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)
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Invitation for World Mental Health Awareness Program titled Mental Illness, Depression, Suicide-In Search of healthy ways to cope , on 30th Oct 2012, 3.00 to 5.30pm at Vashi
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Aasra in Times of India, Nagpur edition(aug 22,2012)
By Aparna Phadke I TNN Posted On Wednesday, August 22, 2012
As suicides snuff out 14 young lives in the city in August alone, TOI on what lies beneath that super-cool persona of a youngster and what makes their EQs so fragile. It's a sad message no parent would ever want to read. Yet, some parents are forced to read it - in suicide notes and text messages! It rings in their ear when they try and decipher a child's sentiments when he or she is no more. TOI on the fatal trail...
Happy faces, a facade?
It was a rocking school reunion, but students at this party were missing their dear friend Ishan Sathe. A budding cricketer who was chosen for IPL, the young lad had given up on life itself after his love allegedly went sour. Says 21-year-old Ashish Munde, his peer and batch mate, "We don't know what went wrong. After his training at VCA, he said he wanted to concentrate on his CA. But, we didn't even realise when he just stopped communicating with us. Anybody who met him would vouch for his jovial and masti khor nature. Looking back I think that was just a facade for the pain that he was hiding. If we had just chatted more, maybe he'd be here with us today!" If happiness is a facade, then silence it seems is fatal like in the case of young MBA and engineer Shruti Naranje. Seemingly, this bright girl had it all - a good degree, a fine job and an independent lifestyle. "But, one fine day, she decided to end her life and we don't know why," says her distraught friend Neha, adding, "She was a silent girl and we never knew what was going on in her mind. I just wish she had someone to talk to, I am sure she'd be alive. Nothing can be so depressing as to give up your life!"
Dial for help
As the thought of 'if she/he had communicated' runs through the minds of those who knew suicide victims, awareness that help is at hand, is needed, say counsellors. City social worker Dr Seema Sakhare, who runs 'Helpline Lifeline - 8888817666 ,' which is an initiative supported by Nagpur ZP and Nagpur Rural SP Manoj Sharma, says, "We started this service in March 2012 and our phone doesn't stop ringing! It reflects the grim nature of the situation. From March 2012, 71 students have ended their lives and in August alone, 14 students killed themselves! It's a distressing figure. We spread the message that Zindagi Nahin Milegi Dobara." Agrees Johnson Thomas of Mumbai based-NGO Aasra ( 022-27546669 , which he says is a crisis intervention centre for the distressed and suicidal. "The depressed have to know that someone cares for them. Suicide is a momentary feeling, and if that moment is tackled sensitively, we can save so many lives," he says.
Campus capers
While campus is meant to be a fun place, a little sensitivity shown by teachers and students will go a long way in curbing students, feels Dr M P Singh, principal of Priyadarshini College of Engineering. He adds, "We have Art of Living sessions, counsellors on campus and our teachers' numbers are available to our students on our website. So, 24x7 students can get in touch with teachers for academic and emotional problems." Adds Vivek Kapoor, Vice Principal and HOD of Electronics and Telecommunication at Rajiv Gandhi College of Engineering and Research, "I think it's high time that counselling centres in professional colleges are given top priority. Our young generation is bright and intelligent. But, we need to save them from the emotional stress and pressure of expectations."
Aasra in the Mumbai Mirror,Oct 10th , 2012( aasra urban India survey stats)
Apart from Asha Bhosle’s daughter, three other cases of suicide were recorded at different parts of the city on Sunday and Monday Mumbai MIrror Bureau
Posted On Tuesday, October 09, 2012 at 02:23:11 AM Mumbai city witnessed four suicides within 48 hours. While Asha Bhosle’s daughter, Varsha, committed suicide by shooting herself on Monday, three other cases of suicides were recorded in different parts of the city since Sunday. Upset over girlfriend’s suicide, youth hangs self at Goregaon A 24-year-old youth, identified as Abhishek Shetty, committed suicide at his Goregaon (West) residence late on Sunday. According to the police, he was upset over his girlfriend ending her life a few days ago, and had been depressed ever since. Shetty lived in a storeroom behind a Sai Baba temple at Siddharth Nagar. A social worker, he was a BJP party activist and a close aide of corporator Dilip Patel. According to the police, Shetty wasn't keeping well on Sunday. On Monday morning, his father found him hanging from the ceiling fan. On being taken to a hospital, he was declared dead. He left no suicide note, but his father told the police that the news of his girlfriend's suicide could have pushed him over the edge. Shetty’s body was sent for an autopsy and reports are awaited.
Murder accused attempts suicide in Andheri lock-up, dies Monday Suresh Arouthar, an accused who was behind bars at the Andheri Police Station, died at the Cooper Hospital on Monday after attempting suicide on October 3 in the lock-up. Arouthar, 32, a sweeper who lived in the Amboli slums, was behind bars for allegedly killing his wife Meera, 30, on September 25 at their home. On October 3, Arouthar, who was said to be depressed over killing his wife, tied his pants to the lock-up window and attempted hanging himself. Another accused in the lock-up raised an alarm, and the police rushed him to Cooper Hospital. He succumbed on Monday. Arouthar had suspected his wife of having an affair with someone, and the couple regularly fought over this. On September 25, after work Arouthar returned home drunk and fought with his wife. The quarrel took a turn for the worse and in a rage Arouthar strangulated his wife. At the hospital, Arouthar claimed that his wife had fallen down the staircase. But medical reports confirmed that she had been strangulated, following which Arouthar had been arrested. The couple have two children, aged 8 and 4, who are being cared for by relatives.
Woman from Gujarat allegedly commits suicide at Oshiwara A 25-year-old married woman allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from a ceiling fan at Oshiwara on Sunday morning. The deceased, Nazia Pathan, and her husband Sohbat came to the city from Gujarat on Saturday along with another couple, with the intention of settling here. Nazia and Sohbat are believed to have had an argument on Saturday, and had slept in separate rooms. According to the Oshiwara police, on Sunday morning when Sohbat tried to wake her up he got no response to his knocks on the door. When the door was finally broken open, Nazia was found hanging from the ceiling fan. The police said that Nazia had been married earlier and that Sohbat, whom she married in January this year, was her second husband. She left no suicide note in the room.
‘63 per cent of urban India has considered suicide since 2010’
A year-long survey conducted in eight major Indian cities has revealed that an incredible 70% of urban Indians (age group 15 to 50 years) have suffered from spells of depression in the past two years, and most of them - 90% - have contemplated suicide in the same period. The online survey conducted on residents of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Cochin and Hyderabad by Aasra, a suicide helpline, also revealed that a majority of those depressed were women.
Article on Aasra Suicide Prevention in Gulf News.com
Centre hopes to tackle depression — major cause of suicide— on World Mental Health Day
By Pamela Raghunath, Correspondent Published: 17:28 October 10, 2012 Gulf News
According to the World Health Organisation, more than 350 million people of all ages, in all communities are affected by depression
Mumbai: As World Mental Health Day with the theme of Depression: A Global Crisis was observed across the world on Wednesday, here in India and particularly Mumbai, depression is a serious problem that has yet to be properly tackled.
While a host of NGOs give a helping hand to depressed people in the city, the health department of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is only now planning to set up a helpline, Life is beautiful, in a public-private partnership. A BMC health official said that the plan is still being conceptualised.
Unfortunately, even governments at the state and central level have not taken the issue seriously, says Johnson Thomas, Director of Aasra, an intervention centre, based in Navi Mumbai, for the lonely, distressed and suicidal, and functioning since September 13 1998.
“In an ongoing survey across the main cities of India, 63 per cent of 5,000 respondents have told us that they have experienced depression at some point in their lives. And out of this, 90 per cent have thought of committing suicide,” Thomas told Gulf News.
The recent suicide of veteran singer Asha Bhosle’s daughter Varsha Bhosle has brought the issue of depression and suicidal tendencies into the spotlight. In spite of all the help, treatment and counseling, the singer’s fans are wondering “how could Asha’s daughter end her life in this tragic manner.”
According to the World Health Organisation, more than 350 million people of all ages, in all communities are affected by depression, and suicide is among the top leading cause of death globally for all ages. Every year, nearly one million people kill themselves. Although there are known effective treatments for depression, access to treatment is a problem in most countries and in some countries fewer than ten per cent of those who need it receive such treatment.
Relationship break-ups, illnesses, unemployment, exam pressure, poverty, family problems and dowry disputes are just some of the factors that lead to depression and the risk of suicide.
“The problem is that families in India don’t take it seriously if someone has attempted suicide or threatens to do so. This is because of lack of knowledge,” says Thomas.
Aasra’s 24-hour helpline answers at least 35 calls per day, he says. There are others, too, doing their bit. But what would bring about a significant change is the way the government and health authorities take up this grave problem. Currently, there are only around 4,500 psychiatrists in the country. A sustained campaign across the country is essential, he adds.
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
40th suicide victim this year is found, in Bahrain (2012)
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=339208&fb_source=message
Posted on » Sunday, October 07, 2012
MANAMA: A Bangladeshi man was found hanging from a ceiling fan at his East Riffa accommodation, making him the 40th person known to have committed suicide since the start of the year.
Mohammed Rasel Khan, 24, was found on Friday after only being in Bahrain for less than a month and he reportedly left a suicide note. His sponsor also revealed Mr Khan had called his mother and informed her of his plans to take his own life. "He was normal the days before. He was still new in the country - maybe he was here for about 20 days," said the sponsor. "From what I know he called his mother the same day saying he was fed up of everything and had enough and that he was going to end his life." Mr Khan worked as a labourer at Signboard Lighting and Maintenance Company. An Interior Ministry official confirmed the incident.
The victims so far...
Posted on » Sunday, October 07, 2012
All hanged themselves unless otherwise stated:
1. Indian Reena George, 30, Salmaniya - 01/01/12
2. Indian Jagadeseeswaran Cuddalore Kannapapa, 50, East Riffa - 07/01/12
3. Bahraini Badriya Ali, 59, Sanabis - 14/01/12 - She poured kerosene on herself before lighting it
4. Indian Muthaiah Nyavanadi Chinna Pochaiah, 32, A'ali - 14/01/12
5. Indian Shanu Johnson, 28, Hoora - 14/01/12
6. Indian Dhan Raj Narayan Singh, 52, Salmabad - 24/01/12
7. Dutchman Ronald Frankhuizen, 54, Amwaj Islands - 29/01/12
8. Indian Rashmi Satish Kumar Chawla, 30, Hoora - 09/02/12 - She jumped from the seventh floor of a building
9. Nepali Phlla Maua Regmi, 24, Sanabis - 26/02/12
10. Indian Ajith Maniyan, 27, West Eker - 04/03/12
11. Indian Nisar Ahmed Noor Ahmed, 22, Manama - 09/03/12
12. Russian Sakeena Usopoba, 29, Juffair - 15/03/12 - She jumped from the second floor of a property
13. Pakistani Muhammad Shoaib Said, 30, Juffair - 20/03/12
14. Indian Pudari Linganna Chinna Poshetty, 42, Hidd - 28/03/12
15. Indian Murugan Vishwanathan, 34, Manama - 22/04/12
16. Pakistani Muhammad Abid Muhammad Ali, 22, Askar - 24/04/12
17. Bangladeshi Mohammed Noor Salaam, 45, Hamad Town - 27/04/12
18. Bangladeshi Rafiqul Islam, 43, Hamad Town - 29/04/12
19. Indian Bharat Jaywant Deshmukh, 23, Al Markh - 07/05/12
20. Indian Sethuraman Ponnan Kaliappa, 45, Buri - 07/05/12
21. Bangladeshi Muhammad Yousuf Ali Muhammad Mozid Mozzah, 36, Arad - 26/05/12
22. Bangladeshi Nure Alam Sheikh, 28, Tubli - 29/06/12
23. Indian Podimon Geevarghese Yohannan, 34, Riffa - 26/06/12
24. Indian Santosh Kumar Nagaraj, 21, Adliya - 29/06/12
25. Indian Babu Rao Bommu, 41, Gudaibiya - 10/06/12
26. Indian Aseena Beern Tulangara, 42, Hidd - 14/06/12
27. Indian Pasupathi Mariappan, 33, Hamad Town - 17/06/12
28. Bahraini (unidentified), 13, Malkiya - 04/07/12
29. Indian Balwinder Singh Inder Singh, 35, Hajiyat - 09/07/12
30. Indian Taranjit Singh Avtar Singh, 28, East Riffa - 16/07/12
31. Indian Sujith Cyril, 25, Tashan - 23/07/12
32. Indian Anil Kumar, 40, Gudaibiya - 25/07/12
33. Bahraini Ali Abdulla Abdulla Al Fardi, 13, East Riffa - 30/08/12
34. Indian Ramakrishnan Unnithan Mohannan Pillai, 47, Tubli - 04/09/12
35. Indian Ravindra Garib, 26, Salmabad - 13/09/12
36. Russain (unidentified), Hoora - 15/09/12
37. Bangladeshi (unidentified), Manama - 22/09/12
38. Indian Boganna Kurma Kotolla Devanna, 32, Salmabad - 01/10/12
39. Indonesian Silqusti Stiana Simon, 27, Jid Ali - 04/10/12 - She jumped from the third floor of a house
40. Bangladeshi Mohammed Rasel Khan, 24, East Riffa - 05/10/12
Thursday, October 4, 2012
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