Suicide among youth rising alarmingly in J&K

Suicide among youth rising alarmingly in J&K
Nitesh Sangral
JAMMU, Mar 21: The suicide rate seems to be consistently on the rise in Jammu region. Despite the efforts of various organizations to check this trend, suicides in the state, even within 3 months records total number of people 22, who attempted suicide and 212 people consumed posing substance. Surprisingly, most of these cases involve youngsters in the age group of 17 to 28 years. The data of Government Medical College, report of deaths and suicides across state. In Jammu province reported road accidents 5 to 10 case people a day, It is shocking that the number of suicides between January to 21March, have registered 234 cases of poison and alcohol and 29 people due to this. 22 people attempted suicide and 10 died. Youth in the age group of 17-28 are found most likely to take their own lives, though teenagers as young as 13 years old have also committed suicide over the last two decades. The recorded 248 suicides in 2010, in 2011, over 1000 suicides cases were registered. Most of people say in urban areas, hanging, jumping into rivers and consuming poison are some of the most common methods. In villages pesticides are often used. Women commonly set themselves ablaze during suicide attempts. Reason behind that when students commit suicide after appearing in an examination, it is an anticipatory cause. Amongst teenagers, poor impulse control, examination stress, love affairs and parental pressures are found to be prominent reasons for suicides. While a teen commits suicide, everyone is affected, family members, friends, teammates, neighbors and some even those who did not know the teen well might experience feeling of grief- and the sense that if only they had done something differently, the suicide could have prevented. So it is important to understand the force that can lead teens to suicide and know how to help. Unemployment and financial stress has become a major cause of suicides among the youth in Jammu and Kashmir, with Jammu region leading the state in number people committing suicide. Concerned with the increasing number of suicide cases in the state, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India will be providing assistance of Rs 8.50 crore to the state government for up gradation of academic, clinical and diagnostic facilities at the Psychiatric Hospitals in Srinagar and Jammu. “From the medical point of view, the reason to increased mental health problems which include depression, post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety related disorders arisen due to the stress among the youth”, says the government data. Though the data released by the state government says that the overall tendency of suicides among the youth has not increased in past two years (2008 and 2009. But the year 2008, 122 youth committed suicide while as in 2009, 118 youth committed suicide across the state. “In other districts of Jammu region number of people committing suicide is more than the Kashmir valley, which is matter of concern for the government”, says the government document. “The reasons behind suicide are mainly unemployment, financial stress, high expectations of parents from their children in examination, incompatibility in relations between married couples and other social factors”, says the data. According to Minister for Health Sham Lal Sharma, “Many NGOs including “Doctors without Borders” are offering free consultations and counseling, various seminars and symposia are being conducted by Government and semi-government agencies to educate the people”.