1.
10-Year-Old, Aquan Lewis, Commits Suicide At School
5 Feb 2009 ... CHICAGO — The mother of a 10-year-old boy found hanged in a bathroom at a suburban Chicago school does not believe her son committed suicide ...
www.huffingtonpost.com/.../10yearold-aquan-lewis-com_n_164210.html - Cached - Similar
2.
No video games so 10 year old commits suicide - World - DNA
1 Oct 2007 ... MOSCOW: A 10-year-old school boy committed suicide by jumping from his 19th floor apartment here after his parents banned him from playing ...
www.dnaindia.com › WORLD - Cached
3.
9 Year Old Commits Suicide At School - The Community Board - GOOD
27 Jan 2010 ... 9 Year Old Commits Suicide At School .... decade: ASME and MPA's "10 Years in 2 Minutes with 92 Magazine Covers" (video after the jump). ...
www.good.is/post/9-year-old-commits-suicide-at-school/ - Cached
4.
9 Year-Old Boy Commits Suicide in Elementary School Bathroom - Digg
25 Jan 2010 ... 9 Year-Old Boy Commits Suicide in Elementary School Bathroom ... five to 10 suicides nationwide are reported in any given year, according to ...
digg.com/.../9_Year_Old_Boy_Commits_Suicide_in_Elementary_School_Bathroom - Cached
5.
Bullycide cases of children and young people who have lost their ...
Fourteen-year-old Bryan Frankish is killed escaping a school bully gang on a ... 14 February 2001: 10-year-old Jevan Richardson hangs himself at his home in ... 20 September 2001: 14-year-old Laura Grimes committed suicide by taking an ...
www.bullyonline.org/schoolbully/cases.htm - Cached - Similar
6.
11-year-old Commits Suicide after Mother Discovers her Friendship
15 Mar 2011 ... Enraged, her mother had gone to school on Tuesday morning to complain to the .... Very sad to hear that a 11 year old girl committed suicide. .... u expect an 10-11 year old kid to understand the parents feeling. ...
www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=97151 - Cached
7.
13-Year-Old Girl Commits Suicide After Classmates Spread Nude ...
2 Dec 2009 ... 13-Year-Old Girl Commits Suicide After Classmates Spread Nude Photos ... At the end of the school year at Beth Shields Middle School, ..... I was in high school just 10 short years ago so I remember how horrible it was ...
thecurvature.com/.../13-year-old-girl-commits-suicide-after-classmates-spread-nude-photos/ - Cached - Similar
8.
10 year old commits suicide after getting banned from computer ...
6 Nov 2007 ... A 10-year-old school boy committed suicide by jumping from his 19th floor apartment after his parents banned him from playing computer games ...
www.groundreport.com/.../10-year-old-commits-suicide.../2837542 - Cached
9.
16-year-old high school student commits suicide after meeting ...
16-year-old high school student commits suicide after meeting teachers over online insults. Friday 08th August, 10:15 AM JST. HOKKAIDO —. A 16-year-old high ...
www.japantoday.com/.../16-year-old-high-school-student-commits-suicide-after-meeting-teachers-over-online-insults - Cached - Similar
10.
Coroner Calls 10-Year-Old's Hanging Death Suicide - Local News ...
4 Feb 2009 ... The boy's distraught mother, Angel Lewis, left a school district building ... spokeswoman said Lewis did not believe her boy committed suicide. ... There were on average just 10 U.S. suicides among 10-year-olds a year ...
www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,487826,00.html - Cached - Similar
#
9-Year-Old Commits Suicide - Democratic Underground
26 Jan 2010 ... 9-Year-Old Commits Suicide, Updated at 1:17 PM ... how sad. bdamomma, Jan-26-10 10:24 AM, #5. School seems more interested in CYA than ...
www.democraticunderground.com › Discuss - Cached - Similar
►
#
9-Year-Old Commits Suicide in School Bathroom - News - Campus ...
22 Jan 2010 ... According to police, the 9-year-old apparently committed suicide. ... Columbine 10 Years Later: The State of School Safety Today ...
www.campussafetymagazine.com/.../School.../9-Year-Old-Commits-Suicide-in-School-Bathroom.aspx - Cached
#
YouTube - 11 Year Old Boy Commits Suicide
17 Apr 2009 ... Alert icon. Upgrade to Flash Player 10 for improved playback performance. .... Added to queue 13 Year Old Commits Suicide At Schoolby ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIwEFCaxZSo - Cached - Similar
#
Mother Raises Awareness After 10-Year-Old Son Commits Suicide ...
Mother Raises Awareness After 10-Year-Old Son Commits Suicide ... Lakeville, Minnesota --- 10-year-old Tyrell Dudley came home Tuesday after school, ...
www.zimbio.com/.../Mother+Raises+Awareness+After+10+Year+Old - Cached
#
13-Year-Old Jon Carmichael Commits Suicide Following Bullying ...
11 posts - 10 authors - Last post: 31 Mar 2010
Best Friend Says 13-Year-Old was Bullied Because of His Height Read ... grader at Loflin Middle School and those closest to the 13-year-old say he ... In Massachusetts, another student, 15-year-old Phoebe Prince, committed suicide .... 2010 5:19 AM EDT: " by PR_in_Alabama March 31, 2010 10:31 PM EDT ...
www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20001475-504083.html - Cached - Add to iGoogle
Get more discussion results
#
Massachusetts Girl, 10, Dead in Apparent Suicide - ABC News
7 Oct 2010 ... The Boston school attended by a 10-year-old girl who apparently committed suicide is investigating whether bullying played a role in the ...
abcnews.go.com › US
#
13 year old commits suicide after years of anti-gay taunting ...
28 Sep 2010 ... I'm betting this Texas school takes absolutely NO preventative measures moving forward to prevent ... 13 year old commits suicide after years of anti-gay taunting .... Rating: 10.0/10 (3 votes cast). VN:F [1.9.7_1111] ...
sayencrowolf.net/.../13-year-old-commits-suicide-after-years-of-anti-gay-taunting/ - Cached
#
Another 11-Year-Old Boy Commits Suicide After Homophobic Bullying ...
21 Apr 2009 ... Jaheem Herrera, a fifth-grader at Dunaire Elementary School in the .... And God…that 10 year old sister…I can't even imagine what her life ...
www.feministe.us/.../another-11-year-old-boy-commits-suicide-after-homophobic-bullying/ - Cached - Similar
#
Thread: 10 year old commits suicide at school at Sara's Soup ...
2 posts - 1 author - Last post: 5 Feb 2009
TAMMY WEBBER | February 5, 2009 08:31 PM EST | AP Illinois School Suicide, Oakton Elementary School, Suicide At School, Chicago News CHICAGO ...
curezone.com › Forums - Cached
Get more discussion results
#
10 year old commits suicide - Invision Power Services
20 posts - 15 authors - Last post: 18 Oct 2007
A 10-year-old school boy committed suicide by jumping from his 19th floor apartment here after his parents banned him from playing computer ...
community.invisionpower.com/.../237446-10-year-old-commits-suicide/ - Cached
#
11-year-old boy commits suicide - SocialPhobiaWorld.com
10 posts - 9 authors - Last post: 4 Oct 2010
Before I graduated a boy at my school committed suicide because people bullied him. ... In the old times, in villages, everyone knew each other, and teacher could ... Old 10-04-2010, 11:16 AM. ilmatross. Advanced User ...
www.socialphobiaworld.com › ... › Bullying Forum - Cached
Get more discussion results
►
#
A 14-year Old School Girl Commits Suicide Over a Mobile Phone ...
29 Jul 2009 ... A 14-year Old School Girl Commits Suicide Over a Mobile Phone Brawl ..... 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? ...
newsflavor.com › World › Asia - Cached - Similar
#
Newsvine - 9 Year Old Fourth Grader Commits Suicide At School
26 Jan 2010 ... 9 Year Old Fourth Grader Commits Suicide At School ... they get home or from the school. 6 votes. Reply #5 - Fri Jan 29, 2010 12:10 AM EST ...
tydicea.newsvine.com/_.../3812353-9-year-old-fourth-grader-commits-suicide-at-school - Cached - Similar
#
15 Year Old Girl Commits Suicide
Where the Dow is Going and the 15 Year MI Old Shooter 12-01-10 (4) ... 15 Year old girl commits suicide. 1:48. Two days before a high school dance, ...
wn.com/15_Year_old_girl_commits_suicide - Cached
#
Eleven Year Old Boy Commits Suicide Because of Bullying
30 posts - 17 authors - Last post: 20 Apr 2009
Boy Scouting isn't a school activity, you're right, ... Another suicide? No bullying mentioned for this 10-year-old and Mom thinks he was ...
forum.nin.com/bb/read.php?31,613591,617837 - Cached
Get more discussion results
#
Police: 11-Year-Old Commits Suicide After School Bullying ...
25 May 2010 ... Police: 11-Year-Old Commits Suicide After School Bullying ... 10 Annoying Kid Phrases I'd Like to Ban Forever TheStir ...
www.momlogic.com/.../police_11-year_old_commits_suicide_after_bullying.php - Cached
#
Veggie Discourse: 15 year old commits suicide after classmates ...
15 Apr 2010 ... 15 year old commits suicide after classmates vote to suspend her ... Beginning April 10, the school has administered 4 training sessions to ...
torisefromashes.blogspot.com/.../15-year-old-commits-suicide-after.html - Cached
#
Nine Year-Old Commits Suicide At Colony Elementary School ...
46 posts - 33 authors
Nine Year-Old Commits Suicide At Colony Elementary School Other Notable ... in his 20+ year career was having to cut down one of his then 10 year old son's ...
www.findadeath.com › ... › Death Hag Central › Other Notable Figures - Cached
Get more discussion results
#
Ten Year Old Commits Suicide at Chicago School - BV Black Spin
5 Feb 2009 ... Upon being notified that your child had been found dead in the bathroom of his elementary school, the least you would expect is full ...
www.bvblackspin.com/.../chicago-ten-year-old-commits-suicide-at-school/ - Cached - Similar
#
A Bullied 11-Year Old Commits Suicide | TakePart - Inspiration to ...
10 Apr 2009 ... A Bullied 11-Year Old Commits Suicide .... My eleven year old son is bullied daily at his elementary school primarily by one classmate. ... Crime & Corrections10 issues; Government & Politics17 issues; Business & Trade12 ...
www.takepart.com/.../10/a-bullied-11-year-old-commits-suicide/ - United States - Cached
#
11-Year Old Commits Suicide Due to Bullying in School « MsQueer
11 Apr 2009 ... [UPDATE: see also "Another 11-year old Commits Suicide over ... 9 out of 10 LGBT youth (86.2%) reported being verbally harassed at school in ...
msqueer.wordpress.com/.../11-year-old-commits-suicide-due-to-bullying-in-school/ - Cached
►
#
9 Kids Charged after Bullied Classmate Commits Suicide | Strollerderby
30 Mar 2010 ... Phoebe's sister came home to find the 15-year-old hanging in the family home, ... UPDATE: School Quiet on Bullying Suicide | Strollerderby ... She has worked in the parenting magazine world for over 10 years, is the ...
blogs.babble.com › blogs › strollerderby - Cached
#
Mom says Springfield boy, 11, who committed suicide was repeatedly ...
8 Apr 2009 ... 11-year-old's suicide brings bullying to forefront Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover's ... School officials told her they had decided that the mediation of Carl's ... According to the center, one recent study of grades 6-10, ...
www.masslive.com › ... › Top Stories - Cached - Similar
#
Nancy Grace - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In 2006, 21-year-old Melinda Duckett committed suicide following an .... has also helped staff a hotline at an Atlanta battered women's center for 10 years. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Grace - Cached - Similar
#
School topper commits suicide - The Times of India
11 Feb 2011 ... School topper commits suicide. A 16-year-old college student committed suicide at her ... Celebrating 10 years of music at the NCPA ...
timesofindia.indiatimes.com › City - Cached
#
Student Takes Gun, Explosives to School, Commits Suicide
6 May 2009 ... On Tuesday, a 17-year old honor student at Canandaigua Academy in New York, ... Student Takes Gun, Explosives to School, Commits Suicide ... dead in a men's bathroom close to the gym about 10:48 a.m. by two students. ...
www.digitaljournal.com/article/272222 - Cached - Similar
#
top 10 school shootings in US History | Facebook
3 posts - 3 authors
10, 2004. A 16-year-old high school junior committed suicide at the high school's entryway. A canister holding fireworks, shotgun shells, ...
www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=271018014984&topic... - Cached
Get more discussion results
#
Videos for 10 year old commits suicide at school
- Report videosThank you for the feedback. Report another video.Please report the offensive video. Cancel
13 Year Old Commits Suicide At School
4 min - 29 Sep 2010
Uploaded by VlogColbyVieirra
youtube.com
10 Year Old boy Commits Suicide
5 min - 6 Feb 2009
Uploaded by DHARDYBOY
youtube.com
#
7-Year-Old Boy Commits Suicide
A 7-year-old second-grader in New Jersey has committed suicide by hanging himself after he ... 10/26/2007 08:33 PM, ID: 65952, Permalink ... The boy was well-liked, did well in school and never behaved in a way that required punishment. ...
www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=65952 - Cached - Similar
#
Student Commits Suicide Over Bad Grades | Asian Correspondent
31 Oct 2008 ... A fourth-grade student in Gwangju committed suicide over his declining .... 10 year old kids in Korea, China, and Japan are dying of heart attacks, too.”? ... A high school student hung himself after receiving harsh ...
asiancorrespondent.com/.../student-commits-suicide-over-bad-grades/ - Cached
Aasra Suicide Prevention.This blog is about getting people to talk about their innermost feelings and emotions in times of distress and despair.All discussions are about the issue of suicide, mental health and it's effect on society. Aasra Helpline for the depressed and suicidal. 91-22-27546669(24x7)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Suicidal ideation and how to deal with it
How to Fight Suicidal Urges
X
tracim
Traci McCaughey
I am a freelance writer, editor, and photographer.
I have many interests but what I enjoy most in life is simplicity and honesty.
By Traci McCaughey, eHow User
Suicidal thoughts are incomprehensible to those who have never felt so depressed or forlorn that life is too much to handle anymore. The scariest part of suicide is that a truly suicidal person will typically not tell anyone about the plan so no one will interfere. The only person that can help that suicidal person is him or herself.
Are you one of these suicidal thinkers? Take a minute, and let's look at things from a different perspective.
Difficulty:
Challenging
Instructions
1.
How to fight suicidal urges
* 1
Remember that death is permanent. This is not a Hollywood film where, after the fact, you get to watch your friends feel guilty about treating you badly or see your family or loved ones miss you. Once you are dead, that is it.
* 2
Know that nothing is so bad that you cannot get through it. The only consistent thing in this world is change. As time goes on, everything changes. What is upsetting you now may be something that will be a distant memory in a year's time.
* 3
Don't look at suicide as a solution. There are other steps that you can take to solving your problem(s). Suicide is not one that will "fix" anything. You are actually leaving a huge mass of heartbreak and confusion behind you.
* 4
Never think that people are better if you are not there and that suicide is the way to help them. If you are not meant to be in someone's life, you do not need to kill yourself in order to do so. There are other simpler solutions such as not talking to that person or listening to that person and taking their word that they do need you in their life.
* 5
Don't use suicide as the answer to a failed romance. There are many "fish in the sea." And while you may think that you cannot go on without that one person loving you, wake up and realize that you can. You will go through a broken heart, but it will not last forever, and the right person will come along.
* 6
Go talk to someone that you trust or who is a confidential professional. If you go to a counselor and state that you are having suicidal thoughts, you are not going to be labeled as a freak and rushed off in a straight jacket. Again, this is not Hollywood, and you are not the star of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." There is a plethora of people out there trained to help you. You are no less a person for talking about your depression.
* 7
Find the light in time. You will not always feel this way. Think about it. You are on the verge of throwing your life away permanently over something that one day will be just another day in your past.
* 8
Think of all the things that you will miss out on--all of the wonderful people that will come into your life that are anxious to meet you. Think about all of the experiences that are ahead of you that will be breathtaking.
* 9
Let death happen naturally, and grow stronger by overcoming these dark spells. Once you can get over the hurdles, maybe your experiences can be lessons for others going through your troubles, and you will inspire them to hang on another day simply because it may be better than the one before.
Depression – How to Handle Suicidal Thoughts
by Dr. Annette on July 9, 2008 · 58 comments
Chances are that if you’ve been depressed for awhile, or you’re experiencing ongoing hopelessness, some aspect of yourself has begun to drop not so subtle hints about checking out of life. You’ve probably even heard that voice beckoning you with the promise of no more pain, and tempting you with the lure of rest from your self-tormenting thoughts.
Is Suicide An Option?
Depression or hopelessness affects your thoughts in such a way that you may not see any solution to the problem. That’s because depression leads you to focus on failures, disappointments, and the negative side of the situation. Depression obscures any possibilities of happiness or a good outcome. Depression keeps you trapped in overwhelming pain, hopelessness, worthlessness and shame, and a sense of being powerlessness to change current conditions. Depression leads to believing, “there is no way out,” “there’s nothing I can do,” and, “it will never get better.”
When there is no access to joy, no escape from misery, and no hope of things ever changing, it is a natural progression to eventually consider suicide as an alternative. A shift happens when you stop praying to get better and start praying for an end to suffering. It’s not so much that you want to die, rather that you want a “real” change, an escape from an ongoing situation that seems impossible to deal with, or a way to regain a sense of being in control over distressing thoughts or feelings. However, suicide is such a taboo subject that hardly anyone tells us that it is OK to feel so bad that you would think about leaving life.
What To Do With Suicidal Thoughts
If you are having thoughts of suicide follow these three suggestions:
1. Talk with Someone
Instead of hiding suicidal thoughts, explore suicidal ideas in a manner that brings them outside of yourself. This means talking about your feelings with someone who can be caring, calm, non-judgmental, and non-confrontational. Don’t wait until things get better. Call someone such as a friend, counselor, priest, or suicide crisis center that is capable of listening with acceptance.
The best helpline in India is Aasra- 91-22-27546667/9 and it is a 24x7 hotline
Two excellent suicide hotline resources in the U.S. include:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
A 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
National HopeLine
A 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service
1–800–442-4673
www.hopeline.com
2. Express Depression by Writing or Drawing
If talking with someone isn’t an action that you will take, then write extensively in a journal or on a pad of paper. Overcome your resistance to writing, rise above your desire to keep everything inside and write. Write often. Write big, messy, angry, hopeless words. Write about your problems, express your pent up feelings, describe your loneliness. Use dark colors if you want, cuss, scream, and express your despair. If you are feeling lethargic, then write about how that feels. Be “bad,” say all the things no one wants to hear, be ugly – be anything but the nice “feeling fine” person you show to the world. Avoid thinking you need to solve your problems when you write. Simply give expression to the thoughts trapped in your head. Write about how you are hurting, how your life sucks, how you can’t feel joy anywhere.
If you can’t write, grab a pencil, a handful of colored markers, or a box of Crayola crayons and draw pictures of how you feel. Your pictures aren’t supposed to be pretty, pleasing, or “good.” Instead, they allow you an important avenue of creative expression. What does depression look like to you?
3. Talk to Yourself in the Mirror
If talking to someone seems impossible, if writing or drawing seems overwhelming, then go to a mirror and speak your thoughts aloud. There’s no correct form of self-talk but you do want to look at yourself in the mirror, speak truth, and avoid sugar-coated affirmations. There’s no point in saying positive affirmations such as “I’m blissful, content, and serene,’” when in fact you’re contemplating ending your life. In addition, berating yourself for feeling depressed isn’t going to help either.
Instead, speak truth about your current situation, make a choice to continue living, and give yourself some much needed encouragement. You could say something like:
“I’m feeling depressed and suicidal and it’s okay to feel this way. A part of me wants to give up and it’s showing me how to end my life. But even though I’m feeling this way, I choose to go on with my life today. I don’t know how I’m going to overcome this depression, but I am doing the best I can. For right now, all I have to do is get through this hour. And I’m doing that by talking to myself.”
What’s most important is giving your suicidal thoughts a form of expression. Any form of expression – talking to another person, writing, drawing, or talking aloud to yourself in the mirror – gives you an opportunity to see your situation differently. We are much more able to cope with externalized expression than internalized thoughts.
Doesn’t Allowing Suicide As An Option Encourage It?
A conscious exploration of suicide, of an idea that is already circling in your head, doesn’t mean that you are encouraging this option. Instead, it opens up a dialog with something that you have already been considering.
Unexpressed, internalized suicidal thoughts tend to dwell on the process of suicide. Meaning thoughts are generally related to planning the act, thinking about when you would do it (today, tomorrow, next week), and the method you would use. Without expression, those types of thoughts gather momentum, growing bigger and stronger, until they obsessively swirl around in your head.
However, when you consciously express suicidal thoughts, you move beyond the best method to kill yourself. Rather then dwell on the final details of your demise, you actively explore your distress. You allow yourself to explore why suicide seems the best option, what problems it is supposed to solve, and how your choice might impact your evolution.
Giving expression to your thoughts doesn’t suddenly make everything better, but it does provide opportunity to unburden your troubles and ventilate your feelings. Talking to others, talking aloud to self, or writing allows you to move energy, feel a tiny, tiny (but much needed) sense of relief, and tap into a deeper reserves of creativity and problem solving. Expression means you are taking action and actively bringing new awareness to your situation from new angles and perspectives.
When you keep suicidal thoughts hidden, you become trapped with extremely limited choices. Those choices include:
1. Pretending suicidal thoughts aren’t present
2. Doing your best to fight against suicidal thoughts (even though what we fight continues to grow stronger every day)
3. Sleeping, eating, drinking, or medicating as a means to suppress suicidal thoughts
4. Give in to compulsive suicidal thoughts and end your life.
However, when you give yourself permission to explore suicide as an option, you bring those ideas out into the open. These thoughts are no longer frozen in your mind. Instead, expression gives your thoughts the freedom to evolve, and to move beyond noisy, chaotic clatter in your brain.
Allowing Death as an Option Allows Life as an Option
Once you give yourself permission and consciously consider suicide as an option, those thoughts become one option instead of the only option.
As you consciously contemplate your own death, you also contemplate the option of continuing with your life. Maybe for the first time ever you put aside your beliefs of hopelessness, you set aside your obligations to family and friends, and you set aside the belief of suicide being a sin. In your heart, you put yourself first and search for a reason to continue living.
When you explore the possibility of suicide, you open your mind to the most meaningful questions of life itself:
*
* Do I wish to continue to live?
*
* What would have to change for me to want to continue life?
*
* Is it possible to live a life beyond fear and despair?
*
* What would give meaning to my life?
*
* What could I do today to give meaning to my life?
*
* Even though there is no joy to be found right now, do I choose life for myself?
You may not have any answers to these questions, but it is most important that you ask them. Recognition of our ability to affect our own mortality can be a profound experience. When you strip away all ideas of sin, of shame, of obligation to anyone else other than you, would you give yourself life or death?
Many depressed people, when they allow themselves to consciously look at death as an option realize that there is deep important meaning in their depression. It’s not a lesson to be learned, it’s not a punishment, and it’s not a test. Depression is an indicator of a transition or evolution into something new.
Perhaps, this is one purpose of depression all along – to make a conscious choice about deciding to live at this stage in your evolution. As any depressed or hopeless person knows all too well, no higher being has yet come down from heaven to take your depression or suffering away. If a heavenly spirit isn’t going to save you, would you choose to save yourself?
Depression Freedom If you or someone you know is depressed, Depression Freedom is a powerful book that reveals new insights about the nature of depression… and how to move through it. Depression Freedom is a must read for anyone who has ever been depressed, everyone who struggles with deep depression or is even now feeling like there is no way out, their friends and family members, as well as counselors and therapists seeking practical, real life healing tools and an empowering message of hope and transcendence.
Suicidal Thoughts Overview
If you or someone you know is considering suicide and are unsure how to deal with it, call a suicide hotline, like 91- 022-27546667/9 , to get help.
Suicidal thoughts are troubling, especially when accompanied by depression, other mental illnesses, alcohol or substance abuse, or plans for suicide. This situation demands immediate evaluation. These thoughts may indicate the presence of a serious psychological disorder.
The critical distinction is between a person's thoughts regarding death and suicide and actually feeling suicidal. When doctors hear that someone wants to die, they refer to these thoughts as suicidal ideation and divide them into two categories.
* Suicidal ideation can be active and involve a current desire and plan to die.
* Suicidal ideation can be passive, involving a desire to die but without a plan to bring about one's death.
If a person has an actual desire to die (in either form of suicidal ideation), he or she must seek immediate medical attention.
X
tracim
Traci McCaughey
I am a freelance writer, editor, and photographer.
I have many interests but what I enjoy most in life is simplicity and honesty.
By Traci McCaughey, eHow User
Suicidal thoughts are incomprehensible to those who have never felt so depressed or forlorn that life is too much to handle anymore. The scariest part of suicide is that a truly suicidal person will typically not tell anyone about the plan so no one will interfere. The only person that can help that suicidal person is him or herself.
Are you one of these suicidal thinkers? Take a minute, and let's look at things from a different perspective.
Difficulty:
Challenging
Instructions
1.
How to fight suicidal urges
* 1
Remember that death is permanent. This is not a Hollywood film where, after the fact, you get to watch your friends feel guilty about treating you badly or see your family or loved ones miss you. Once you are dead, that is it.
* 2
Know that nothing is so bad that you cannot get through it. The only consistent thing in this world is change. As time goes on, everything changes. What is upsetting you now may be something that will be a distant memory in a year's time.
* 3
Don't look at suicide as a solution. There are other steps that you can take to solving your problem(s). Suicide is not one that will "fix" anything. You are actually leaving a huge mass of heartbreak and confusion behind you.
* 4
Never think that people are better if you are not there and that suicide is the way to help them. If you are not meant to be in someone's life, you do not need to kill yourself in order to do so. There are other simpler solutions such as not talking to that person or listening to that person and taking their word that they do need you in their life.
* 5
Don't use suicide as the answer to a failed romance. There are many "fish in the sea." And while you may think that you cannot go on without that one person loving you, wake up and realize that you can. You will go through a broken heart, but it will not last forever, and the right person will come along.
* 6
Go talk to someone that you trust or who is a confidential professional. If you go to a counselor and state that you are having suicidal thoughts, you are not going to be labeled as a freak and rushed off in a straight jacket. Again, this is not Hollywood, and you are not the star of "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." There is a plethora of people out there trained to help you. You are no less a person for talking about your depression.
* 7
Find the light in time. You will not always feel this way. Think about it. You are on the verge of throwing your life away permanently over something that one day will be just another day in your past.
* 8
Think of all the things that you will miss out on--all of the wonderful people that will come into your life that are anxious to meet you. Think about all of the experiences that are ahead of you that will be breathtaking.
* 9
Let death happen naturally, and grow stronger by overcoming these dark spells. Once you can get over the hurdles, maybe your experiences can be lessons for others going through your troubles, and you will inspire them to hang on another day simply because it may be better than the one before.
Depression – How to Handle Suicidal Thoughts
by Dr. Annette on July 9, 2008 · 58 comments
Chances are that if you’ve been depressed for awhile, or you’re experiencing ongoing hopelessness, some aspect of yourself has begun to drop not so subtle hints about checking out of life. You’ve probably even heard that voice beckoning you with the promise of no more pain, and tempting you with the lure of rest from your self-tormenting thoughts.
Is Suicide An Option?
Depression or hopelessness affects your thoughts in such a way that you may not see any solution to the problem. That’s because depression leads you to focus on failures, disappointments, and the negative side of the situation. Depression obscures any possibilities of happiness or a good outcome. Depression keeps you trapped in overwhelming pain, hopelessness, worthlessness and shame, and a sense of being powerlessness to change current conditions. Depression leads to believing, “there is no way out,” “there’s nothing I can do,” and, “it will never get better.”
When there is no access to joy, no escape from misery, and no hope of things ever changing, it is a natural progression to eventually consider suicide as an alternative. A shift happens when you stop praying to get better and start praying for an end to suffering. It’s not so much that you want to die, rather that you want a “real” change, an escape from an ongoing situation that seems impossible to deal with, or a way to regain a sense of being in control over distressing thoughts or feelings. However, suicide is such a taboo subject that hardly anyone tells us that it is OK to feel so bad that you would think about leaving life.
What To Do With Suicidal Thoughts
If you are having thoughts of suicide follow these three suggestions:
1. Talk with Someone
Instead of hiding suicidal thoughts, explore suicidal ideas in a manner that brings them outside of yourself. This means talking about your feelings with someone who can be caring, calm, non-judgmental, and non-confrontational. Don’t wait until things get better. Call someone such as a friend, counselor, priest, or suicide crisis center that is capable of listening with acceptance.
The best helpline in India is Aasra- 91-22-27546667/9 and it is a 24x7 hotline
Two excellent suicide hotline resources in the U.S. include:
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
A 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service
1-800-273-TALK (8255)
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
National HopeLine
A 24-hour, toll-free suicide prevention service
1–800–442-4673
www.hopeline.com
2. Express Depression by Writing or Drawing
If talking with someone isn’t an action that you will take, then write extensively in a journal or on a pad of paper. Overcome your resistance to writing, rise above your desire to keep everything inside and write. Write often. Write big, messy, angry, hopeless words. Write about your problems, express your pent up feelings, describe your loneliness. Use dark colors if you want, cuss, scream, and express your despair. If you are feeling lethargic, then write about how that feels. Be “bad,” say all the things no one wants to hear, be ugly – be anything but the nice “feeling fine” person you show to the world. Avoid thinking you need to solve your problems when you write. Simply give expression to the thoughts trapped in your head. Write about how you are hurting, how your life sucks, how you can’t feel joy anywhere.
If you can’t write, grab a pencil, a handful of colored markers, or a box of Crayola crayons and draw pictures of how you feel. Your pictures aren’t supposed to be pretty, pleasing, or “good.” Instead, they allow you an important avenue of creative expression. What does depression look like to you?
3. Talk to Yourself in the Mirror
If talking to someone seems impossible, if writing or drawing seems overwhelming, then go to a mirror and speak your thoughts aloud. There’s no correct form of self-talk but you do want to look at yourself in the mirror, speak truth, and avoid sugar-coated affirmations. There’s no point in saying positive affirmations such as “I’m blissful, content, and serene,’” when in fact you’re contemplating ending your life. In addition, berating yourself for feeling depressed isn’t going to help either.
Instead, speak truth about your current situation, make a choice to continue living, and give yourself some much needed encouragement. You could say something like:
“I’m feeling depressed and suicidal and it’s okay to feel this way. A part of me wants to give up and it’s showing me how to end my life. But even though I’m feeling this way, I choose to go on with my life today. I don’t know how I’m going to overcome this depression, but I am doing the best I can. For right now, all I have to do is get through this hour. And I’m doing that by talking to myself.”
What’s most important is giving your suicidal thoughts a form of expression. Any form of expression – talking to another person, writing, drawing, or talking aloud to yourself in the mirror – gives you an opportunity to see your situation differently. We are much more able to cope with externalized expression than internalized thoughts.
Doesn’t Allowing Suicide As An Option Encourage It?
A conscious exploration of suicide, of an idea that is already circling in your head, doesn’t mean that you are encouraging this option. Instead, it opens up a dialog with something that you have already been considering.
Unexpressed, internalized suicidal thoughts tend to dwell on the process of suicide. Meaning thoughts are generally related to planning the act, thinking about when you would do it (today, tomorrow, next week), and the method you would use. Without expression, those types of thoughts gather momentum, growing bigger and stronger, until they obsessively swirl around in your head.
However, when you consciously express suicidal thoughts, you move beyond the best method to kill yourself. Rather then dwell on the final details of your demise, you actively explore your distress. You allow yourself to explore why suicide seems the best option, what problems it is supposed to solve, and how your choice might impact your evolution.
Giving expression to your thoughts doesn’t suddenly make everything better, but it does provide opportunity to unburden your troubles and ventilate your feelings. Talking to others, talking aloud to self, or writing allows you to move energy, feel a tiny, tiny (but much needed) sense of relief, and tap into a deeper reserves of creativity and problem solving. Expression means you are taking action and actively bringing new awareness to your situation from new angles and perspectives.
When you keep suicidal thoughts hidden, you become trapped with extremely limited choices. Those choices include:
1. Pretending suicidal thoughts aren’t present
2. Doing your best to fight against suicidal thoughts (even though what we fight continues to grow stronger every day)
3. Sleeping, eating, drinking, or medicating as a means to suppress suicidal thoughts
4. Give in to compulsive suicidal thoughts and end your life.
However, when you give yourself permission to explore suicide as an option, you bring those ideas out into the open. These thoughts are no longer frozen in your mind. Instead, expression gives your thoughts the freedom to evolve, and to move beyond noisy, chaotic clatter in your brain.
Allowing Death as an Option Allows Life as an Option
Once you give yourself permission and consciously consider suicide as an option, those thoughts become one option instead of the only option.
As you consciously contemplate your own death, you also contemplate the option of continuing with your life. Maybe for the first time ever you put aside your beliefs of hopelessness, you set aside your obligations to family and friends, and you set aside the belief of suicide being a sin. In your heart, you put yourself first and search for a reason to continue living.
When you explore the possibility of suicide, you open your mind to the most meaningful questions of life itself:
*
* Do I wish to continue to live?
*
* What would have to change for me to want to continue life?
*
* Is it possible to live a life beyond fear and despair?
*
* What would give meaning to my life?
*
* What could I do today to give meaning to my life?
*
* Even though there is no joy to be found right now, do I choose life for myself?
You may not have any answers to these questions, but it is most important that you ask them. Recognition of our ability to affect our own mortality can be a profound experience. When you strip away all ideas of sin, of shame, of obligation to anyone else other than you, would you give yourself life or death?
Many depressed people, when they allow themselves to consciously look at death as an option realize that there is deep important meaning in their depression. It’s not a lesson to be learned, it’s not a punishment, and it’s not a test. Depression is an indicator of a transition or evolution into something new.
Perhaps, this is one purpose of depression all along – to make a conscious choice about deciding to live at this stage in your evolution. As any depressed or hopeless person knows all too well, no higher being has yet come down from heaven to take your depression or suffering away. If a heavenly spirit isn’t going to save you, would you choose to save yourself?
Depression Freedom If you or someone you know is depressed, Depression Freedom is a powerful book that reveals new insights about the nature of depression… and how to move through it. Depression Freedom is a must read for anyone who has ever been depressed, everyone who struggles with deep depression or is even now feeling like there is no way out, their friends and family members, as well as counselors and therapists seeking practical, real life healing tools and an empowering message of hope and transcendence.
Suicidal Thoughts Overview
If you or someone you know is considering suicide and are unsure how to deal with it, call a suicide hotline, like 91- 022-27546667/9 , to get help.
Suicidal thoughts are troubling, especially when accompanied by depression, other mental illnesses, alcohol or substance abuse, or plans for suicide. This situation demands immediate evaluation. These thoughts may indicate the presence of a serious psychological disorder.
The critical distinction is between a person's thoughts regarding death and suicide and actually feeling suicidal. When doctors hear that someone wants to die, they refer to these thoughts as suicidal ideation and divide them into two categories.
* Suicidal ideation can be active and involve a current desire and plan to die.
* Suicidal ideation can be passive, involving a desire to die but without a plan to bring about one's death.
If a person has an actual desire to die (in either form of suicidal ideation), he or she must seek immediate medical attention.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Volunteer Co-operation
Subject: AW: Volunteer Cooperation
From: "Isabelle Bartz von KulturLife" Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:18:02
To: You and others
Cc:
Bcc:
Less | Show full Headers | View blocked images in this message
1 attachment - Download all
Korn Ferry Media Partners Global List.pdf751.87 KBDownload
Dear Mr Thomas,
Thank you for your swift reply! I was very happy to read that you would be interested in cooperating with us and giving volunteers the chance for gaining valuable intercultural experiences by supporting your project. Therefore, let me give you some more information about our program.
With our program we offer volunteers (minimum age 18 years) the opportunity to support charitable projects in different countries. We currently cooperate with projects in Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and on the Phillipines. Volunteer applicants can decide themselves when they would like to start, how long they would like to work and live in a project (4 weeks up to several months), and the costs for accommodation and food will have to be paid by the volunteers themselves.
Our most important request is that the volunteers have to be kept safe.
1) Accommodation: The volunteers have to be accommodated in a permanent house, this could either be in a residential house or in a host family. It’s important that the accommodation is provided with an own bed for each volunteer.
2) Supervisor: It’s essential that you have an English-speaking supervisor, who is in charge of the volunteers. This person should be able to assist if there are any problems and be in constantly contact with the young workers.
3) Food: 3 daily meals should be provided for the volunteers.
4) Bank account: Your project is advised to have a bank account for a donation for food and accommodation.
5) Transportation: It’s important that you guarantee a pick-up and drop-off from the nearest airport.
If we build up a cooperation with you, we will take your project into our portfolio and people interested in volunteering can apply. We will handle the application process and will get the volunteers prepared for their new experience. Of course, we will send you their CV, a photo and their motivation letter so that you can give the definite acceptance to an applicant. If you have any special requirements, we can definitely take them into consideration! What we require from volunteers is a heart to serve, open-mindedness for people, cultures and different ways of life, sociability, a sense of responsibility... Some of them already have references of social work, e.g. having done an internship in a nursery. Many of our volunteers have just finished school (at the age of 18 up to 20 years), and want to experience something new before studying at university. But we also have older volunteers who have already worked and want to start something completely new.
On your website - which is really nice and well done, by the way - you provide many very useful information! What we need to know is the amount of the donation which will have to be paid to cover your expenses for board and lodging. Could you also give us a note of your terms and conditions to the partnership? This should include the field of work, the minimum and maximum duration of a stay, where the volunteers can sleep, the contact person and which airport is the nearest, etc.
Let me also know, if you have any questions!
I am looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Thank you so much and warm regards,
Isabelle
KulturLife
Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft für Kulturaustausch mbH
Max-Giese-Straße 22 D - 24103 Kiel
isabelle@kultur-life.de
www.kultur-life.de
Handelsregister Kiel, HRB 4296 KI
Geschäftsführer: Martin Elbeshausen
My office hours:
Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
previous email and response
Von: johnsont307@rediffmail.com [mailto:johnsont307@rediffmail.com]
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 3. März 2011 19:46
An: Isabelle Bartz von KulturLife
Betreff: Re: Volunteer Cooperation
Isabelle we would be interested. Lets think of the modalities...
Johnson Thomas(00-9820466726)
Director
Aasra
www.aasra.info
aasrasuicideprevention.blogspot.com
On Wed, 02 Mar 2011 01:35:07 +0530 "Isabelle Bartz von KulturLife" wrote
>
Dearladies andgentlemen,
let me send you some warm greetings from Germany.
My name is Isabelle Bartz and I am working for KulturLife a non-profit organization focussing on intercultural exchange. For almost 15 years now, we have been organizing diverse exchange programs for young people to give them an understanding about different cultures and ways of life and to enhance international cooperation. Our volunteer department is currently growing, as there is a high interest among young people getting involved in supporting charitable projects abroad. For this reason, we are looking for new partner projects. Researching on the Internet, I took notice of your project and I reallyappreciate your work. I consider your organization definitely worth being supported by our motivated volunteers! Therefore, we are very interested in building upacooperation withyour organisation and send volunteers (staying between a few weeks up to several months)as a supportto your projects.
Please let us know if you are interested in a partnership and give us a reply, so we can talk about further details.
I am looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Thank you and kind regards,
Isabelle Bartz
Isabelle Bartz
KulturLife
Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft für Kulturaustausch mbH
>Max-Giese-StraßeD - 24103 Kiel
>Isabellesusanne@kultur-life.de" target=_new>@kultur-life.de
www.kultur-life.de
>Handelsregister Kiel, HRB 4296 KI
>Geschäftsführer: Martin Elbeshausen
My office hours:
Tuesday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Wednesday-Friday10 a.m.-5 p.m.
------------------------------------------------------------
Neu: KulturLife auf Facebok -werde Fan unter
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kultur-Life/219382753794
From: "Isabelle Bartz von KulturLife"
To: You and others
Cc:
Bcc:
Less | Show full Headers | View blocked images in this message
1 attachment - Download all
Korn Ferry Media Partners Global List.pdf751.87 KBDownload
Dear Mr Thomas,
Thank you for your swift reply! I was very happy to read that you would be interested in cooperating with us and giving volunteers the chance for gaining valuable intercultural experiences by supporting your project. Therefore, let me give you some more information about our program.
With our program we offer volunteers (minimum age 18 years) the opportunity to support charitable projects in different countries. We currently cooperate with projects in Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and on the Phillipines. Volunteer applicants can decide themselves when they would like to start, how long they would like to work and live in a project (4 weeks up to several months), and the costs for accommodation and food will have to be paid by the volunteers themselves.
Our most important request is that the volunteers have to be kept safe.
1) Accommodation: The volunteers have to be accommodated in a permanent house, this could either be in a residential house or in a host family. It’s important that the accommodation is provided with an own bed for each volunteer.
2) Supervisor: It’s essential that you have an English-speaking supervisor, who is in charge of the volunteers. This person should be able to assist if there are any problems and be in constantly contact with the young workers.
3) Food: 3 daily meals should be provided for the volunteers.
4) Bank account: Your project is advised to have a bank account for a donation for food and accommodation.
5) Transportation: It’s important that you guarantee a pick-up and drop-off from the nearest airport.
If we build up a cooperation with you, we will take your project into our portfolio and people interested in volunteering can apply. We will handle the application process and will get the volunteers prepared for their new experience. Of course, we will send you their CV, a photo and their motivation letter so that you can give the definite acceptance to an applicant. If you have any special requirements, we can definitely take them into consideration! What we require from volunteers is a heart to serve, open-mindedness for people, cultures and different ways of life, sociability, a sense of responsibility... Some of them already have references of social work, e.g. having done an internship in a nursery. Many of our volunteers have just finished school (at the age of 18 up to 20 years), and want to experience something new before studying at university. But we also have older volunteers who have already worked and want to start something completely new.
On your website - which is really nice and well done, by the way - you provide many very useful information! What we need to know is the amount of the donation which will have to be paid to cover your expenses for board and lodging. Could you also give us a note of your terms and conditions to the partnership? This should include the field of work, the minimum and maximum duration of a stay, where the volunteers can sleep, the contact person and which airport is the nearest, etc.
Let me also know, if you have any questions!
I am looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Thank you so much and warm regards,
Isabelle
KulturLife
Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft für Kulturaustausch mbH
Max-Giese-Straße 22 D - 24103 Kiel
isabelle@kultur-life.de
www.kultur-life.de
Handelsregister Kiel, HRB 4296 KI
Geschäftsführer: Martin Elbeshausen
My office hours:
Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
previous email and response
Von: johnsont307@rediffmail.com [mailto:johnsont307@rediffmail.com]
Gesendet: Donnerstag, 3. März 2011 19:46
An: Isabelle Bartz von KulturLife
Betreff: Re: Volunteer Cooperation
Isabelle we would be interested. Lets think of the modalities...
Johnson Thomas(00-9820466726)
Director
Aasra
www.aasra.info
aasrasuicideprevention.blogspot.com
On Wed, 02 Mar 2011 01:35:07 +0530 "Isabelle Bartz von KulturLife"
>
Dearladies andgentlemen,
let me send you some warm greetings from Germany.
My name is Isabelle Bartz and I am working for KulturLife a non-profit organization focussing on intercultural exchange. For almost 15 years now, we have been organizing diverse exchange programs for young people to give them an understanding about different cultures and ways of life and to enhance international cooperation. Our volunteer department is currently growing, as there is a high interest among young people getting involved in supporting charitable projects abroad. For this reason, we are looking for new partner projects. Researching on the Internet, I took notice of your project and I reallyappreciate your work. I consider your organization definitely worth being supported by our motivated volunteers! Therefore, we are very interested in building upacooperation withyour organisation and send volunteers (staying between a few weeks up to several months)as a supportto your projects.
Please let us know if you are interested in a partnership and give us a reply, so we can talk about further details.
I am looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Thank you and kind regards,
Isabelle Bartz
Isabelle Bartz
KulturLife
Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft für Kulturaustausch mbH
>Max-Giese-StraßeD - 24103 Kiel
>Isabellesusanne@kultur-life.de" target=_new>@kultur-life.de
www.kultur-life.de
>Handelsregister Kiel, HRB 4296 KI
>Geschäftsführer: Martin Elbeshausen
My office hours:
Tuesday 11 a.m.-6 p.m. and Wednesday-Friday10 a.m.-5 p.m.
------------------------------------------------------------
Neu: KulturLife auf Facebok -werde Fan unter
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kultur-Life/219382753794
Aasra's Karmayog page
Get involved in YOUR city and locality - Improve Your World
Get involved in YOUR city and locality
Improve Your World Home | About Us | Sitemap | Search | Contact Us
Home >> Mental Illness >> AASRA - HELPING PEOPLE IN DESPAIR
AASRA - HELPING PEOPLE IN DESPAIR
A4, TANWAR VIEW COOP. HSG. SOCIETY,
PLOT NO. 43, SECTOR -7, KOPARKHAIRANE,
NAVI MUMBAI 400 709, INDIA.
TEL: HELPLINE : 27546669(3PM TO 9PM)
OFFICE :27546667(3PM TO 9PM)koparkhairane, navi mumbai-400709
address has changed. please note- new adddress- 104, sunrise arcade, plot 100, sector 16 ,
website: www.aasra.info
Website: www.befriendersindia.org
email: aasrahelpline@yahoo.com
(REGISTERED WITH COMMISSIONER FOR CHARITABLE TRUSTS, GOVT. OF MAHARASHTRA,
REGN. NO. E 2047)
Re: Invitation for programs commemorating 'World Suicide prevention Day'
Dear Sir/Madam,
Aasra is a crisis intervention center for the lonely, distressed and suicidal. Aasra functions as a unit of Befrienders India / Samaritans and is registered as a Public Charity under the Bombay Charity Act, 1960(Registration No. E 2047). Befrienders India/Samaritans is recognised by The United Nations and has been working in the field of crisis intervention/ areas of emotional and mental health since 1960. Aasra is the only help line in Navi Mumbai and started functioning from 13 September 1998.
It's September again and we, as co-representatives of suicide intervention services world-wide, try to focus attention of media / public in an effort to minimize suicides in society. WHO & IASP (International Association of Suicide Prevention) have designated September 10th as World Suicide Prevention Day and this day is commemorated all over the world by NGO's and
institutions working for the prevention of suicides.
Stop a Suicide, Today!,
"The tragedy of suicide is that it is a fatal, irreversible response to a reversible condition, usually depression, which can be treated," "Stop a Suicide, Today! is aimed at creating awareness of the need for non-critical understanding & compassion while dealing with a person undergoing suicidal crisis!
More than 70 percent of those who kill themselves typically express the wish to do so a week prior to committing suicide, according to a study conducted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Center for Suicide Research and Prevention.
The best way to stop a suicide is by being a Friend to someone in distress.
By being a friend we mean; Caring, Concerned, Compassionate, Confidential, Empathethetic, Understanding, Responsive. SHOW YOU CARE!
World Suicide Prevention Day, organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), focuses on encouraging the public, communities, societies, individuals, professionals and volunteers to conduct activities on the day to promote and demonstrate joint responsibility for saving lives that would otherwise be lost to suicide.
As part of this endeavour,this year too, AASRA has organized a few activities and notable among them are the public rally on 10th September at 5.00 pm, beginning from Koparkhairane and passing through most of the nodes of Navi Mumbai. The objective of the rally is to stress the importance of 'world Suicide Prevention Day' and to create awareness of services that
could be availed of for prevention of suicide. Volunteers will interact with the public on the streets, distributing appropriate handouts and alerting them to the need to express feelings and talk openly about their problems.
The second program is a Seminar-debate scheduled for 13th September,2005 , Time: 5.30 to 9.00 pm at IWSA's ICICI Multi-purpose hall, IWSA Campus, Plot No 20, Sector 10A, Vashi, near Balaji Mandir, Navi Mumbai-400703. tel:
27653391.
Theme: 'Intolerance in Civil society'
The seminar will be addressed by Panelists comprising of leading personalities from differing backgrounds, namely; Journalist ,Educator, Mental Health professional and Human Rights activist.
The Seminar will be conducted in three segments- 'Intolerance and society', 'Intolerance relating to Human Rights issues' and the final segment will be 'Intolerance relating to suicide'. The seminar will be moderated by an efficient moderator.
The program will be interspersed with brief entertainment by talented unsung artists. The program is designed to be interactive, informative and will also be an occasion for civil expression. Questions and doubts raised by the public would be addressed by the esteemed panelists.
AASRA, takes this opportunity to invite one and all to both the programs. Your wholehearted support and attendance on these occasions will go a long way in focusing public attention on 'Suicide' as a social ill and could act as a catalyst to framing a public health policy effort to curb the alarming rise in suicides in our state and country.
For further details , please contact Johnson -9820466726/27546667
Thanking You,
Regards,
JThomas
Johnson Thomas
Director.
Befrienders India
(National Association of Suicide Prevention Centres in India)
C/o SNEHA, 7, Besant Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014
www.befriendersindia.org
PRESS RELEASE
Another life lost every 40 seconds.
Suicide prevention - everyone's business.
Suicide means nearly one million deaths in the world a year. Another life lost - which could have been saved - every 40 seconds.
That's why 'Prevention of suicide is everybody's business' has been chosen as the theme for the September 10th World Suicide Prevention Day 2005.
Befrienders India supports World Suicide Prevention Day through its vision for a society where less people die by suicide.
And its beliefs are that being confidentially listened to and accepted without prejudice can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings.
Befrienders India has 9 centers in India and has 50,000 contacts with people in emotional distress each year. It has 500 trained volunteers and runs a unique service every day of the year.
Befrienders India is also part of Befrienders Worldwide which has more than 1,200 member centres in 61 countries staffed by almost 100,000 volunteers.
These volunteers work to give emotional help and reduce suicide.
Their work stretches from Zimbabwe to Japan, from Lithuania to Brazil, and the Befrienders Worldwide network shares information and also links with external contacts to share experience and demonstrate the role of volunteer suicide reduction centres.
Integral to this is the Befrienders Worldwide website - being up-dated in time for World Suicide Prevention Day that lists helplines around the world and information on suicide in 14 languages. The site - www.befrienders.org - attracts 60,000 visitors a month.
Befrienders India centers are linking any local initiatives or events they are holding around September 10th to World Suicide Prevention Day. Some have chosen to hold their own local media conferences linked with other agencies involved in the issue of suicide reduction, some are holding suicide awareness programme, while others are holding vigils.
Befrienders Worldwide branches have also chosen to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.
Befrienders India
(National Association of Suicide Prevention Centres in India)
C/o SNEHA, 7, Besant Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014
www.befriendersindia.org
In India according to National Crime Records Bureau 110,417 people committed suicide in the year 2002, which is 1.8% more than compared to 2001., a suicide is committed every five minutes. Seven times that number attempt to take their lives and as for those who feel desperate and unable to cope, the number is mind boggling. More suicides occur between 18 and 45 - in other words in the most productive age group of our society.
Suicide estimates suggest fatalities worldwide could rise to 1.5 million by 2020. Suicide is a largely preventable public health problem, causing almost half of all violent deaths as well as economic costs in the billions of dollars, says the WHO.
In its third successful year, World Suicide Prevention Day, a collaboration between the International Association for Suicide Prevention IASP and the WHO is being held to focus attention and call for global action - see www.iasp.info
Dr Catherine Le Galès-Camus, WHO Assistant-Director General, Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health said: "World-wide, more people die from suicide than from all homicides and wars combined. There is an urgent need for co-ordinated and intensified global action to prevent this needless toll. For every suicide death there are scores of family and
friends whose lives are devastated emotionally, socially and economically."
Among countries reporting suicide, the highest rates are found in Eastern Europe and the lowest are found mostly in Latin America, in Muslim countries and in a few of the Asian countries. There are estimated to be 10-20 times the number of deaths in failed suicide attempts, resulting in injury, emotional and mental trauma, although no reliable data is available on its
full extent.
Suicide rates tend to increase with age, but there has recently been an alarming increase in suicidal behaviours amongst young people aged 15 to 25 years old, worldwide. With the exception of rural China, more men than women commit suicide, although in most places more women than men attempt suicide.
Volunteer centres find much in common, with people's issues including relationships, bereavement, money problems, depression and general health worries - whether they are farmers in a poor district in India where crops have failed, or students in Japan under pressure to succeed.
Volunteers around the World work in providing emotional support to people in emotional crisis around the world. This group of people in emotional need is recognised by the WHO as increasing in size and needing improved responses.
For Befrienders India
Sd/-
(P.V.Sankaranarayanan)
Secretary
Befrienders India
(National Association of Suicide Prevention Centres in India)
C/o SNEHA, 7, Besant Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014
www.befriendersindia.org
UK Statistics: www.samaritans.org provide statistics for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
International Statistics: World Health Organisation - for international suicide statistics, including the most recent global statistics by country.
USA Statistics: American Association of Suicidology - for USA suicide statistics.
New Zealand Statistics: New Zealand Health Information Service - for NZ Statistics. There is also specific information about NZ youth suicide statistics.
Australia Statistics: Youth suicide in Australia
Canada Statistics: Canada Statistics Agency - for Canadian suicide statistics.
www.samaritans.org
Mind useful fact sheets on suicide statistics
University of Oxford Centre for suicide research
Office for National Statistics - trends in suicide rates
World Health Organisation
www.befrienders.org
www.iasp.info
http://www.lifeline.org.au/
http://www.lifeline.web.za/
http://www.ifotes.org
www.ltn08080.org
Notes to editors
Befrienders India is a registered society, founded in 1992, which offers emotional support to anyone in emotional distress through its centers in India. The centers are run entirely by volunteers and the services are totally free. Befrienders India's vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged. It believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings. It is the aim of Befrienders India to make emotional health a mainstream issue. The service is offered by 500 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support.
B E F R I E N D E R S I N D I A C E N T R E
(Caring for the Depressed, Desperate and the Suicidal)
President
Sumaitri, New Delhi 011 23710763 Daily 2 pm - 10 pm
Farrokh Jijina Lifeline, Kolkatta
033 24745886 Daily 10 am - 7 pm
Sahara - Mumbai. Sahara, Mumbai 022
23074351 Weekdays 3pm - 9pm,
Weekends 10am - 9pm
Aasra, Navi Mumbai 022
27546669 Daily 3 pm - 9 pm
Secretary Saath, Ahmedabad 079
26305544 Daily 1 pm - 7 pm
P.V. Sankaranarayanan Sneha, Chennai 044
28352345 Daily 8 am - 10 pm
Sneha - Chennai. Maitreyi, Pondicherry 0423
2339999 Daily 2 pm - 8 pm
Roshni, Secunderabad 040 55202000 Daily 11 am - 9 pm
Maithri - Kochi 0484 2396272 Daily 10 am - 8 pm
Suicide estimates suggest fatalities worldwide could rise to 1.5 million by 2020. Suicide is a largely preventable public health problem, causing almost half of all violent deaths as well as economic costs in the billions of dollars, says the WHO.
In its third successful year, World Suicide Prevention Day, a collaboration between the International Association for Suicide Prevention IASP and the WHO is being held to focus attention and call for global action - see www.iasp.info
Dr Catherine Le Galès-Camus, WHO Assistant-Director General, Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health said: "World-wide, more people die from suicide than from all homicides and wars combined. There is an urgent need for co-ordinated and intensified global action to prevent this needless toll. For every suicide death there are scores of family and
friends whose lives are devastated emotionally, socially and economically."
Among countries reporting suicide, the highest rates are found in Eastern Europe and the lowest are found mostly in Latin America, in Muslim countries and in a few of the Asian countries. There are estimated to be 10-20 times the number of deaths in failed suicide attempts, resulting in injury, emotional and mental trauma, although no reliable data is available on its
full extent.
Suicide rates tend to increase with age, but there has recently been an alarming increase in suicidal behaviours amongst young people aged 15 to 25 years old, worldwide. With the exception of rural China, more men than women commit suicide, although in most places more women than men attempt suicide.
Suicide helpline volunteers worldwide will also be represented in Durban, South Africa at the World Suicide Congress hosted by the IASP.
The theme of the 2005 Congress is Scaling the Summit: Suicidal Behaviour in Diverse Cultures and it will be held from September 12thth to 16th.
Samaritans will be represented at the Congress by chief executive David King, chair Daphne Pullen and international officer Deborah Brodie.
Samaritans will present a joint plenary with volunteer partners the International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services (IFOTES) and Lifeline International.
The title of the plenary is 'Prevention or Promotion' and the objective is to illustrate the unique role of volunteer emotional support services and recognise their shift from focusing on suicide prevention to promotion of wider emotional health issues.
Volunteers work in very diverse cultures and regions. Whether they use telephones or talk under a tree in a remote village they have all come to the same conclusion. They have found that although starting out as suicide prevention groups an enormous part of their work has now shifted to supporting people who were not necessarily suicidal (although they may become so), but who are in severe distress.
Centres providing an email service often have no idea whether the person is emailing from 20 or 2,000 miles away, or what nationality they are - in all of these the key process of listening in a non-judgemental way remains the same.
Volunteer centres find much in common, with people's issues including relationships, bereavement, money problems, depression and general health worries - whether they are farmers in a poor district in India where crops have failed, or students in Japan under pressure to succeed.
Volunteers around the World work in providing emotional support to people in emotional crisis around the world. This group of people in emotional need is recognised by the WHO as increasing in size and needing improved responses.
UK Statistics: www.samaritans.org provide statistics for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
International Statistics: World Health Organisation - for international suicide statistics, including the most recent global statistics by country.
USA Statistics: American Association of Suicidology - for USA suicide statistics.
New Zealand Statistics: New Zealand Health Information Service - for NZ Statistics. There is also specific information about NZ youth suicide statistics.
Australia Statistics: Youth suicide in Australia
Canada Statistics: Canada Statistics Agency - for Canadian suicide statistics.
www.samaritans.org
Mind useful fact sheets on suicide statistics University of Oxford Centre for suicide research Office for National Statistics - trends in suicide rates
World Health Organisation
www.befrienders.org
www.iasp.info
http://www.lifeline.org.au/
http://www.lifeline.web.za/
http://www.ifotes.org
www.ltn08080.org
Samaritans is a registered charity, founded in 1953, which offers 24-hour confidential emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. Samaritans' vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged. Samaritans believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings. It is the aim of Samaritans to make emotional health a mainstream issue. The service is offered by 17,600 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support.
Across the UK, you can call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 (1850 60 90 90 in the Republic of Ireland) for the price of a local call. You can also write to Samaritans at Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA, send an e-mail to jo@samaritans.org or if you are deaf or hard of hearing use the single national minicom number 08457 90 91 92 (1850 60 90 91 in the Republic of
Ireland).
It is one of the beautiful compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. --Charles Dudley Warner
Get involved in YOUR city and locality
Improve Your World Home | About Us | Sitemap | Search | Contact Us
Home >> Mental Illness >> AASRA - HELPING PEOPLE IN DESPAIR
AASRA - HELPING PEOPLE IN DESPAIR
A4, TANWAR VIEW COOP. HSG. SOCIETY,
PLOT NO. 43, SECTOR -7, KOPARKHAIRANE,
NAVI MUMBAI 400 709, INDIA.
TEL: HELPLINE : 27546669(3PM TO 9PM)
OFFICE :27546667(3PM TO 9PM)koparkhairane, navi mumbai-400709
address has changed. please note- new adddress- 104, sunrise arcade, plot 100, sector 16 ,
website: www.aasra.info
Website: www.befriendersindia.org
email: aasrahelpline@yahoo.com
(REGISTERED WITH COMMISSIONER FOR CHARITABLE TRUSTS, GOVT. OF MAHARASHTRA,
REGN. NO. E 2047)
Re: Invitation for programs commemorating 'World Suicide prevention Day'
Dear Sir/Madam,
Aasra is a crisis intervention center for the lonely, distressed and suicidal. Aasra functions as a unit of Befrienders India / Samaritans and is registered as a Public Charity under the Bombay Charity Act, 1960(Registration No. E 2047). Befrienders India/Samaritans is recognised by The United Nations and has been working in the field of crisis intervention/ areas of emotional and mental health since 1960. Aasra is the only help line in Navi Mumbai and started functioning from 13 September 1998.
It's September again and we, as co-representatives of suicide intervention services world-wide, try to focus attention of media / public in an effort to minimize suicides in society. WHO & IASP (International Association of Suicide Prevention) have designated September 10th as World Suicide Prevention Day and this day is commemorated all over the world by NGO's and
institutions working for the prevention of suicides.
Stop a Suicide, Today!,
"The tragedy of suicide is that it is a fatal, irreversible response to a reversible condition, usually depression, which can be treated," "Stop a Suicide, Today! is aimed at creating awareness of the need for non-critical understanding & compassion while dealing with a person undergoing suicidal crisis!
More than 70 percent of those who kill themselves typically express the wish to do so a week prior to committing suicide, according to a study conducted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Center for Suicide Research and Prevention.
The best way to stop a suicide is by being a Friend to someone in distress.
By being a friend we mean; Caring, Concerned, Compassionate, Confidential, Empathethetic, Understanding, Responsive. SHOW YOU CARE!
World Suicide Prevention Day, organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), focuses on encouraging the public, communities, societies, individuals, professionals and volunteers to conduct activities on the day to promote and demonstrate joint responsibility for saving lives that would otherwise be lost to suicide.
As part of this endeavour,this year too, AASRA has organized a few activities and notable among them are the public rally on 10th September at 5.00 pm, beginning from Koparkhairane and passing through most of the nodes of Navi Mumbai. The objective of the rally is to stress the importance of 'world Suicide Prevention Day' and to create awareness of services that
could be availed of for prevention of suicide. Volunteers will interact with the public on the streets, distributing appropriate handouts and alerting them to the need to express feelings and talk openly about their problems.
The second program is a Seminar-debate scheduled for 13th September,2005 , Time: 5.30 to 9.00 pm at IWSA's ICICI Multi-purpose hall, IWSA Campus, Plot No 20, Sector 10A, Vashi, near Balaji Mandir, Navi Mumbai-400703. tel:
27653391.
Theme: 'Intolerance in Civil society'
The seminar will be addressed by Panelists comprising of leading personalities from differing backgrounds, namely; Journalist ,Educator, Mental Health professional and Human Rights activist.
The Seminar will be conducted in three segments- 'Intolerance and society', 'Intolerance relating to Human Rights issues' and the final segment will be 'Intolerance relating to suicide'. The seminar will be moderated by an efficient moderator.
The program will be interspersed with brief entertainment by talented unsung artists. The program is designed to be interactive, informative and will also be an occasion for civil expression. Questions and doubts raised by the public would be addressed by the esteemed panelists.
AASRA, takes this opportunity to invite one and all to both the programs. Your wholehearted support and attendance on these occasions will go a long way in focusing public attention on 'Suicide' as a social ill and could act as a catalyst to framing a public health policy effort to curb the alarming rise in suicides in our state and country.
For further details , please contact Johnson -9820466726/27546667
Thanking You,
Regards,
JThomas
Johnson Thomas
Director.
Befrienders India
(National Association of Suicide Prevention Centres in India)
C/o SNEHA, 7, Besant Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014
www.befriendersindia.org
PRESS RELEASE
Another life lost every 40 seconds.
Suicide prevention - everyone's business.
Suicide means nearly one million deaths in the world a year. Another life lost - which could have been saved - every 40 seconds.
That's why 'Prevention of suicide is everybody's business' has been chosen as the theme for the September 10th World Suicide Prevention Day 2005.
Befrienders India supports World Suicide Prevention Day through its vision for a society where less people die by suicide.
And its beliefs are that being confidentially listened to and accepted without prejudice can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings.
Befrienders India has 9 centers in India and has 50,000 contacts with people in emotional distress each year. It has 500 trained volunteers and runs a unique service every day of the year.
Befrienders India is also part of Befrienders Worldwide which has more than 1,200 member centres in 61 countries staffed by almost 100,000 volunteers.
These volunteers work to give emotional help and reduce suicide.
Their work stretches from Zimbabwe to Japan, from Lithuania to Brazil, and the Befrienders Worldwide network shares information and also links with external contacts to share experience and demonstrate the role of volunteer suicide reduction centres.
Integral to this is the Befrienders Worldwide website - being up-dated in time for World Suicide Prevention Day that lists helplines around the world and information on suicide in 14 languages. The site - www.befrienders.org - attracts 60,000 visitors a month.
Befrienders India centers are linking any local initiatives or events they are holding around September 10th to World Suicide Prevention Day. Some have chosen to hold their own local media conferences linked with other agencies involved in the issue of suicide reduction, some are holding suicide awareness programme, while others are holding vigils.
Befrienders Worldwide branches have also chosen to mark World Suicide Prevention Day.
Befrienders India
(National Association of Suicide Prevention Centres in India)
C/o SNEHA, 7, Besant Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014
www.befriendersindia.org
In India according to National Crime Records Bureau 110,417 people committed suicide in the year 2002, which is 1.8% more than compared to 2001., a suicide is committed every five minutes. Seven times that number attempt to take their lives and as for those who feel desperate and unable to cope, the number is mind boggling. More suicides occur between 18 and 45 - in other words in the most productive age group of our society.
Suicide estimates suggest fatalities worldwide could rise to 1.5 million by 2020. Suicide is a largely preventable public health problem, causing almost half of all violent deaths as well as economic costs in the billions of dollars, says the WHO.
In its third successful year, World Suicide Prevention Day, a collaboration between the International Association for Suicide Prevention IASP and the WHO is being held to focus attention and call for global action - see www.iasp.info
Dr Catherine Le Galès-Camus, WHO Assistant-Director General, Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health said: "World-wide, more people die from suicide than from all homicides and wars combined. There is an urgent need for co-ordinated and intensified global action to prevent this needless toll. For every suicide death there are scores of family and
friends whose lives are devastated emotionally, socially and economically."
Among countries reporting suicide, the highest rates are found in Eastern Europe and the lowest are found mostly in Latin America, in Muslim countries and in a few of the Asian countries. There are estimated to be 10-20 times the number of deaths in failed suicide attempts, resulting in injury, emotional and mental trauma, although no reliable data is available on its
full extent.
Suicide rates tend to increase with age, but there has recently been an alarming increase in suicidal behaviours amongst young people aged 15 to 25 years old, worldwide. With the exception of rural China, more men than women commit suicide, although in most places more women than men attempt suicide.
Volunteer centres find much in common, with people's issues including relationships, bereavement, money problems, depression and general health worries - whether they are farmers in a poor district in India where crops have failed, or students in Japan under pressure to succeed.
Volunteers around the World work in providing emotional support to people in emotional crisis around the world. This group of people in emotional need is recognised by the WHO as increasing in size and needing improved responses.
For Befrienders India
Sd/-
(P.V.Sankaranarayanan)
Secretary
Befrienders India
(National Association of Suicide Prevention Centres in India)
C/o SNEHA, 7, Besant Road, Royapettah, Chennai - 600 014
www.befriendersindia.org
UK Statistics: www.samaritans.org provide statistics for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
International Statistics: World Health Organisation - for international suicide statistics, including the most recent global statistics by country.
USA Statistics: American Association of Suicidology - for USA suicide statistics.
New Zealand Statistics: New Zealand Health Information Service - for NZ Statistics. There is also specific information about NZ youth suicide statistics.
Australia Statistics: Youth suicide in Australia
Canada Statistics: Canada Statistics Agency - for Canadian suicide statistics.
www.samaritans.org
Mind useful fact sheets on suicide statistics
University of Oxford Centre for suicide research
Office for National Statistics - trends in suicide rates
World Health Organisation
www.befrienders.org
www.iasp.info
http://www.lifeline.org.au/
http://www.lifeline.web.za/
http://www.ifotes.org
www.ltn08080.org
Notes to editors
Befrienders India is a registered society, founded in 1992, which offers emotional support to anyone in emotional distress through its centers in India. The centers are run entirely by volunteers and the services are totally free. Befrienders India's vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged. It believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings. It is the aim of Befrienders India to make emotional health a mainstream issue. The service is offered by 500 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support.
B E F R I E N D E R S I N D I A C E N T R E
(Caring for the Depressed, Desperate and the Suicidal)
President
Sumaitri, New Delhi 011 23710763 Daily 2 pm - 10 pm
Farrokh Jijina Lifeline, Kolkatta
033 24745886 Daily 10 am - 7 pm
Sahara - Mumbai. Sahara, Mumbai 022
23074351 Weekdays 3pm - 9pm,
Weekends 10am - 9pm
Aasra, Navi Mumbai 022
27546669 Daily 3 pm - 9 pm
Secretary Saath, Ahmedabad 079
26305544 Daily 1 pm - 7 pm
P.V. Sankaranarayanan Sneha, Chennai 044
28352345 Daily 8 am - 10 pm
Sneha - Chennai. Maitreyi, Pondicherry 0423
2339999 Daily 2 pm - 8 pm
Roshni, Secunderabad 040 55202000 Daily 11 am - 9 pm
Maithri - Kochi 0484 2396272 Daily 10 am - 8 pm
Suicide estimates suggest fatalities worldwide could rise to 1.5 million by 2020. Suicide is a largely preventable public health problem, causing almost half of all violent deaths as well as economic costs in the billions of dollars, says the WHO.
In its third successful year, World Suicide Prevention Day, a collaboration between the International Association for Suicide Prevention IASP and the WHO is being held to focus attention and call for global action - see www.iasp.info
Dr Catherine Le Galès-Camus, WHO Assistant-Director General, Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health said: "World-wide, more people die from suicide than from all homicides and wars combined. There is an urgent need for co-ordinated and intensified global action to prevent this needless toll. For every suicide death there are scores of family and
friends whose lives are devastated emotionally, socially and economically."
Among countries reporting suicide, the highest rates are found in Eastern Europe and the lowest are found mostly in Latin America, in Muslim countries and in a few of the Asian countries. There are estimated to be 10-20 times the number of deaths in failed suicide attempts, resulting in injury, emotional and mental trauma, although no reliable data is available on its
full extent.
Suicide rates tend to increase with age, but there has recently been an alarming increase in suicidal behaviours amongst young people aged 15 to 25 years old, worldwide. With the exception of rural China, more men than women commit suicide, although in most places more women than men attempt suicide.
Suicide helpline volunteers worldwide will also be represented in Durban, South Africa at the World Suicide Congress hosted by the IASP.
The theme of the 2005 Congress is Scaling the Summit: Suicidal Behaviour in Diverse Cultures and it will be held from September 12thth to 16th.
Samaritans will be represented at the Congress by chief executive David King, chair Daphne Pullen and international officer Deborah Brodie.
Samaritans will present a joint plenary with volunteer partners the International Federation of Telephone Emergency Services (IFOTES) and Lifeline International.
The title of the plenary is 'Prevention or Promotion' and the objective is to illustrate the unique role of volunteer emotional support services and recognise their shift from focusing on suicide prevention to promotion of wider emotional health issues.
Volunteers work in very diverse cultures and regions. Whether they use telephones or talk under a tree in a remote village they have all come to the same conclusion. They have found that although starting out as suicide prevention groups an enormous part of their work has now shifted to supporting people who were not necessarily suicidal (although they may become so), but who are in severe distress.
Centres providing an email service often have no idea whether the person is emailing from 20 or 2,000 miles away, or what nationality they are - in all of these the key process of listening in a non-judgemental way remains the same.
Volunteer centres find much in common, with people's issues including relationships, bereavement, money problems, depression and general health worries - whether they are farmers in a poor district in India where crops have failed, or students in Japan under pressure to succeed.
Volunteers around the World work in providing emotional support to people in emotional crisis around the world. This group of people in emotional need is recognised by the WHO as increasing in size and needing improved responses.
UK Statistics: www.samaritans.org provide statistics for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
International Statistics: World Health Organisation - for international suicide statistics, including the most recent global statistics by country.
USA Statistics: American Association of Suicidology - for USA suicide statistics.
New Zealand Statistics: New Zealand Health Information Service - for NZ Statistics. There is also specific information about NZ youth suicide statistics.
Australia Statistics: Youth suicide in Australia
Canada Statistics: Canada Statistics Agency - for Canadian suicide statistics.
www.samaritans.org
Mind useful fact sheets on suicide statistics University of Oxford Centre for suicide research Office for National Statistics - trends in suicide rates
World Health Organisation
www.befrienders.org
www.iasp.info
http://www.lifeline.org.au/
http://www.lifeline.web.za/
http://www.ifotes.org
www.ltn08080.org
Samaritans is a registered charity, founded in 1953, which offers 24-hour confidential emotional support to anyone in emotional distress. Samaritans' vision is for a society where fewer people die by suicide because people are able to share feelings of emotional distress openly without fear of being judged. Samaritans believes that offering people the opportunity to be listened to in confidence, and accepted without prejudice, can alleviate despair and suicidal feelings. It is the aim of Samaritans to make emotional health a mainstream issue. The service is offered by 17,600 trained volunteers and is entirely dependent on voluntary support.
Across the UK, you can call Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 (1850 60 90 90 in the Republic of Ireland) for the price of a local call. You can also write to Samaritans at Chris, PO Box 9090, Stirling, FK8 2SA, send an e-mail to jo@samaritans.org or if you are deaf or hard of hearing use the single national minicom number 08457 90 91 92 (1850 60 90 91 in the Republic of
Ireland).
It is one of the beautiful compensations of this life that no one can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. --Charles Dudley Warner
Aruna's sister Shata Nayak refuses to visit her as she can't bear to see her pain- Mumbai Mirror
I don’t visit Aruna. I can’t see her in pain
Shanta Nayak, nurse Aruna Shanbaug's 75-yr-old sister, on euthanasia and why the family has left her to KEM's care
Lata Mishra
Posted On Friday, March 11, 2011 at 02:40:02 AM
Shanta Vasudev Nayak, the 75-year-old sister of Aruna Shanbaug, the KEM nurse lying in a vegetative state for over 30 years and who is now at the centre of a raging euthanasia debate, does not want her ‘little Aruna’ to be put to sleep.
While Nayak, a widow who lives in a tiny one-room house in Parel with her divorcee daughter, decided to stay away from the court drama around her sister’s life despite receiving letters from KEM hospital to depose in the case, she chokes when she says Aruna should be allowed to live her full life.
This is the first time anybody from Aruna’s family has spoken in public on the euthanasia plea and Nayak’s opinion is consistent with the court’s decision to let Aruna continue in the care of KEM staff.
“Initially we felt that she should be put to sleep. She did not recognise anybody and had no control over her body and mind. But now we feel otherwise. She has the right to live,” she said.
Nayak admitted that she received at least three letters from KEM asking her to appear in the court, but decided to not get involved because at her age it all seemed too much to bother. There was also the fear that any contact with the hospital could renew their demand that she take her home.
Shanta Nayak at her Lower Parel house on Thursday
A typo in spelling her name -- it was spelt as Shanta Vasant Hayal -- was used by her to not accept the letters. “I knew the letters were meant for me. I knew they would be something to do with Aruna. But on all three occasions, I told the postman that nobody by this name stayed here. We are barely surviving on what my daughter Mangala, a shop attendant, earns. We have no time or energy to get into anything else,” she said.
Nayak and Mangala, however, kept track of the trial through newspapers and television. There was a small celebration in their Nehru Nagar Chawl near Peninsula Corporate Park when the court ruled in favour of keeping Aruna live.
Nayak claimed that for 15 years after the November 27, 1973, sexual assault on Aruna by a ward boy that left her bed-ridden for life, she visited her in hospital regularly and so did Aruna's eldest brother, Balkrishna Shanbaug, a farmer in Haldipur in Karnataka.
The hospital, however, denied that Nayak or any other member of the family visited Aruna. KEM dean Dr Sanjay Oak also denied that Aruna's family was ever asked to pay for her hospital stay.
The Shanbaug family in Haldipur in Karnataka had six brothers and three sisters. Aruna was the youngest. Nayak was 15 when she got married and came to Mumbai. Aruna followed her after completing her nursing course and got a job at KEM. “While Aruna stayed in the hostel, she would often come to meet us,” Shanta recalled.
Call it fate's cruel joke, just months before the brutal attack by the ward boy, with whom she had a minor tiff, Aruna fell in love with Dr Sandeep Sardesai, a neuro-surgeon whom she would help in the operation theatre.
After the two families agreed to the match, Aruna moved in with her sister to save up for the wedding. It was November 1, 1973. “She was a happy go lucky girl. She was also the prettiest in the family. We liked having her around.” Nayak said.
On November 27, 1973, the day she was raped and left to die in the basement, Nayak remembers Aruna leaving from home early. “She was called in to work because there were cases of food poisoning in the city. She left in a hurry. Before leaving, she told me that she had left some clothes in a bucket for washing and that she would return and finish washing them.”
Aruna, however, did not return at her appointed hour. “We did get worried, but assumed she must have got caught in some emergency cases. It was only the next day that one of her colleagues came home and told us that Aruna was unwell. We went to the hospital and found that she was badly hurt and unconscious,” she said.
Aruna Shanbaug (left) and her sister Shanta Vasudev Nayak
It was much later in the day that Nayak and others of family were told what Aruna had been through and that she may never walk or talk again.
Nayak said Dr Sardesai visited Aruna every day and took care of her. “Dr Sardesai did not marry for 10 years after the incident. And when he did, it was under tremendous pressure from the family.”
Over the years, Nayak said, she did not see any change in Aruna's condition. “She would lie in foetal position all the time. She did not recognise us,” she said.
A few years later, Aruna was shifted from a private room at KEM to Sarvoday Hospital in Ghatkopar. That's when Nayak's visits to the hospital became less frequent. “Later, when nurses at KEM protested, Aruna was brought back.
At this juncture, hospital authorities started pressurising us to take her home. I was simply in no position to take care of Aruna,” said Nayak.
Around this time, Nayak's husband fell ill and was bed-ridden for four years. Her daughters and son got married. “With hospital putting pressure on me to take Aruna home and my husband bed-ridden, I thought it was best if I stopped going to meet Aruna,” she said.
Even now she has no intention of ever going back to the hospital to meet her sister. “Even my brother, who is the head of the family, has stopped going. What is the point in going there? But I sure want her to live for as long as she can.
More than anything else, I cannot stand the sight of her being in pain,” Nayak said, wiping tears with her saree's pallu.
Shanta Nayak, nurse Aruna Shanbaug's 75-yr-old sister, on euthanasia and why the family has left her to KEM's care
Lata Mishra
Posted On Friday, March 11, 2011 at 02:40:02 AM
Shanta Vasudev Nayak, the 75-year-old sister of Aruna Shanbaug, the KEM nurse lying in a vegetative state for over 30 years and who is now at the centre of a raging euthanasia debate, does not want her ‘little Aruna’ to be put to sleep.
While Nayak, a widow who lives in a tiny one-room house in Parel with her divorcee daughter, decided to stay away from the court drama around her sister’s life despite receiving letters from KEM hospital to depose in the case, she chokes when she says Aruna should be allowed to live her full life.
This is the first time anybody from Aruna’s family has spoken in public on the euthanasia plea and Nayak’s opinion is consistent with the court’s decision to let Aruna continue in the care of KEM staff.
“Initially we felt that she should be put to sleep. She did not recognise anybody and had no control over her body and mind. But now we feel otherwise. She has the right to live,” she said.
Nayak admitted that she received at least three letters from KEM asking her to appear in the court, but decided to not get involved because at her age it all seemed too much to bother. There was also the fear that any contact with the hospital could renew their demand that she take her home.
Shanta Nayak at her Lower Parel house on Thursday
A typo in spelling her name -- it was spelt as Shanta Vasant Hayal -- was used by her to not accept the letters. “I knew the letters were meant for me. I knew they would be something to do with Aruna. But on all three occasions, I told the postman that nobody by this name stayed here. We are barely surviving on what my daughter Mangala, a shop attendant, earns. We have no time or energy to get into anything else,” she said.
Nayak and Mangala, however, kept track of the trial through newspapers and television. There was a small celebration in their Nehru Nagar Chawl near Peninsula Corporate Park when the court ruled in favour of keeping Aruna live.
Nayak claimed that for 15 years after the November 27, 1973, sexual assault on Aruna by a ward boy that left her bed-ridden for life, she visited her in hospital regularly and so did Aruna's eldest brother, Balkrishna Shanbaug, a farmer in Haldipur in Karnataka.
The hospital, however, denied that Nayak or any other member of the family visited Aruna. KEM dean Dr Sanjay Oak also denied that Aruna's family was ever asked to pay for her hospital stay.
The Shanbaug family in Haldipur in Karnataka had six brothers and three sisters. Aruna was the youngest. Nayak was 15 when she got married and came to Mumbai. Aruna followed her after completing her nursing course and got a job at KEM. “While Aruna stayed in the hostel, she would often come to meet us,” Shanta recalled.
Call it fate's cruel joke, just months before the brutal attack by the ward boy, with whom she had a minor tiff, Aruna fell in love with Dr Sandeep Sardesai, a neuro-surgeon whom she would help in the operation theatre.
After the two families agreed to the match, Aruna moved in with her sister to save up for the wedding. It was November 1, 1973. “She was a happy go lucky girl. She was also the prettiest in the family. We liked having her around.” Nayak said.
On November 27, 1973, the day she was raped and left to die in the basement, Nayak remembers Aruna leaving from home early. “She was called in to work because there were cases of food poisoning in the city. She left in a hurry. Before leaving, she told me that she had left some clothes in a bucket for washing and that she would return and finish washing them.”
Aruna, however, did not return at her appointed hour. “We did get worried, but assumed she must have got caught in some emergency cases. It was only the next day that one of her colleagues came home and told us that Aruna was unwell. We went to the hospital and found that she was badly hurt and unconscious,” she said.
Aruna Shanbaug (left) and her sister Shanta Vasudev Nayak
It was much later in the day that Nayak and others of family were told what Aruna had been through and that she may never walk or talk again.
Nayak said Dr Sardesai visited Aruna every day and took care of her. “Dr Sardesai did not marry for 10 years after the incident. And when he did, it was under tremendous pressure from the family.”
Over the years, Nayak said, she did not see any change in Aruna's condition. “She would lie in foetal position all the time. She did not recognise us,” she said.
A few years later, Aruna was shifted from a private room at KEM to Sarvoday Hospital in Ghatkopar. That's when Nayak's visits to the hospital became less frequent. “Later, when nurses at KEM protested, Aruna was brought back.
At this juncture, hospital authorities started pressurising us to take her home. I was simply in no position to take care of Aruna,” said Nayak.
Around this time, Nayak's husband fell ill and was bed-ridden for four years. Her daughters and son got married. “With hospital putting pressure on me to take Aruna home and my husband bed-ridden, I thought it was best if I stopped going to meet Aruna,” she said.
Even now she has no intention of ever going back to the hospital to meet her sister. “Even my brother, who is the head of the family, has stopped going. What is the point in going there? But I sure want her to live for as long as she can.
More than anything else, I cannot stand the sight of her being in pain,” Nayak said, wiping tears with her saree's pallu.
Nidhi's husband traumatised by death of wife, kids-T.O.I
‘Nidhi’s husband is traumatized by death of wife, kids’
Nitasha Natu, TNN | Mar 11, 2011, 12.53am IST
Article
Comments (3)
Post a comment
Email this article
Print this article
Save this article
My Saved articles
Login
Register@indiatimes
Reduce font size
Increase font size
Share on Hotklix
Share on Messenger
Share on StumbleUpon
Share on Yahoo Buzz!
Share on Digg
Share on Reditt
Google Bookmarks Newsvine
Live Bookmarks Technorati
Yahoo Bookmarks Blogmarks
Del.icio.us ApnaCircle
Tags:Nidhi Gupta|Crime in Mumbai
MUMBAI: The parents of college lecturer Nidhi Gupta are yet to press charges against anyone in connection with her death. Nidhi had flung her two kids, Gaurav (6) and Mahika (3), before jumping to death from the 19th storey of her building on Tuesday. Her father, Bimal Jalan, told the media that she was mentally tortured by her husband and in-laws. But investigators have not concluded any motive yet.
People close to the Gupta's said Nidhi's husband, Pawan, is traumatized after the incident and is unable to come to terms with his kids' deaths. "One of us has to constantly keep an eye on him. We fear he might hurt himself if left alone," said a relative. "Pawan was close to his kids. Whenever he speaks about them, he says they are unwell," the relative said.
Pawan assists his father and elder brother, Rakesh, in their garment business. The police have recorded his statement along with that of his parents, brother and sister-in-law. The Guptas also plan to take legal advice in the matter.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the last rites of Nidhi and her kids were conducted at her father's residence, for which the Guptas were present. Pawan, along with Nidhi's brother, performed the funeral. Relatives said that there was tension between the Guptas and Jalans. Nidhi's father will record his statement later this week. He could not visit the police station on Thursday as he had organized a prayer meet in memory of his daughter and grand-children
Nitasha Natu, TNN | Mar 11, 2011, 12.53am IST
Article
Comments (3)
Post a comment
Email this article
Print this article
Save this article
My Saved articles
Login
Register@indiatimes
Reduce font size
Increase font size
Share on Hotklix
Share on Messenger
Share on StumbleUpon
Share on Yahoo Buzz!
Share on Digg
Share on Reditt
Google Bookmarks Newsvine
Live Bookmarks Technorati
Yahoo Bookmarks Blogmarks
Del.icio.us ApnaCircle
Tags:Nidhi Gupta|Crime in Mumbai
MUMBAI: The parents of college lecturer Nidhi Gupta are yet to press charges against anyone in connection with her death. Nidhi had flung her two kids, Gaurav (6) and Mahika (3), before jumping to death from the 19th storey of her building on Tuesday. Her father, Bimal Jalan, told the media that she was mentally tortured by her husband and in-laws. But investigators have not concluded any motive yet.
People close to the Gupta's said Nidhi's husband, Pawan, is traumatized after the incident and is unable to come to terms with his kids' deaths. "One of us has to constantly keep an eye on him. We fear he might hurt himself if left alone," said a relative. "Pawan was close to his kids. Whenever he speaks about them, he says they are unwell," the relative said.
Pawan assists his father and elder brother, Rakesh, in their garment business. The police have recorded his statement along with that of his parents, brother and sister-in-law. The Guptas also plan to take legal advice in the matter.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, the last rites of Nidhi and her kids were conducted at her father's residence, for which the Guptas were present. Pawan, along with Nidhi's brother, performed the funeral. Relatives said that there was tension between the Guptas and Jalans. Nidhi's father will record his statement later this week. He could not visit the police station on Thursday as he had organized a prayer meet in memory of his daughter and grand-children
What pushes students over edge, Survey by Maitri
NGO maitri interviewed over 1000 teachers to see how they viewed student suicides
Most teachers (23.7%) blamed student suicides on depression, (14.5%) stress, (20%)_parental pressure, fear of exams lowest on the list.
Have teachers counselled depressed students- No- 32.87% Yes- 9.63 % Empty- 23.73%
Signs that can alert teachers to suicidal tendencies-
Lonely /aloof- 27.3%
Quiet- 21.95%
Behavioural changes- 19.7%
Anger-4%
Expert opinion- Students llok up to teACHERS MORE THAN PARENTS
cOMMON CAUSES OF SUICIDE IN CHILDREN
DEPRESSION 23.7%
STRESS- 14.9%
PARENTAL PRESSURE- 18.7%
PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS- 12.2%
FEAR OF FAILURE- 4.67%
tO PREVENT SUICIDES TEACHERS SHOULD
CONSULT COUNSELLOR- 25.9%
TALK TO STUDENT- 21.25%
TALK TO9 PARENTS- 20.06%
INSPIRE THEM- 6.26%
PUSH YOUR KIDS; BUT NOT OVER THE EDGE
In The 10 Laws of Learning, American educationist Steven Rudolph furnishes a guide for good parenting
The film 3 Idiots has certainly caused quite a stir. There’s been the Chetan Bhagat war of course, but the controversy I hope that has lasting impact is the debate over our educational system and the way we raise our children. Are we burdening our kids with our obsessive expectations for high exam scores?... The stats, I am afraid, say yes. 16 students a day, kill themselves due to exam stress in the country. India accounts for 10% of all teenage suicides, and South India has even earned the unfortunate reputation of being the ‘suicide capital of the world’....
The problems occur in my experience because parents are confused about how to motivate and guide their kids in the best way…. Here’s how you can push your kids without pushing them over the edge.
HAVE HIGH, BUT REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS
You must accept firstly that each child is unique…. The key then is to determine the strength of the child’s abilities, and to set your expectations accordingly. For instance, if your daughter demonstrates a high calibre in maths by scoring consistently above 90% on her exams, but suddenly begins to slide down to 70% because she is spending more time with her friends or using the internet, it would be reasonable to encourage her to set her targets in the 90% zone. On the other hand, if your son has consistently performed poorly in maths and has an average of 45%, expecting him to get above 90% would be unfeasible. However, encouraging him to set a target 55% would be very realistic.
BE FAIR, FIRM, CONSISTENT
Be sure to establish ground rules regarding your children’s homework and daily routine. …Punishments need to also fit the crime. For instance, beating your child or denying him complete access to TV or the internet or friends for weeks because of a minor infraction like failing to submit a homework assignment on time could prove to be a serious demotivator.
You must also be firm in your decisions and not be afraid to say no when the situation warrants it. Children may attempt to avoid responsibilities by using tactics such as yelling, crying or pleading for sympathy. They will certainly test you… But if you are consistent, they will realize you mean business, and after a few days or weeks will respect your strictness.
DON’T PUSH, FACILITATE
In the process of helping children achieve their potential, parents sometimes become lost in the role of being disciplinarians. The loving, intimate discussions they used to have with their dear little ones suddenly begin to sound more like orders being barked out to military cadets: ‘Stop eating so much junk food.’ ‘Get back in there and finish your homework.’ ‘You had better start bringing home better scores,’ and so on….
My suggestion here is to do less pushing and more facilitating. Engage in meaningful conversations with your kids to find out what they are up to…. By engaging with your kids in this way, you establish a rapport with them, opening channels of communication that will make them more receptive to your suggestions and feedback.
PUT FAILURE IN PERSPECTIVE
All children face failure from time to time — getting a shockingly low score on a test, freezing up while giving a speech, dropping a ball and costing their team the game. And when they do, their feelings of embarrassment and humiliation can eat directly into their sense of self-esteem.
It’s at times like these that your children need your support the most. They need to know that know your love is not dependent on their success. At the same time, they do need to realize that your approval is dependent on their effort.
MAKE YOUR KIDS PLAY
All work and no play does indeed make Jack a dull boy. Play is an excellent stress buster that enables the brain to recharge itself and remain at its optimal efficiency. Whether kids play cricket or an instrument, dance or paint, time spent in recreational activities has tremendous physical, mental, and social benefits.
Case in point: A mother from New Delhi came to me with her daughter who she claimed was intelligent, but unusually sluggish and not scoring particularly well on her exams. After asking her a few questions, I discovered that after the girl got home from school daily, she would go to three separate tuitions. She would then eat dinner and study late into the night. ‘Don’t you ever play?’ I asked. ‘Not really,’ she replied, ‘who’s got time?’ I eventually convinced the mother that her daughter was simply studying too much and that her brain was not getting a chance to rest enough. Because she was fond of painting and badminton, I had her cut down on two hours of her tuition and study time. As a result, her energy levels rose significantly-and so did her marks.
IDENTIFY AND CELEBRATE THEIR UNIQUENESS
I want to finish off with the same point I made at the start. Never forget that all children possess unique attributes that make them special. Take time to find out what these are, and help them find a niche in school where they can excel rather than expect them to become toppers in all subjects. Celebrate their successes and help them play to their strengths, as this will empower their self-esteem and fuel their motivation….
This same logic applies to the process of career selection. With the burgeoning economy and range of available good-paying jobs in non-traditional sectors, there are few reasons why you should force your kids to become engineers, doctors, or lawyers, when they would be better suited as animators, airhostesses or ethical hackers. The obvious example of this is Farhan in 3 Idiots who discovered that he made a better photographer than an engineer. This is not to say that you need to support your kids’ dreams if they are genuinely whimsical. However, you will significantly increase their chances of finding career success if you guide them to professions that match with their abilities and innate tendencies.
Steven Rudolph is an American educationist, researcher, TV personality and public speaker based in India. His book, The 10 Laws of Learning was published by Random house India in 2009.
Most teachers (23.7%) blamed student suicides on depression, (14.5%) stress, (20%)_parental pressure, fear of exams lowest on the list.
Have teachers counselled depressed students- No- 32.87% Yes- 9.63 % Empty- 23.73%
Signs that can alert teachers to suicidal tendencies-
Lonely /aloof- 27.3%
Quiet- 21.95%
Behavioural changes- 19.7%
Anger-4%
Expert opinion- Students llok up to teACHERS MORE THAN PARENTS
cOMMON CAUSES OF SUICIDE IN CHILDREN
DEPRESSION 23.7%
STRESS- 14.9%
PARENTAL PRESSURE- 18.7%
PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS- 12.2%
FEAR OF FAILURE- 4.67%
tO PREVENT SUICIDES TEACHERS SHOULD
CONSULT COUNSELLOR- 25.9%
TALK TO STUDENT- 21.25%
TALK TO9 PARENTS- 20.06%
INSPIRE THEM- 6.26%
PUSH YOUR KIDS; BUT NOT OVER THE EDGE
In The 10 Laws of Learning, American educationist Steven Rudolph furnishes a guide for good parenting
The film 3 Idiots has certainly caused quite a stir. There’s been the Chetan Bhagat war of course, but the controversy I hope that has lasting impact is the debate over our educational system and the way we raise our children. Are we burdening our kids with our obsessive expectations for high exam scores?... The stats, I am afraid, say yes. 16 students a day, kill themselves due to exam stress in the country. India accounts for 10% of all teenage suicides, and South India has even earned the unfortunate reputation of being the ‘suicide capital of the world’....
The problems occur in my experience because parents are confused about how to motivate and guide their kids in the best way…. Here’s how you can push your kids without pushing them over the edge.
HAVE HIGH, BUT REASONABLE EXPECTATIONS
You must accept firstly that each child is unique…. The key then is to determine the strength of the child’s abilities, and to set your expectations accordingly. For instance, if your daughter demonstrates a high calibre in maths by scoring consistently above 90% on her exams, but suddenly begins to slide down to 70% because she is spending more time with her friends or using the internet, it would be reasonable to encourage her to set her targets in the 90% zone. On the other hand, if your son has consistently performed poorly in maths and has an average of 45%, expecting him to get above 90% would be unfeasible. However, encouraging him to set a target 55% would be very realistic.
BE FAIR, FIRM, CONSISTENT
Be sure to establish ground rules regarding your children’s homework and daily routine. …Punishments need to also fit the crime. For instance, beating your child or denying him complete access to TV or the internet or friends for weeks because of a minor infraction like failing to submit a homework assignment on time could prove to be a serious demotivator.
You must also be firm in your decisions and not be afraid to say no when the situation warrants it. Children may attempt to avoid responsibilities by using tactics such as yelling, crying or pleading for sympathy. They will certainly test you… But if you are consistent, they will realize you mean business, and after a few days or weeks will respect your strictness.
DON’T PUSH, FACILITATE
In the process of helping children achieve their potential, parents sometimes become lost in the role of being disciplinarians. The loving, intimate discussions they used to have with their dear little ones suddenly begin to sound more like orders being barked out to military cadets: ‘Stop eating so much junk food.’ ‘Get back in there and finish your homework.’ ‘You had better start bringing home better scores,’ and so on….
My suggestion here is to do less pushing and more facilitating. Engage in meaningful conversations with your kids to find out what they are up to…. By engaging with your kids in this way, you establish a rapport with them, opening channels of communication that will make them more receptive to your suggestions and feedback.
PUT FAILURE IN PERSPECTIVE
All children face failure from time to time — getting a shockingly low score on a test, freezing up while giving a speech, dropping a ball and costing their team the game. And when they do, their feelings of embarrassment and humiliation can eat directly into their sense of self-esteem.
It’s at times like these that your children need your support the most. They need to know that know your love is not dependent on their success. At the same time, they do need to realize that your approval is dependent on their effort.
MAKE YOUR KIDS PLAY
All work and no play does indeed make Jack a dull boy. Play is an excellent stress buster that enables the brain to recharge itself and remain at its optimal efficiency. Whether kids play cricket or an instrument, dance or paint, time spent in recreational activities has tremendous physical, mental, and social benefits.
Case in point: A mother from New Delhi came to me with her daughter who she claimed was intelligent, but unusually sluggish and not scoring particularly well on her exams. After asking her a few questions, I discovered that after the girl got home from school daily, she would go to three separate tuitions. She would then eat dinner and study late into the night. ‘Don’t you ever play?’ I asked. ‘Not really,’ she replied, ‘who’s got time?’ I eventually convinced the mother that her daughter was simply studying too much and that her brain was not getting a chance to rest enough. Because she was fond of painting and badminton, I had her cut down on two hours of her tuition and study time. As a result, her energy levels rose significantly-and so did her marks.
IDENTIFY AND CELEBRATE THEIR UNIQUENESS
I want to finish off with the same point I made at the start. Never forget that all children possess unique attributes that make them special. Take time to find out what these are, and help them find a niche in school where they can excel rather than expect them to become toppers in all subjects. Celebrate their successes and help them play to their strengths, as this will empower their self-esteem and fuel their motivation….
This same logic applies to the process of career selection. With the burgeoning economy and range of available good-paying jobs in non-traditional sectors, there are few reasons why you should force your kids to become engineers, doctors, or lawyers, when they would be better suited as animators, airhostesses or ethical hackers. The obvious example of this is Farhan in 3 Idiots who discovered that he made a better photographer than an engineer. This is not to say that you need to support your kids’ dreams if they are genuinely whimsical. However, you will significantly increase their chances of finding career success if you guide them to professions that match with their abilities and innate tendencies.
Steven Rudolph is an American educationist, researcher, TV personality and public speaker based in India. His book, The 10 Laws of Learning was published by Random house India in 2009.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Aasra plans to partner with India Health Progress
Dear Volunteers/Friends of Aasra
This seems to be a good bet the way I see it. Any objections? Please say why?
The following details our potential partnership with India Health progress...
Dear Mr. Johnson,
I represent India Health Progress (IHP) a first-of-its-kind initiative
to provide a health policy platform to various partners who will work
in unison to achieve a common goal --- access to healthcare in India.
Given India's enormous economic strides since the early 1990s,
continued healthcare inaccessibility is particularly disappointing.
The facts speak for themselves: Although around 70% of Indians live in
rural and semi-urban areas, nearly 80% of healthcare facilities and
medical personnel are based in cities and other urban centres.
What is required is an action plan, involving various stakeholders,
including international partners, to reduce the disease burden, and
strengthen access to healthcare in India. IHP seeks to generate
coherent discussions among various healthcare stakeholders and thought
leaders to produce practical, time-bound solutions that can improve
healthcare accessibility for the masses spread across India?s 638,000
villages.
India Health Progress is moving ahead significantly to unite the
voices on access to healthcare in India to create a greater impact.
In an endeavor to reach out to the policy makers with a stronger
agenda, India Health Progress is now partnering with NGOs, Patient
Groups, Doctors, Healthcare Experts, Hospitals, Academia and Industry
to take this issue to next level of addressal.
IHP being an initiative which calls for a united effort welcomes
volunteers and partners like your organisation to help overcome the
ever burgeoning healthcare access issues in India.
In the continuation of above, I seek your valuable involvement in this
mission to enrich lives of millions who are denied access to
healthcare due to pressing circumstances.
I am attaching a brief on India Health Progress along with a short
MOU for partnership between us (Which is not completely binding on you).
It would be indeed a pleasure to have you on board.
Please visit www.indiahealthprogress.in for more idea on what we want
to achieve together.
--
Faisal Banday
Team Expert
India Health Progress
+91-9871452118
Partnership MOU
India Health Progress is committed towards finding out every possibility that can add value to Indian Healthcare System to facilitate access. Continuing with the same spirit, this MOU captures the key-deliverables towards its partner in attaining the common goal – access to healthcare for all.
Key offerings/deliverable – IHP:
1. IHP will act as an anchor to get all the key players, which can add value to Indian Healthcare System, on a single platform.
2. IHP will fortify the call for better healthcare access in India by holding various roundtables and conferences as well as ‘Health Access Week’ across India.
3. IHP will offer platform to all its partners to produce their viewpoint on healthcare access in India through various touch points.
4. IHP will conduct third party surveys on the various healthcare issues in India and share the same with all its partners.
5. IHP will provide knowledge support on Indian healthcare to all its partner organisations.
6. IHP may also provide resource support to its partner organisations (if need be) after scrutinising all the necessary obligations.
7. IHP will provide the platform to showcase the achievements of its partner organisations on IHP website. (www.indiahealthprogress.in).
8. IHP will provide branding opportunities for the partners through IHP website.
9. IHP will keep all its partners informed about the events held under IHP banner and invite them to participate.
10. IHP will showcase the articles and interviews of the spokespeople (Leaders) of partner organisations.
11. IHP will do a public relations effort (gratis) for any major milestone/event of the partner organisation. (wherever feasible)
12. Provide the website link of the partner organisation on IHP website.
Key expectations – Partner Organisation:
1. Share logo and name as the partner of IHP.
2. Share research studies on Indian Healthcare (if any) with IHP.
3. Share content on healthcare issues in India.
4. Participate in various conferences and roundtables held by IHP.
5. Give space to IHP logo and name on the website of the partner organisation.
6. Provide IHP website link on the partner organisation’s web page.
7. Keep IHP posted about the various activities and events conducted by partner organisation.
8. Provide on-ground support for the activities (Health Access Week) planned by IHP in your area.
9. Provide speakers for various forums and platforms formed by IHP.
Note: Key expectations (Except Point 1) from partner organisations are not necessarily binding.
We hereby agree to be a partner with IHP, by consenting upon the above mentioned terms and conditions
Authorised Signatory
Name…………………………………………….
Designation…………………………………..
Organisation………………………………….
Date……………………………………………….
This seems to be a good bet the way I see it. Any objections? Please say why?
The following details our potential partnership with India Health progress...
Dear Mr. Johnson,
I represent India Health Progress (IHP) a first-of-its-kind initiative
to provide a health policy platform to various partners who will work
in unison to achieve a common goal --- access to healthcare in India.
Given India's enormous economic strides since the early 1990s,
continued healthcare inaccessibility is particularly disappointing.
The facts speak for themselves: Although around 70% of Indians live in
rural and semi-urban areas, nearly 80% of healthcare facilities and
medical personnel are based in cities and other urban centres.
What is required is an action plan, involving various stakeholders,
including international partners, to reduce the disease burden, and
strengthen access to healthcare in India. IHP seeks to generate
coherent discussions among various healthcare stakeholders and thought
leaders to produce practical, time-bound solutions that can improve
healthcare accessibility for the masses spread across India?s 638,000
villages.
India Health Progress is moving ahead significantly to unite the
voices on access to healthcare in India to create a greater impact.
In an endeavor to reach out to the policy makers with a stronger
agenda, India Health Progress is now partnering with NGOs, Patient
Groups, Doctors, Healthcare Experts, Hospitals, Academia and Industry
to take this issue to next level of addressal.
IHP being an initiative which calls for a united effort welcomes
volunteers and partners like your organisation to help overcome the
ever burgeoning healthcare access issues in India.
In the continuation of above, I seek your valuable involvement in this
mission to enrich lives of millions who are denied access to
healthcare due to pressing circumstances.
I am attaching a brief on India Health Progress along with a short
MOU for partnership between us (Which is not completely binding on you).
It would be indeed a pleasure to have you on board.
Please visit www.indiahealthprogress.in for more idea on what we want
to achieve together.
--
Faisal Banday
Team Expert
India Health Progress
+91-9871452118
Partnership MOU
India Health Progress is committed towards finding out every possibility that can add value to Indian Healthcare System to facilitate access. Continuing with the same spirit, this MOU captures the key-deliverables towards its partner in attaining the common goal – access to healthcare for all.
Key offerings/deliverable – IHP:
1. IHP will act as an anchor to get all the key players, which can add value to Indian Healthcare System, on a single platform.
2. IHP will fortify the call for better healthcare access in India by holding various roundtables and conferences as well as ‘Health Access Week’ across India.
3. IHP will offer platform to all its partners to produce their viewpoint on healthcare access in India through various touch points.
4. IHP will conduct third party surveys on the various healthcare issues in India and share the same with all its partners.
5. IHP will provide knowledge support on Indian healthcare to all its partner organisations.
6. IHP may also provide resource support to its partner organisations (if need be) after scrutinising all the necessary obligations.
7. IHP will provide the platform to showcase the achievements of its partner organisations on IHP website. (www.indiahealthprogress.in).
8. IHP will provide branding opportunities for the partners through IHP website.
9. IHP will keep all its partners informed about the events held under IHP banner and invite them to participate.
10. IHP will showcase the articles and interviews of the spokespeople (Leaders) of partner organisations.
11. IHP will do a public relations effort (gratis) for any major milestone/event of the partner organisation. (wherever feasible)
12. Provide the website link of the partner organisation on IHP website.
Key expectations – Partner Organisation:
1. Share logo and name as the partner of IHP.
2. Share research studies on Indian Healthcare (if any) with IHP.
3. Share content on healthcare issues in India.
4. Participate in various conferences and roundtables held by IHP.
5. Give space to IHP logo and name on the website of the partner organisation.
6. Provide IHP website link on the partner organisation’s web page.
7. Keep IHP posted about the various activities and events conducted by partner organisation.
8. Provide on-ground support for the activities (Health Access Week) planned by IHP in your area.
9. Provide speakers for various forums and platforms formed by IHP.
Note: Key expectations (Except Point 1) from partner organisations are not necessarily binding.
We hereby agree to be a partner with IHP, by consenting upon the above mentioned terms and conditions
Authorised Signatory
Name…………………………………………….
Designation…………………………………..
Organisation………………………………….
Date……………………………………………….
Stress management and dietary support
Stress Management and dietary support- Dr. Anjali Mukherjee
Stress is an unavoidable and omnipresent part of life.
Stress hormones cortisone and cortisol supress the immune system making the body an easy prey to cold , cough, fever and respiratory illness. It accelerates the metabolism of proteins, fats and carbohydrates causing the body to excrete amino acids, potassium and magnesium leading to cramps and muscle fatigue. Also in a disturbed state of mind the body finds it difficult to absorb nutrients from the food we eat.
Dietary Support
Limit your caffeine intake as it contributes to panic attacks and nervousness
Increase intakje of raw veggies and fruits as they are rich in flavonoids which help neutralise harmful free radicals.
Physical inactivity is negative stress to the body so get moving and stay active
Avoid carbonated drinks, fried foods, refined foods made from whitye flour, sugar, foods containing colour, additives and processed foods as they add to the bodies toxic overload.
Chammomile and Kava Kava tea have a calming effect on the nerves and are soothing to the digestive tract.
Ashvagandha an ayurvedic herb also is also very effective as a nerve tonic
Stress is an unavoidable and omnipresent part of life.
Stress hormones cortisone and cortisol supress the immune system making the body an easy prey to cold , cough, fever and respiratory illness. It accelerates the metabolism of proteins, fats and carbohydrates causing the body to excrete amino acids, potassium and magnesium leading to cramps and muscle fatigue. Also in a disturbed state of mind the body finds it difficult to absorb nutrients from the food we eat.
Dietary Support
Limit your caffeine intake as it contributes to panic attacks and nervousness
Increase intakje of raw veggies and fruits as they are rich in flavonoids which help neutralise harmful free radicals.
Physical inactivity is negative stress to the body so get moving and stay active
Avoid carbonated drinks, fried foods, refined foods made from whitye flour, sugar, foods containing colour, additives and processed foods as they add to the bodies toxic overload.
Chammomile and Kava Kava tea have a calming effect on the nerves and are soothing to the digestive tract.
Ashvagandha an ayurvedic herb also is also very effective as a nerve tonic
A will to not live as a vegetable, DNA 10th march 2011
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_a-will-to-not-live-as-a-vegetable_1518002
A Will to not live as a vegetable
Published: Thursday, Mar 10, 2011, 0:16 IST
By Kareena Gianani | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
With the Supreme Court setting out guidelines for passive euthanasia in its judgment in the Aruna Shanbaug case, the doors have opened for the Living Will — a legal mechanism through which individuals can set down in advance the conditions in which they would like life support to be withdrawn.
According to Dr Surendra Dhelia, joint secretary of the Society for Right to Die with Dignity, thanks to the Aruna Shanbuag judgment, the Living Will, or what in the US is also known as the Advanced Health Care Directive, may now find popular acceptance. “Wouldn’t you want to decide your quality of life, whether life-extending treatments are worth the pain they cause? A Living Will empowers a patient when he is incapacitated. I believe it will find many takers.”
A Living Will is a document which specifies future circumstances of severe ill health when all remedial measures are futile, and when the individual prefers not to prolong life with life support systems and medicine. The Will specifies a request to the doctor in the future to enable an easier and quicker passage to death. A Living Will can be executed by an adult in full possession of his decision-making capacity, and without coercion.
An individual may, for instance, specify that he be allowed to die if his heart and/or brain stem stop functioning, or when there is any irremediable disease which renders him/her incapable of a useful existence. An individual can also specify the number of days in coma until all life support systems may be withdrawn.
A Living Will can be as specific as a patient wishes it to be.
“Aruna Shanbuag’s case reached the point it did because the main issue was activist Pinki Virani’s locus standi — the key question being whether her word could be considered in deciding if Shanbaug must live. But if Shanbug had made a Living Will in which she had stated just when and how she should die, the case would not have existed at all,” explains Dr Dhelia.
The SC judgement has laid out some parameters for deciding whether the patient is “eligible” for passive euthanasia. In case of a disagreement between the patient’s relatives and a doctor on how — and whether — a patient’s treatment must continue, the matter will be decided by the concerned high court which will set up a panel of doctors to examine the patient’s condition.
In this changed scenario, many doctors and lawyers believe that a Living Will can ensure that the patient’s wishes are taken into consideration when deciding about passive euthanasia. Justice Vallabh Mohta, senior advocate, Supreme Court, says that the Living Will did not find much traction till now because the Law Commission in 2006 opined that the idea was illogical, too far-fetched and had high chances of manipulation.
In fact, the judge feels that chances of manipulation are lesser when there is a Living Will. “If a person, say, with a malignant tumour refuses treatment, he is not booked for attempt to suicide. A Living Will means the same thing. Actually there is dire need for it - it enables you to respect a patient’s wishes even after he is incapable of expression. There are loopholes to every existing law. But the chances of manipulation in a Living Will are not very high. It can be changed as many times, as per the individual’s wishes, and can also be declared void by him at any point,” explains Justice Mohta.
One may argue that a person making a Living Will cannot possibly specify every single detail of the complication if s/he were to fall ill in the future. Preparing a durable power of attorney takes care of that loophole, too, adds Justice Mohta. “In a durable power of attorney, you can specify that only a particular family member may decide the course of treatment, or choose death, in your interest.”
How they die elsewhere
- In the US, most states recognise Living Wills or the designation of a health care proxy - where someone is appointed by the individual to make decisions on their behalf when they are incapacitated.
- In England and Wales too, people may make a Living Will or appoint a proxy. Last year, a study showed demand for Living Wills had trebled in the two previous years, indicating the increasing number of people concerned about the way in which their terminal illness will be managed.
- In the Netherlands, patients and potential patients can specify the circumstances under which they would want euthanasia for themselves. They do this by providing a written euthanasia directive.
- In 2007, Living Wills found acceptance in Thailand’s Health Act. An individual can decide in advance what medical care and treatment she must receive if she ever becomes unable to specify those wishes herself.
[Share]
Share
[Yahoo Buzz] [Google] [digg] [Delicious] [Reddit]
[Dictionary: Double-click any word] [Print] [Email] [Bookmark] + -
Related links
* The hits and misses of the Aruna Shanbaug verdict
* Aruna Shanbaug's brother wishes her a quick death
* Karibasamma sees hope in Supreme Court verdict on Euthanasia
* Aruna Shanbaug’s care-givers at KEM hospital celebrate apex court’s lease of life
* Nod for passive euthanasia relieves doctors
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/bihar-parents-seek-mercy-killing-for-two-sons-90358
Bihar couple seeks Mercy killing for sons
Bihar parents seek mercy killing for two sons
Indo-Asian News Service, Updated: March 09, 2011 18:42 IST
Ads by Google
The Economist Magazine – Get a World view Every Week. 12 Issues for Rs. 500 only!
EconomistSubscriptions.com
Muzaffarpur: Asha Devi is aware of the cruel irony. "Mothers seek long lives for their children, but here I am seeking death for my two sons," she says, slumped beside Nitin, 15, and Anshu, 13, who suffer from muscular dystrophy.
The rare muscular disorder is characterised by the death of muscle cells and tissue, and reduces its victims to skeleton-like shapes, with curved spines, progressive loss of body muscle and respiratory difficulties.
Nitin and Anshu cannot talk or stand on their feet. They are also paralysed below their chests and are unable to eat or move without assistance.
Asha says her sons were born healthy, but gradually started developing the condition when they were about two years old.
* Share this on Rediff.com Rediff.com
* NDTVTwitter
* NDTVNDTV Social
* Share with MessengerLive Messenger
* NDTVGmail Buzz
* NDTVPrint
There is no cure for muscular dystrophy. Some advances have been made, but treatment is available only in the US, and costs anywhere upwards of Rs. 30 lakh (Rs. 3 million/about 60,000 USD).
The boys' father, Mukesh Kumar, speaks of this sum with an expression of helplessness.
A poor farmer in Ratwada village of Muzaffarpur district, some 70 km from Bihar capital Patna, he also runs a small shop to supplement his income, and manages to earn Rs.3,500-4,000 a month.
The sum is simply beyond his reach. That's why, he said, "I have asked the state government to grant permission for my boys' mercy killing".
The plea comes at a time when the Aruna Shanbaug case is in the spotlight, with the Supreme Court rejecting mercy killing but giving support to the possibility of passive euthanasia for the nurse who has been in coma for 37 years.
"We have been pleading for their mercy killing because we cannot continue costly medical treatment, which anyway will not cure them, only prolong their unhappy lives. The state government should either grant permission or provide us help for treatment," he said.
"We cannot see our sons' pain and helplessness any more. Both are in utter discomfort," he said.
For Asha Devi, her children's condition is too much to bear.
"I cannot tolerate such a painful life for them. It is for the government to decide whether to grant permission for mercy killing or help us with their treatment," she said, her voice choking.
Mukesh said he sold off his little piece of land and the meagre valuables he had for his sons' medicines.
"There is no temple or mosque here that I haven't visited to pray for my children. I've gone to Delhi, Lucknow and Kolkata for their treatment, and tried everything from allopathy to ayurveda. I've done everything I could," he said.
"We are completely destitute now, struggling for survival. How can we manage money for their treatment?"
Meanwhile, Tirhut range Divisional Commissioner S.M. Raju has assured all help to the couple. "After I was informed about them, I invited them to meet me. I will ensure every possible help to them," he said.
Asha said last year they tried to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his popular 'janta darbar' in Patna but were not allowed inside by security officers.
"I see their distress every day. Either they should be provided proper medical treatment or they should die," the mother said.
A Will to not live as a vegetable
Published: Thursday, Mar 10, 2011, 0:16 IST
By Kareena Gianani | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
With the Supreme Court setting out guidelines for passive euthanasia in its judgment in the Aruna Shanbaug case, the doors have opened for the Living Will — a legal mechanism through which individuals can set down in advance the conditions in which they would like life support to be withdrawn.
According to Dr Surendra Dhelia, joint secretary of the Society for Right to Die with Dignity, thanks to the Aruna Shanbuag judgment, the Living Will, or what in the US is also known as the Advanced Health Care Directive, may now find popular acceptance. “Wouldn’t you want to decide your quality of life, whether life-extending treatments are worth the pain they cause? A Living Will empowers a patient when he is incapacitated. I believe it will find many takers.”
A Living Will is a document which specifies future circumstances of severe ill health when all remedial measures are futile, and when the individual prefers not to prolong life with life support systems and medicine. The Will specifies a request to the doctor in the future to enable an easier and quicker passage to death. A Living Will can be executed by an adult in full possession of his decision-making capacity, and without coercion.
An individual may, for instance, specify that he be allowed to die if his heart and/or brain stem stop functioning, or when there is any irremediable disease which renders him/her incapable of a useful existence. An individual can also specify the number of days in coma until all life support systems may be withdrawn.
A Living Will can be as specific as a patient wishes it to be.
“Aruna Shanbuag’s case reached the point it did because the main issue was activist Pinki Virani’s locus standi — the key question being whether her word could be considered in deciding if Shanbaug must live. But if Shanbug had made a Living Will in which she had stated just when and how she should die, the case would not have existed at all,” explains Dr Dhelia.
The SC judgement has laid out some parameters for deciding whether the patient is “eligible” for passive euthanasia. In case of a disagreement between the patient’s relatives and a doctor on how — and whether — a patient’s treatment must continue, the matter will be decided by the concerned high court which will set up a panel of doctors to examine the patient’s condition.
In this changed scenario, many doctors and lawyers believe that a Living Will can ensure that the patient’s wishes are taken into consideration when deciding about passive euthanasia. Justice Vallabh Mohta, senior advocate, Supreme Court, says that the Living Will did not find much traction till now because the Law Commission in 2006 opined that the idea was illogical, too far-fetched and had high chances of manipulation.
In fact, the judge feels that chances of manipulation are lesser when there is a Living Will. “If a person, say, with a malignant tumour refuses treatment, he is not booked for attempt to suicide. A Living Will means the same thing. Actually there is dire need for it - it enables you to respect a patient’s wishes even after he is incapable of expression. There are loopholes to every existing law. But the chances of manipulation in a Living Will are not very high. It can be changed as many times, as per the individual’s wishes, and can also be declared void by him at any point,” explains Justice Mohta.
One may argue that a person making a Living Will cannot possibly specify every single detail of the complication if s/he were to fall ill in the future. Preparing a durable power of attorney takes care of that loophole, too, adds Justice Mohta. “In a durable power of attorney, you can specify that only a particular family member may decide the course of treatment, or choose death, in your interest.”
How they die elsewhere
- In the US, most states recognise Living Wills or the designation of a health care proxy - where someone is appointed by the individual to make decisions on their behalf when they are incapacitated.
- In England and Wales too, people may make a Living Will or appoint a proxy. Last year, a study showed demand for Living Wills had trebled in the two previous years, indicating the increasing number of people concerned about the way in which their terminal illness will be managed.
- In the Netherlands, patients and potential patients can specify the circumstances under which they would want euthanasia for themselves. They do this by providing a written euthanasia directive.
- In 2007, Living Wills found acceptance in Thailand’s Health Act. An individual can decide in advance what medical care and treatment she must receive if she ever becomes unable to specify those wishes herself.
[Share]
Share
[Yahoo Buzz] [Google] [digg] [Delicious] [Reddit]
[Dictionary: Double-click any word] [Print] [Email] [Bookmark] + -
Related links
* The hits and misses of the Aruna Shanbaug verdict
* Aruna Shanbaug's brother wishes her a quick death
* Karibasamma sees hope in Supreme Court verdict on Euthanasia
* Aruna Shanbaug’s care-givers at KEM hospital celebrate apex court’s lease of life
* Nod for passive euthanasia relieves doctors
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/bihar-parents-seek-mercy-killing-for-two-sons-90358
Bihar couple seeks Mercy killing for sons
Bihar parents seek mercy killing for two sons
Indo-Asian News Service, Updated: March 09, 2011 18:42 IST
Ads by Google
The Economist Magazine – Get a World view Every Week. 12 Issues for Rs. 500 only!
EconomistSubscriptions.com
Muzaffarpur: Asha Devi is aware of the cruel irony. "Mothers seek long lives for their children, but here I am seeking death for my two sons," she says, slumped beside Nitin, 15, and Anshu, 13, who suffer from muscular dystrophy.
The rare muscular disorder is characterised by the death of muscle cells and tissue, and reduces its victims to skeleton-like shapes, with curved spines, progressive loss of body muscle and respiratory difficulties.
Nitin and Anshu cannot talk or stand on their feet. They are also paralysed below their chests and are unable to eat or move without assistance.
Asha says her sons were born healthy, but gradually started developing the condition when they were about two years old.
* Share this on Rediff.com Rediff.com
* NDTVTwitter
* NDTVNDTV Social
* Share with MessengerLive Messenger
* NDTVGmail Buzz
* NDTVPrint
There is no cure for muscular dystrophy. Some advances have been made, but treatment is available only in the US, and costs anywhere upwards of Rs. 30 lakh (Rs. 3 million/about 60,000 USD).
The boys' father, Mukesh Kumar, speaks of this sum with an expression of helplessness.
A poor farmer in Ratwada village of Muzaffarpur district, some 70 km from Bihar capital Patna, he also runs a small shop to supplement his income, and manages to earn Rs.3,500-4,000 a month.
The sum is simply beyond his reach. That's why, he said, "I have asked the state government to grant permission for my boys' mercy killing".
The plea comes at a time when the Aruna Shanbaug case is in the spotlight, with the Supreme Court rejecting mercy killing but giving support to the possibility of passive euthanasia for the nurse who has been in coma for 37 years.
"We have been pleading for their mercy killing because we cannot continue costly medical treatment, which anyway will not cure them, only prolong their unhappy lives. The state government should either grant permission or provide us help for treatment," he said.
"We cannot see our sons' pain and helplessness any more. Both are in utter discomfort," he said.
For Asha Devi, her children's condition is too much to bear.
"I cannot tolerate such a painful life for them. It is for the government to decide whether to grant permission for mercy killing or help us with their treatment," she said, her voice choking.
Mukesh said he sold off his little piece of land and the meagre valuables he had for his sons' medicines.
"There is no temple or mosque here that I haven't visited to pray for my children. I've gone to Delhi, Lucknow and Kolkata for their treatment, and tried everything from allopathy to ayurveda. I've done everything I could," he said.
"We are completely destitute now, struggling for survival. How can we manage money for their treatment?"
Meanwhile, Tirhut range Divisional Commissioner S.M. Raju has assured all help to the couple. "After I was informed about them, I invited them to meet me. I will ensure every possible help to them," he said.
Asha said last year they tried to meet Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at his popular 'janta darbar' in Patna but were not allowed inside by security officers.
"I see their distress every day. Either they should be provided proper medical treatment or they should die," the mother said.
Thane doctor injects self with anaesthetiic, dies Times of India, Hindustan Times, 10 March 2011
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Thane-doctor-injects-self-with-anaesthetic-dies/Article1-671552.aspx
Thane doctor injects self with anaesthetic, dies
Susamma Kurian, Hindustan Times
Thane, March 10, 2011
Email to Author
First Published: 02:04 IST(10/3/2011)
Last Updated: 02:05 IST(10/3/2011)
Share more...
0 Comments
Email print
A gynaecologist committed suicide at his Thane (East) residence by injecting himself with an anaesthetic on Wednesday morning. Dr Mahesh Gosavi, 52, also a civic health officer, lived on the fourth floor of Raut House at Dutta Mandir Marg in Kopri and ran his Mata Vaishnavi Hospital from the ground
, second and third floor of the building.
The police found a syringe, an empty bottle of ketamine hydrochloride injection IP, which is usually used as a painkiller and anaesthetic, and papers strewn in the bedroom.
They also found a suicide note, written on a Rs 100 stamp paper, in which he stated that nobody was to be held responsible for his death and also requested his body to be donated for anatomy dissection.
Dr Gosavi had been suffering from high blood pressure for the last 15 days and had undergone a bypass surgery three years ago, but the police do not think he could have ended his life because of health problems.
Gosavi is survived by his wife Dr Bharti, 47, and son Vihang, 19, who is studying at IIT-Bombay.
“His wife said that he was depressed on not finding some papers related to Devthirth Society in Manpada, where the family owns three flats. He used to be the chairman of the society but after elections were held on February 6, a new chairman was elected.
Gosavi had to hand over the society papers to him, but couldn’t find them,” said senior police inspector Dattatray Pawar of the Kopri police station.
“I do not have much information about what happened as I stay at the hostel and came home in the morning... He had not been keeping very well for the past several days,” said Vihang.
Soon after the news of his death flashed on the local news channel, hundreds of Dr Gosavi’s patients thronged the hospital to pay their last respects.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Debt-ridden-Top-Thane-gynaecologist-ends-life/articleshow/7667265.cms
Debt-ridden? Top Thane gynaecologist ends life
Nitin Yeshwantrao, TNN | Mar 10, 2011, 12.36am IST
Article
Comments (22)
Post a comment
Email this article
Print this article
Save this article
My Saved articles
Login
Register@indiatimes
Reduce font size
Increase font size
Share on Hotklix
Share on Messenger
Share on StumbleUpon
Share on Yahoo Buzz!
Share on Digg
Share on Reditt
Google Bookmarks Newsvine
Live Bookmarks Technorati
Yahoo Bookmarks Blogmarks
Del.icio.us ApnaCircle
Tags:Mata Vaishnavi Hospital|ketamine hydrochloride|Dr Mahesh Gosavi
THANE: Prominent gynaecologist Dr Mahesh Gosavi (52) allegedly committed suicide by injecting himself with a fatal overdose of an anaesthetic at his house in Thane (E) early on Wednesday. He was found lying motionless inside his room by his wife, Dr Bharti, around 9.30 am, three hours after he had administered himself with ketamine hydrochloride, a drug used as general anesthesia or tranquillisers by veterinary doctors.
Police claimed to have found a note in the room believed to be written by Gosavi wherein he took "all responsibility for the suicide". "An ash-tray brimming with cigarette butts inside the room suggested that the decision to take the extreme step could be a calculated one," sources said. Though the motive is still unclear, unconfirmed reports suggest that he was running a huge debt.
According to sources, Gosavi started his own hospital at Kopri and is said to have had a flourishing practice. He lived in a fourth-floor apartment, while his Mata Vaishnavi Hospital occupied the second and third floor in the same building.
Recently, Gosavi started another hospital on Ghodbunder Road and is said to have incurred huge debts in the process. "In the note, Gosavi took responsibility for making illegal alterations to the hospital and asked his wife to sell Raghuvir Hospital on Ghodbunder Road. He wanted money from the deal to be paid off to his creditors and the remainder to be given to his son currently studying in IIT," a police officer said.
Whistle-Blower Doc
Gosavi, who figured among the who's who in Thane, was particularly famous for his role in the ouster of former CM Shivajirao Nilangekar, former governor Kona Prabhakar Rao and ex-vice chancellor of Mumbai university A Reddy way back in 1986. As a medical student, Gosavi had dragged Nilangekar to court for manipulating the grade sheets of MD (Gynaecology and Obstetrics) exams held in 1985 to favour his daughter Dr Chandrakala Patil. Gosavi, who had also appeared for the same exam, was declared unsuccessful, while Patil, who had failed in previous three attempts, was cleared because of her political clout. The high court had ruled in favour of Gosavi, resulting in the exit of Nilangekar, Rao and Reddy.
Thane doctor injects self with anaesthetic, dies
Susamma Kurian, Hindustan Times
Thane, March 10, 2011
Email to Author
First Published: 02:04 IST(10/3/2011)
Last Updated: 02:05 IST(10/3/2011)
Share more...
0 Comments
Email print
A gynaecologist committed suicide at his Thane (East) residence by injecting himself with an anaesthetic on Wednesday morning. Dr Mahesh Gosavi, 52, also a civic health officer, lived on the fourth floor of Raut House at Dutta Mandir Marg in Kopri and ran his Mata Vaishnavi Hospital from the ground
, second and third floor of the building.
The police found a syringe, an empty bottle of ketamine hydrochloride injection IP, which is usually used as a painkiller and anaesthetic, and papers strewn in the bedroom.
They also found a suicide note, written on a Rs 100 stamp paper, in which he stated that nobody was to be held responsible for his death and also requested his body to be donated for anatomy dissection.
Dr Gosavi had been suffering from high blood pressure for the last 15 days and had undergone a bypass surgery three years ago, but the police do not think he could have ended his life because of health problems.
Gosavi is survived by his wife Dr Bharti, 47, and son Vihang, 19, who is studying at IIT-Bombay.
“His wife said that he was depressed on not finding some papers related to Devthirth Society in Manpada, where the family owns three flats. He used to be the chairman of the society but after elections were held on February 6, a new chairman was elected.
Gosavi had to hand over the society papers to him, but couldn’t find them,” said senior police inspector Dattatray Pawar of the Kopri police station.
“I do not have much information about what happened as I stay at the hostel and came home in the morning... He had not been keeping very well for the past several days,” said Vihang.
Soon after the news of his death flashed on the local news channel, hundreds of Dr Gosavi’s patients thronged the hospital to pay their last respects.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Debt-ridden-Top-Thane-gynaecologist-ends-life/articleshow/7667265.cms
Debt-ridden? Top Thane gynaecologist ends life
Nitin Yeshwantrao, TNN | Mar 10, 2011, 12.36am IST
Article
Comments (22)
Post a comment
Email this article
Print this article
Save this article
My Saved articles
Login
Register@indiatimes
Reduce font size
Increase font size
Share on Hotklix
Share on Messenger
Share on StumbleUpon
Share on Yahoo Buzz!
Share on Digg
Share on Reditt
Google Bookmarks Newsvine
Live Bookmarks Technorati
Yahoo Bookmarks Blogmarks
Del.icio.us ApnaCircle
Tags:Mata Vaishnavi Hospital|ketamine hydrochloride|Dr Mahesh Gosavi
THANE: Prominent gynaecologist Dr Mahesh Gosavi (52) allegedly committed suicide by injecting himself with a fatal overdose of an anaesthetic at his house in Thane (E) early on Wednesday. He was found lying motionless inside his room by his wife, Dr Bharti, around 9.30 am, three hours after he had administered himself with ketamine hydrochloride, a drug used as general anesthesia or tranquillisers by veterinary doctors.
Police claimed to have found a note in the room believed to be written by Gosavi wherein he took "all responsibility for the suicide". "An ash-tray brimming with cigarette butts inside the room suggested that the decision to take the extreme step could be a calculated one," sources said. Though the motive is still unclear, unconfirmed reports suggest that he was running a huge debt.
According to sources, Gosavi started his own hospital at Kopri and is said to have had a flourishing practice. He lived in a fourth-floor apartment, while his Mata Vaishnavi Hospital occupied the second and third floor in the same building.
Recently, Gosavi started another hospital on Ghodbunder Road and is said to have incurred huge debts in the process. "In the note, Gosavi took responsibility for making illegal alterations to the hospital and asked his wife to sell Raghuvir Hospital on Ghodbunder Road. He wanted money from the deal to be paid off to his creditors and the remainder to be given to his son currently studying in IIT," a police officer said.
Whistle-Blower Doc
Gosavi, who figured among the who's who in Thane, was particularly famous for his role in the ouster of former CM Shivajirao Nilangekar, former governor Kona Prabhakar Rao and ex-vice chancellor of Mumbai university A Reddy way back in 1986. As a medical student, Gosavi had dragged Nilangekar to court for manipulating the grade sheets of MD (Gynaecology and Obstetrics) exams held in 1985 to favour his daughter Dr Chandrakala Patil. Gosavi, who had also appeared for the same exam, was declared unsuccessful, while Patil, who had failed in previous three attempts, was cleared because of her political clout. The high court had ruled in favour of Gosavi, resulting in the exit of Nilangekar, Rao and Reddy.
A suicide , a last request, a family's questions, New York times
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/sports/football/23duerson.html?_r=1&ref=health
SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. — The words came up on Alicia Duerson’s cellphone as blithely as text messages typically do, but this one was different: her former husband, the former Chicago Bears star Dave Duerson, asked her to donate his brain for research.
The Fifth Down
The latest news, notes and analysis of the N.F.L. playoffs.
Go to The Fifth Down Blog
N.F.L.
* Live Scoreboard
* Standings
* Stats | Injuries
Giants
* Schedule/Results
* Stats | Roster
* Depth Chart
Jets
* Schedule/Results
* Stats | Roster
* Depth Chart
Enlarge This Image
Marc Serota for The New York Times
In a suicide note, Dave Duerson repeated an earlier request he made in text messages to have his brain donated for research.
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
* Read All Comments (58) »
She texted back and heard nothing, then called their son, Tregg, who was just ending his workday as a bank analyst in Chicago. They called again and got voice mail.
The next and last message they received from Dave Duerson was meant for them, their family and perhaps all of professional football. It was written in his hurried hand, repeating his text message in case it had not been received, and found in the South Florida condominium where he placed a gun to his chest and shot himself to death last Thursday.
“Please, see that my brain is given to the N.F.L.’s brain bank.”
Alicia and Tregg Duerson cannot know and do not care to guess what his intentions were in this final request. What they do know is that, they said, it brings them some solace in a sad and confusing time.
“I think it’s just an example of the type of person he is,” Alicia Duerson said. “In his time, he put the future in front of him — future generations of football players in front of him. I’m just so proud of him at this moment.”
His family said that Duerson, the 50-year-old former Bears safety who graduated from Notre Dame, had been finding it hard to remember names and to put words together. They described a devoted father of four who had spent countless hours with the football players union, where he became familiar with the plight of retired players dealing with physical decline and dementia.
Sitting with his mother on the deck of his father’s building Monday night, Tregg Duerson sobbed. “He was looking for an answer,” Tregg said. “And he was hoping to be a part of an answer.”
The pertinent question is whether Duerson had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease recently found posthumously in about 20 retired players, a disease that has been linked to depression, cognitive impairment and occasionally suicide. That determination will be made over the next several months by doctors at the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, who recently began receiving financial support from the N.F.L.
The broader issue, given the growing number of football players developing dementia or other cognitive problems, is what the cost of football will eventually be for generations of retired players, and how the game might be made safer for active players, from professionals to children’s leagues.
Duerson’s final letter, consisting mostly of personal comments that relatives declined to make public, did describe blurred vision and pain, Alicia Duerson said, “on the left side of his brain.” The implication, by pledging his brain to research, was that his problems, and perhaps his suicide as well, stemmed from his football career.
“I would have to guess it was a statement about football and its impact on the brain,” said Robert Smith, a former N.F.L. running back, who served with Duerson on the panel that considers former players’ disability claims. “It had to be. And, his belief that it contributed to his final despair.”
A hard-hitting but nimble defensive back from Muncie, Ind., Duerson was an all-American at Notre Dame and a two-time Super Bowl champion, first as part of the 1985 Bears’ famed 46 defense, then five years later with the Giants. He met Alicia during his freshman year at Notre Dame; they divorced last year.
“He was hitting so strong and hard, and he was so aggressive as a defensive back that after the game I was really afraid to go up to him,” she said of their first meeting, after a Notre Dame football game. “He was like: ‘What’s wrong with you? Come over here, let me give you a hug.’ He was so sweet and kind. He could leave the game on the field and go back to being Dave.”
When Duerson left the field for good after the 1993 season with the Arizona Cardinals, he was succeeding in the food service business. He also stayed active in players union affairs.
Duerson eventually joined the six-man volunteer panel that considered retired players’ claims under the N.F.L.’s disability plan, in addition to the 88 Plan, a fund that has assisted more than 150 families caring for retired players with dementia since its inception in 2007. Duerson read applications, testimonies and detailed doctors’ reports for hundreds of players with multiple injuries, including those to the brain that in some cases left players requiring full-time care. He had to vote on whether these people received financial assistance.
In 2007, two Congressional committees held hearings into whether the disability board was unfairly denying benefits. Duerson testified before the Senate Commerce Committee alongside Brent Boyd, a former Minnesota Vikings lineman whose depression and cognitive impairment had been ruled unrelated to his playing career, therefore warranting significantly lower benefits. It is unknown how Duerson voted on Boyd’s case. He did get into a testy exchange when Boyd, then 50, asserted that his condition — and that of other players with dementia — was caused by football.
“In regards to the issue of Alzheimer’s, my father’s 84, and, as I had mentioned earlier, Senator, spent 30 years at General Motors,” Duerson said, according to the hearing transcript. “He also has — he also has Alzheimer’s and brain damage, but never played a professional sport. So, the challenge, you know, in terms of where the damage comes from, is a fair question.”
Around this time, Duerson’s life began changing course. His company, Duerson Foods, was forced into receivership. His 17-room home in Highland Park, Ill. — the one with “NFL22” carved on a driveway pillar — went into foreclosure. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor domestic-battery charge after pushing Alicia during an argument, leading him to resign from Notre Dame’s board. Duerson filed for personal bankruptcy last September.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/sports/football/23duerson.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=health
A Suicide, a Last Request, a Family’s Questions
Published: February 22, 2011
* Recommend
* Twitter
* comments (58)
* Sign In to E-Mail
* Print
* Single Page
*
Reprints
* ShareClose
o Linkedin
o Digg
o Mixx
o MySpace
o Permalink
o
(Page 2 of 2)
Few close to Duerson appear to have noticed anything wrong with him. Miki-Yaras Davis, the union’s director of player benefits, said that at a disability board meeting last November, Duerson was his usual joyous, cigar-smoking self. Other union officials said they did not see any signs of cognitive impairment, although one, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Duerson once spoke plaintively that he might someday develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Enlarge This Image
Associated Press
Duerson in 1989 with Chicago, where he won the first of his two Super Bowl titles. In 1999, he showed his organ donor card at a memorial for Walter Payton, who died from liver disease.
The Fifth Down
The latest news, notes and analysis of the N.F.L. playoffs.
Go to The Fifth Down Blog
N.F.L.
* Live Scoreboard
* Standings
* Stats | Injuries
Giants
* Schedule/Results
* Stats | Roster
* Depth Chart
Jets
* Schedule/Results
* Stats | Roster
* Depth Chart
Enlarge This Image
Tannen Maury/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
In 1999, Duerson showed his organ donor card at a memorial for Walter Payton, who died from liver disease.
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
* Read All Comments (58) »
Alicia Duerson, who kept in touch with him, said that he developed a hesitancy in putting words together on paper and in conversation. He also had short-term memory loss that, she said, “got worse as time went on.”
“I think David knew that inside of him there was something wrong,” she said. As much as Duerson loved football, she said, his final gestures were his way of saying: “I’m a veteran of the game. Something is wrong. Somebody has to step up and acknowledge that.”
Duerson asked that his brain go to “the N.F.L. brain bank,” an indication that he recognized the league’s support of the Boston University research. After denying and discrediting evidence of football’s long-term impact on the brain for several years, the N.F.L. has increased its efforts to make the game less dangerous through concussion-treatment protocols and rule changes.
“It is a tragic situation that has everyone in the football community feeling both saddened and concerned,” the N.F.L. spokesman Greg Aiello wrote Tuesday in an e-mail. “Dave Duerson was a leader, a doer and a giver. He made great contributions to the N.F.L. and to many others. The human tragedy is gut-wrenching, and Dave’s family and friends have been in our thoughts. On the medical side, we will stay in close contact with our medical advisers and the B.U. research group to understand the facts and their significance.”
Smith said that after joining the disability board last year, he never sensed skepticism from Duerson that players’ cognitive problems were related to football. He acknowledged Duerson’s personal and financial problems must have contributed to his final act, and that his brain might in fact not show the protein deposits and damaged neurons indicative of C.T.E.
“He devoted so much to retired players and their problems,” Smith said, “you wish that the information that he had received from all those other cases would have led him to seek the help that could have saved him. That’s what I will have to deal with as my time on the board continues — to do what I can to help get his message across.”
Alicia said that some of Duerson’s ashes, per his longtime wishes, would be spread at Notre Dame and Soldier Field, the sites of his finest days. A public memorial service is scheduled for Saturday in Chicago.
Tregg Duerson also played football at Notre Dame, until he decided after one year to concentrate on earning his management degree.
“I just wish he had played baseball,” Tregg blurted angrily at one point during the interview. But a few minutes later, asked if his father might have had the same second thoughts, he broke into a knowing smile and actually laughed.
“My dad’s not a second-guess type of guy,” he said. “If he makes up his mind, it’s on, baby. There’s no looking back.”
« Previous Page
* 1
* 2
A version of this article appeared in print on February 23, 2011, on page A1 of the New York edition.
* comments (58)
* Sign In to E-Mail
* Print
* Single Page
* Reprints
Connect with The New York Times on Facebook.
SUNNY ISLES BEACH, Fla. — The words came up on Alicia Duerson’s cellphone as blithely as text messages typically do, but this one was different: her former husband, the former Chicago Bears star Dave Duerson, asked her to donate his brain for research.
The Fifth Down
The latest news, notes and analysis of the N.F.L. playoffs.
Go to The Fifth Down Blog
N.F.L.
* Live Scoreboard
* Standings
* Stats | Injuries
Giants
* Schedule/Results
* Stats | Roster
* Depth Chart
Jets
* Schedule/Results
* Stats | Roster
* Depth Chart
Enlarge This Image
Marc Serota for The New York Times
In a suicide note, Dave Duerson repeated an earlier request he made in text messages to have his brain donated for research.
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
* Read All Comments (58) »
She texted back and heard nothing, then called their son, Tregg, who was just ending his workday as a bank analyst in Chicago. They called again and got voice mail.
The next and last message they received from Dave Duerson was meant for them, their family and perhaps all of professional football. It was written in his hurried hand, repeating his text message in case it had not been received, and found in the South Florida condominium where he placed a gun to his chest and shot himself to death last Thursday.
“Please, see that my brain is given to the N.F.L.’s brain bank.”
Alicia and Tregg Duerson cannot know and do not care to guess what his intentions were in this final request. What they do know is that, they said, it brings them some solace in a sad and confusing time.
“I think it’s just an example of the type of person he is,” Alicia Duerson said. “In his time, he put the future in front of him — future generations of football players in front of him. I’m just so proud of him at this moment.”
His family said that Duerson, the 50-year-old former Bears safety who graduated from Notre Dame, had been finding it hard to remember names and to put words together. They described a devoted father of four who had spent countless hours with the football players union, where he became familiar with the plight of retired players dealing with physical decline and dementia.
Sitting with his mother on the deck of his father’s building Monday night, Tregg Duerson sobbed. “He was looking for an answer,” Tregg said. “And he was hoping to be a part of an answer.”
The pertinent question is whether Duerson had chronic traumatic encephalopathy, the degenerative brain disease recently found posthumously in about 20 retired players, a disease that has been linked to depression, cognitive impairment and occasionally suicide. That determination will be made over the next several months by doctors at the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, who recently began receiving financial support from the N.F.L.
The broader issue, given the growing number of football players developing dementia or other cognitive problems, is what the cost of football will eventually be for generations of retired players, and how the game might be made safer for active players, from professionals to children’s leagues.
Duerson’s final letter, consisting mostly of personal comments that relatives declined to make public, did describe blurred vision and pain, Alicia Duerson said, “on the left side of his brain.” The implication, by pledging his brain to research, was that his problems, and perhaps his suicide as well, stemmed from his football career.
“I would have to guess it was a statement about football and its impact on the brain,” said Robert Smith, a former N.F.L. running back, who served with Duerson on the panel that considers former players’ disability claims. “It had to be. And, his belief that it contributed to his final despair.”
A hard-hitting but nimble defensive back from Muncie, Ind., Duerson was an all-American at Notre Dame and a two-time Super Bowl champion, first as part of the 1985 Bears’ famed 46 defense, then five years later with the Giants. He met Alicia during his freshman year at Notre Dame; they divorced last year.
“He was hitting so strong and hard, and he was so aggressive as a defensive back that after the game I was really afraid to go up to him,” she said of their first meeting, after a Notre Dame football game. “He was like: ‘What’s wrong with you? Come over here, let me give you a hug.’ He was so sweet and kind. He could leave the game on the field and go back to being Dave.”
When Duerson left the field for good after the 1993 season with the Arizona Cardinals, he was succeeding in the food service business. He also stayed active in players union affairs.
Duerson eventually joined the six-man volunteer panel that considered retired players’ claims under the N.F.L.’s disability plan, in addition to the 88 Plan, a fund that has assisted more than 150 families caring for retired players with dementia since its inception in 2007. Duerson read applications, testimonies and detailed doctors’ reports for hundreds of players with multiple injuries, including those to the brain that in some cases left players requiring full-time care. He had to vote on whether these people received financial assistance.
In 2007, two Congressional committees held hearings into whether the disability board was unfairly denying benefits. Duerson testified before the Senate Commerce Committee alongside Brent Boyd, a former Minnesota Vikings lineman whose depression and cognitive impairment had been ruled unrelated to his playing career, therefore warranting significantly lower benefits. It is unknown how Duerson voted on Boyd’s case. He did get into a testy exchange when Boyd, then 50, asserted that his condition — and that of other players with dementia — was caused by football.
“In regards to the issue of Alzheimer’s, my father’s 84, and, as I had mentioned earlier, Senator, spent 30 years at General Motors,” Duerson said, according to the hearing transcript. “He also has — he also has Alzheimer’s and brain damage, but never played a professional sport. So, the challenge, you know, in terms of where the damage comes from, is a fair question.”
Around this time, Duerson’s life began changing course. His company, Duerson Foods, was forced into receivership. His 17-room home in Highland Park, Ill. — the one with “NFL22” carved on a driveway pillar — went into foreclosure. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor domestic-battery charge after pushing Alicia during an argument, leading him to resign from Notre Dame’s board. Duerson filed for personal bankruptcy last September.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/sports/football/23duerson.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=health
A Suicide, a Last Request, a Family’s Questions
Published: February 22, 2011
* Recommend
* comments (58)
* Sign In to E-Mail
* Single Page
*
Reprints
* ShareClose
o Linkedin
o Digg
o Mixx
o MySpace
o Permalink
o
(Page 2 of 2)
Few close to Duerson appear to have noticed anything wrong with him. Miki-Yaras Davis, the union’s director of player benefits, said that at a disability board meeting last November, Duerson was his usual joyous, cigar-smoking self. Other union officials said they did not see any signs of cognitive impairment, although one, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Duerson once spoke plaintively that he might someday develop chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
Enlarge This Image
Associated Press
Duerson in 1989 with Chicago, where he won the first of his two Super Bowl titles. In 1999, he showed his organ donor card at a memorial for Walter Payton, who died from liver disease.
The Fifth Down
The latest news, notes and analysis of the N.F.L. playoffs.
Go to The Fifth Down Blog
N.F.L.
* Live Scoreboard
* Standings
* Stats | Injuries
Giants
* Schedule/Results
* Stats | Roster
* Depth Chart
Jets
* Schedule/Results
* Stats | Roster
* Depth Chart
Enlarge This Image
Tannen Maury/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
In 1999, Duerson showed his organ donor card at a memorial for Walter Payton, who died from liver disease.
Readers' Comments
Readers shared their thoughts on this article.
* Read All Comments (58) »
Alicia Duerson, who kept in touch with him, said that he developed a hesitancy in putting words together on paper and in conversation. He also had short-term memory loss that, she said, “got worse as time went on.”
“I think David knew that inside of him there was something wrong,” she said. As much as Duerson loved football, she said, his final gestures were his way of saying: “I’m a veteran of the game. Something is wrong. Somebody has to step up and acknowledge that.”
Duerson asked that his brain go to “the N.F.L. brain bank,” an indication that he recognized the league’s support of the Boston University research. After denying and discrediting evidence of football’s long-term impact on the brain for several years, the N.F.L. has increased its efforts to make the game less dangerous through concussion-treatment protocols and rule changes.
“It is a tragic situation that has everyone in the football community feeling both saddened and concerned,” the N.F.L. spokesman Greg Aiello wrote Tuesday in an e-mail. “Dave Duerson was a leader, a doer and a giver. He made great contributions to the N.F.L. and to many others. The human tragedy is gut-wrenching, and Dave’s family and friends have been in our thoughts. On the medical side, we will stay in close contact with our medical advisers and the B.U. research group to understand the facts and their significance.”
Smith said that after joining the disability board last year, he never sensed skepticism from Duerson that players’ cognitive problems were related to football. He acknowledged Duerson’s personal and financial problems must have contributed to his final act, and that his brain might in fact not show the protein deposits and damaged neurons indicative of C.T.E.
“He devoted so much to retired players and their problems,” Smith said, “you wish that the information that he had received from all those other cases would have led him to seek the help that could have saved him. That’s what I will have to deal with as my time on the board continues — to do what I can to help get his message across.”
Alicia said that some of Duerson’s ashes, per his longtime wishes, would be spread at Notre Dame and Soldier Field, the sites of his finest days. A public memorial service is scheduled for Saturday in Chicago.
Tregg Duerson also played football at Notre Dame, until he decided after one year to concentrate on earning his management degree.
“I just wish he had played baseball,” Tregg blurted angrily at one point during the interview. But a few minutes later, asked if his father might have had the same second thoughts, he broke into a knowing smile and actually laughed.
“My dad’s not a second-guess type of guy,” he said. “If he makes up his mind, it’s on, baby. There’s no looking back.”
« Previous Page
* 1
* 2
A version of this article appeared in print on February 23, 2011, on page A1 of the New York edition.
* comments (58)
* Sign In to E-Mail
* Single Page
* Reprints
Connect with The New York Times on Facebook.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)