicide helplines and go for professional help.

E- Exit: Make a path on a piece of paper, at one side of the path write reasons to end the life and at another side write possible actions that could be taken to deal with them, names of your loved ones, list your achievements, even the smaller ones. If you have gone through the above three steps, you would be feeling calm by this time, give yourself a little time, make small exits between the path and whenever you realize that a problem could be dealt with little efforts, make yourself exit from the path of suicide and give it a fresh start.

There is nothing which you can’t correct. If there are locks there are keys as well. Sometimes when a lock is rusted the key may not fit in, sometimes the key may get misaligned and may not fit in. We and our connection with our lives are like lock and key. At times the issues could be with life and at times issues could be with us. A rusted lock can be oiled and a misaligned key can be aligned, but obviously it takes time to make both of them functional. Life also takes time to repair the ruptures and resolve the issues. Don’t lose patience, keep working hard and you will find your goal sooner or later.

This article is an attempt to make people aware about world suicide prevention day which is observed on September 10^th every year. The intention is to spread the word and make the community informed as much as possible. Being informed helps you to support someone in times of need and also provide them adequate information about the available mental health care facilities.

If you have any query related to this article or any other psychological issue feel free to write at info@talktocure.com or WhatsApp at 8457967552.

Note: Talk to cure holds the copy right of this article. Any duplicity of the content without consent and proper citation is strictly prohibited.

Source used for data on suicide: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/suicide-in-the-world

Neelam Verma

Clinical Psychologist

Talk to Cure, Mental Health & Wellness Centre