Grassroots model essential to tackle rising suicide rates: experts

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While World Suicide Prevention Day connected September 10 offered an accidental for consciousness connected the issue, psychiatrists accidental that this nationalist wellness situation demands a sustained, year-round committedness to align with the 2024–2026 triennial theme, “changing the communicative connected suicide”.

This is crucial, particularly considering the alarming data, specified arsenic the 28.6% summation successful deaths by termination Kerala experienced implicit the 2014 to 2024 period. Moreover, they accidental that a proactive, community-based grassroots exemplary astatine the ward level successful section and civic bodies could play a cardinal relation successful combating rising termination rates successful the State.

“A dedicated squad of well-trained societal workers and psychologists, by providing timely services and guidance, tin pb to the aboriginal detection and prevention of suicidal impulses connected a ample scale. Such services tin besides assistance to foreshadow and code cases of superior intelligence illnesses similar slump and schizophrenia successful society,“ P.N. Suresh Kumar, erstwhile Director of the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Kozhikode, and president of the Thanal Suicide Prevention Centre, told The Hindu.

An investigation of the information compiled from the State Crime Records Bureau revealed that 53% of the cases fell wrong the 30–60 big property bracket, exhibiting a marked 82:18 male-to-female mortality ratio.

The main factors cited were familial and marital discord, astir 54%. The residual causal factors were attributed to cause usage (10.2%), job-related accent (1.5%), unemployment (0.9%), and mental/physical wellness conditions (18.7%). Geographically, Thiruvananthapuram reported the highest incidence astatine 48.2%, followed by Kollam (47.0%), Idukki (39.5%), Wayanad (38%), Alappuzha (34.8%), and Thrissur (32%).

​Besides, the information revealed that 76.1% of the deceased were married, 19.1% were unmarried, and 2.0% were divorced. Educational presumption shows that 57% had attained precocious schoolhouse oregon higher secondary qualifications, with 6.1% holding graduate, postgraduate, oregon nonrecreational degrees.

Dr. Varsha Vidyadharan, Associate Professor successful the Department of Psychiatry, Kozhikode Government Medical College, said that elemental strategies similar unfastened communication, reducing stigma, entree to counselling services, and gathering supportive adjacent networks tin buffer distress and forestall escalation.

Achieving a measurable simplification successful these alarming statistic requires a continuous, solution-oriented methodology executed done the coordinated actions of district- and State-level functionaries, Dr. Vidyadharan added.

Those successful distress oregon having suicidal tendencies could question assistance and counselling by calling immoderate of the pursuing numbers: DISHA - 1056, 0471-2552056, State’s wellness helpline 104, Maithri - 0484-2540530, Thanal Suicide Prevention Centre - 0495-2760000. )

Published - September 27, 2025 08:07 p.m. IST

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