Suicide cases on rise in State; experts stress on mental health

CHENNAI: While deaths by suicides in the country saw an all-time high of 1.64 lakh cases in 2021, Tamil Nadu, in particular, saw a rise, ranking second in the country, as per the annual Accidental Deaths and Suicides (ADSI) report released by National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The country saw a rise of 7.2% in suicides from last year.

Tamil Nadu recorded 18,925 deaths by suicides, after Maharashtra’s 22,207 cases. Among the metros, Chennai recorded the second highest of 2,699 suicides after Delhi (2,760 cases). In 2020, Tamil Nadu recorded 16,883 suicides and Chennai 2,430 cases. At least 13,493 suicides were reported in 2019 and Chennai 2,461 suicides.

Tamil Nadu also saw the highest number of cases of mass suicides or family suicides with 33 suicides out of 131 cases in the country. State recorded 22 mass suicide cases in 2020. The rate of suicide in Tamil Nadu stands at 24.7%, which was 22.2% in 2020 and 17.8% in 2019.

The report attributed suicides to multiple reasons including family issues, mental illness, prolonged illness and marrital issues. Meanwhile, mental health experts stress on the need of intervention on various levels to prevent the increasing trend of suicides in the State.

“Even after several awareness programmes, there is a stigma on seeking help for mental health issues. Suicidal contemplations are followed by certain signs that need to be recognised by family, friends or teachers. People should be comfortable to open up to those around them. We need to accept that our loved ones can go through mental health problems or stress and we need to support them. The denial in which people live is another cause. The rise in children suicides also needs attention and we need to work towards bringing down the increasing incidence of suicides in the State,” says Dr Poorna Chandrika, director of Institute of Mental Health.

Mental health experts say there has been a rise in the number of suicides over past one year and pandemic also had a role to play. “Suicide is a culmination of several factors, including social, personal and others. We have to intervene at the societal level for acceptance of mental health like physical health. Easy availability of mental health resources is also significant as it is another reason for rise in suicides. Right from childhood, inclusion of life skills such as emotion handling and mental health curriculum in schools is required. The collective interventions by society at large can go a long way in bringing down suicide cases,” says Dr Vasanth, consultant psychiatrist at Fortis Malar Hospital.