First year VJTI student ttempts suicide,critical

VJTI student attempts suicide on campus Published: Thursday, Nov 3, 2011, 8:00 IST By Pallavi Smart | Agency: DNA Mohammad Marooh Shaikh, 20, a student of Veermata Jeejabai Technology Institute (VJTI), Matunga, attempted suicide by hanging himself on Wednesday afternoon in the college premises. Shaikh, a resident of Thane district and a first-year chemical engineering student, is recovering in Sion hospital after having regained consciousness. The reason for the suicide attempt is still unknown but institute authorities are ruling out academic pressure since Shaikh is a fresher and the examination he has to appear for is still almost a month away. According to information provided by Dr MC Deo, director, VJTI, Shaikh is a first-year student enrolled for a diploma in chemical engineering. At around 2pm on Wednesday, mechanical engineering students noticed something suspicious on the fourth floor of the mechanical engineering building. Dr MC Deo, director, VJTI, said, "They found a student hanging from the ceiling by a rope. They immediately cut the rope and admitted Shaikh to Sion Hospital." Deo added, "Initially, doctors said Shaikh's situation was critical. But by late evening, he had regained consciousness. But he is still not in a position to talk properly, so the police are waiting to take his statement." A case has been registered with the Matunga police station. Shaikh, who started attending college just four months ago, hails from Chandrapur but stays with his relatives in Thane. Zeeshan Shaikh, cousin brother of Shaikh, said, "Marooh was good in his studies. When I met him the night before, he seemed fine. We were clueless about what was on his mind. He was also not involved in a romantic relationship." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- First-yr VJTI student attempts suicide, critical Sumitra Deb Roy & V Narayan, TNN | Nov 3, 2011, 01.24AM IST Article Comments (5) Read more:Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute|first year student|attempt to suicide 5 MUMBAI: A first-year student of textile chemistry at Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) remains critical at Sion Hospital after attempting suicide on Wednesday. Neither the police nor the friends and family of the 19-year-old know what could have prompted him to take such a drastic step. Hailing from Chandrapur, the teenager had dropped out of a diploma course in mechanical engineering in Nagpur. When he left for Mumbai three months ago, he gave a written assurance to his parents that he would succeed at any cost. On Wednesday morning, he left his maternal uncle's house in Thane, where he had been living since he came to the city. Around 2.15 pm, lecturer Somanth Deshmukhya saw the teen hanging from a pipe on the terrace adjacent to a classroom on the third floor of the college building. Assistant commissioner of police (Matunga division) Dilip Suryavanshi said, "The lecturer immediately called other students and rushed the boy to Sion hospital." He added that the lecturer's swift actions probably saved the boy's life. The teenager's aunt, Shagufta Ali Sayyed, said that she did not see anything unusual in his behaviour. His parents have started from Chandrapur soon after learning about the incident. Assistant dean Dr Rakesh Verma at Sion hospital said that the teenager had been admitted to the Intensive Respiratory Care Unit (IRCU). Director of VJTI, M C Deo ruled out academic pressure as a tentative cause. "The student has joined just three months ago and the exams are also really far away," he said. Deputy commissioner of police (Zone IV) K G Patil said they have not found any suicide note. "We will know only after he comes to," he said.

Student suicides in India 2010, Maharashtra state No.3 in suicides

All data from National Crime records Bureau Despite reforms, 9.6% more students ended lives Shreya Bhandary, TNN | Nov 3, 2011, 02.48AM IST Article Comments (1) Read more:Suicide|NCRB|Education system 1 MUMBAI: Though the education system is being reformed consistently, the effort, it appears, is not alleviating the stress on students. Data recently released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows that 115 students committed suicide in Mumbai in 2010-a 9.6% rise on the previous year. Of these, 65 were girls. According to the NCRB report, student suicides have been increasing continually in India. While in 2006, the figure was 5,857, it rose to 7,379 in 2010. This means that, on an average, about 20 students took their lives every day last year. "It is known that students tend to take stress to another level, particularly during exam period and after the results are out. But the fact that this trend is growing at a rapid rate with every passing year cannot be ignored anymore," said a psychiatrist with a leading city hospital. The high incidence of copycat student suicides in Mumbai last year left the city aghast. "After a student of Sharda Ashram School in Dadar (W) committed suicide last year, many others took the same horrid step. In some cases students weren't even facing any problems in studies. They were anxious to know the outcome of such an act," said psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty. Shetty argued that the internet and other technologies have also created problems since parents are not always familiar with these technologies. "Many times, kids know more than what they need to at their age. This is not good." Taking notice of the high number of student suicides, the education department last year set into motion several measures to ease the pressure on children. "One cannot completely eliminate stress from a child's life because they have to face bigger hardships when they grow up. Therefore, the focus needs to be on reducing stress and helping students handle it well. The government of Maharashtra has taken ample steps to reduce the stress on students," argued educationist Basanti Roy. Roy said that Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE), the best-five policy, and cultural and sports quotas have allowed students to do better in studies. "Schools need to be have more counsellors and counselling sessions for students and parents. Even teachers need to be more accountable for their teaching methods. They have to ensure that no student feels left out. We have to root out the problem," said Roy. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11-year-olds suffer anxiety disorders Sumitra Deb Roy, TNN | Nov 3, 2011, 02.50AM IST Article Comments Read more:BMC-run Sion Hospital|anxiety disorders 0 MUMBAI: Anxiety disorders are as much a reality in children as they are in adults. A recent study conducted by the BMC-run Sion Hospital has revealed that children as young as 11 years could suffer from anxiety disorders for reasons ranging from academics and co-curricular activities to appearance and even separation from parents. The study was conducted on 450 students from Class 5 to Class 10 in a renowned CBSE school, who were both interviewed and clinically examined. The findings showed that 36.7% showed signs of anxiety disorder, which clearly escalated as students climbed grades-those studying in Class 8, 9 and 10 comprised 35.3% of those suffering from the disorder. The statistics indicated that anxiety levels peak in the age group of 13-15 years. Psychiatrists say that anxiety, a sensation the body experiences as a response to real or perceived threat, affects children majorly. "But it remains largely undiagnosed and untreated," said principal investigator Dr Anjali Karira, now working at Rajawadi hospital in Ghatkopar. Dr Karira conducted the study under Dr Nilesh Shah, head of psychiatry at Sion Hospital. In the questionnaire, students were asked whether they suffered from any form of anxiety. A similar questionnaire was given to the parents, asking if they felt their child suffered from anxiety. Only 26 of the 450 students replied in the negative. While as many as 17.8% were found to be suffering from generalised anxiety disorder, 15.8% had social anxiety disorder, 13.3% had panic disorder and 5.6% of children had separation anxiety disorder. Interestingly, only 83 parents reported anxiety in their children-when the children themselves were asked, 276 replied that they thought they suffered from the disorder. Girls outnumbered boys-64.7% suffered from some form of anxiety. Interestingly, Karira found that for girls, appearance was a major trigger for anxiety. "The commonest cause for anxiety across genders was exams. Students also seemed to be anxious before peer activities, and some chose to avoid social gatherings totally," she added. Another significant finding of the study was that around 97.1% with anxiety disorder belonged to nuclear families while 90.9% of children without anxiety disorder came from joint families. According to psychiatrist Harish Shetty, "In joint families, children have several points of contact. That serves as a buffer." At least 15 students were advised to take medical help immediately. Many were counselled even during the course of the study. Generalised anxiety disorder---17.8% Social Anxiety Disorder-- 5.8% Panic Disorder 13.3 % Seperation Anxiety Disorder--5.6% --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Suicides in Mumbai rose by 13% last year Shreya Bhandary, TNN | Nov 3, 2011, 02.48AM IST Article Comments (2) Read more:Suicides|rising expenses|High-pressure lives|changing aspirations 2 MUMBAI: High-pressure lives, changing aspirations, rising expenses are increasingly taking a toll on the city. As many as 1,192 Mumbaikars took their lives last year, which was 13% more than in 2009. The reasons, according to a report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), varied from family problems to illness to lack of jobs and exam-related failure. The Mumbai figures are of a piece with the national trend. More than 1.34 lakh people ended their lives in India last year-a rise of nearly 6% on 2009. Broken down, what this means is that, disturbingly, nearly 15 people committed suicide every hour in some part of the country in 2010, with one in every five suicides being committed by a housewife. The rate of suicides, which is the number of suicides per lakh people, too grew in 2010, as it had been in the four years before that. For the third straight year, Maharashtra figured among the top five states with the highest suicide numbers. According to NCRB, 15,916 people took their lives last year, which was 11.8% of the national tally. Only Tamil Nadu (16,561) and West Bengal (16,037) witnessed more suicides. Psychiatrists warn that the rise in suicides is a worrisome issue that needs to be studied and tackled immediately. "Globalisation is having a major impact on the lifestyles of people both in urban and rural areas," said psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty. Inflation, high aspirations, unequal opportunities are affecting people across economic strata, Shetty explained. "Nobody is impervious to stress and tension nowadays. All this is taking a toll on the human brain." What shocked psychiatrists was the high number of married women ending their lives. They say that earlier single women were more prone to taking the massive step. "Dowry harassment, pressure to bear children, impotency, mental or physical harassment is forcing women in rural areas to give up on life," said Dr Sanjay Kumawat, medical superintendent of Thane Mental Hospital. "In urban regions, difference in aspirations is ruining marriages." Kumawat argued that rising domestic expenses are putting immense pressure on married couples. "Men take to alcohol, but women hide their problems and soon find themselves in a downward spiral. Unable to find a solution, many women commit suicide." Many doctors say that they are frequently visited by married couples seeking counselling. However, very few are able to sustain their relationship. Meanwhile, according to the NCRB report, the number of mass suicides has also increased over the years. Out of the 109 such cases reported in India in 2010, 22 cases were registered in Bihar, followed by 22 in Kerala. Maharashtra witnessed four such cases. "Copycat suicide is a growing trend. People who are unwell easily relate to those who end their lives," explained Shetty. Another troublesome trend that psychiatrists warn of is that the age of first suicidal attempt is lowering. "Even kids in the age group of 9-12 share with me their experiences about the first attempt at ending their lives. This is one very sad and worrisome feature and needs to immediately looked into," Shetty said. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maharshtra State No.3 in Suicides in 2010 Nearly 15 people on an average ended their lives in the country , every hour.. With one in every five suicides being committed by a housewife.. In total over 1.34 lakh people committed suicide in 2010 , a rise of 6 % compared to 2009. In Maharashtra the suicide figures were 15,916, the third highest figures for a state in the country and in Mumbai 1192, the fourth highest among metros. Suicides in Mumbai rose by 13% last year Shreya Bhandary, TNN | Nov 3, 2011, 02.48AM IST Article Comments (2) Read more:Suicides|rising expenses|High-pressure lives|changing aspirations 2 MUMBAI: High-pressure lives, changing aspirations, rising expenses are increasingly taking a toll on the city. As many as 1,192 Mumbaikars took their lives last year, which was 13% more than in 2009. The reasons, according to a report released by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), varied from family problems to illness to lack of jobs and exam-related failure. The Mumbai figures are of a piece with the national trend. More than 1.34 lakh people ended their lives in India last year-a rise of nearly 6% on 2009. Broken down, what this means is that, disturbingly, nearly 15 people committed suicide every hour in some part of the country in 2010, with one in every five suicides being committed by a housewife. The rate of suicides, which is the number of suicides per lakh people, too grew in 2010, as it had been in the four years before that. For the third straight year, Maharashtra figured among the top five states with the highest suicide numbers. According to NCRB, 15,916 people took their lives last year, which was 11.8% of the national tally. Only Tamil Nadu (16,561) and West Bengal (16,037) witnessed more suicides. Psychiatrists warn that the rise in suicides is a worrisome issue that needs to be studied and tackled immediately. "Globalisation is having a major impact on the lifestyles of people both in urban and rural areas," said psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty. Inflation, high aspirations, unequal opportunities are affecting people across economic strata, Shetty explained. "Nobody is impervious to stress and tension nowadays. All this is taking a toll on the human brain." What shocked psychiatrists was the high number of married women ending their lives. They say that earlier single women were more prone to taking the massive step. "Dowry harassment, pressure to bear children, impotency, mental or physical harassment is forcing women in rural areas to give up on life," said Dr Sanjay Kumawat, medical superintendent of Thane Mental Hospital. "In urban regions, difference in aspirations is ruining marriages." Kumawat argued that rising domestic expenses are putting immense pressure on married couples. "Men take to alcohol, but women hide their problems and soon find themselves in a downward spiral. Unable to find a solution, many women commit suicide." Many doctors say that they are frequently visited by married couples seeking counselling. However, very few are able to sustain their relationship. Meanwhile, according to the NCRB report, the number of mass suicides has also increased over the years. Out of the 109 such cases reported in India in 2010, 22 cases were registered in Bihar, followed by 22 in Kerala. Maharashtra witnessed four such cases. "Copycat suicide is a growing trend. People who are unwell easily relate to those who end their lives," explained Shetty. Another troublesome trend that psychiatrists warn of is that the age of first suicidal attempt is lowering. "Even kids in the age group of 9-12 share with me their experiences about the first attempt at ending their lives. This is one very sad and worrisome feature and needs to immediately looked into," Shetty said. Suicides in major cities Mumbai 1051 (2009) and 1192 (2010) rose by 13% Bangalore: 2167 and 1778 down by 18% Chennai 1412 and 1325 down by 6 % Delhi 1215 and 1242 rose by 2.2 % Kolkata 200 and 277 rose by 38% Suicides accross India 2010 1.34 lakh rate of suicides 11.4 per 1 lakh population 2009 1.27 lakh rate of suicides 10.9 2008 1.25 lakh rate of suicides 10.8 2007 1.22 lakh rate of suicides 10.8 2006 1.18 lakh rate of suicides 10.5 States with higher percentage share of suicides in 2009 West Bengal toptal suicides 14,648 11.5% share in overall suicides in the country Andhra Pradesh 14,500 11.4 % share Tamil Nadu 14,434 11.3 % share Maharshtra 14,300 11.2% share Karnataka 12,651 9.4 % share States with higher percentage share of suicides in 2010 West Bengal toptal suicides 16,037 11.9%share in overall suicides in the country Andhra Pradesh 15,901 11.8 % share Tamil Nadu 16,561 12.3 % share Maharshtra 15,916 11.8% share Karnataka 12,195 9.6 % share --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Causes of suicide in 2010 and their percentage share Illness 21.2% Family Problems 23.7 % Other causes 26.1 % Drug Abuse 2.5 % Dowry dispute 2.3 % Poverty 2.3 % Bankruptsy/sudden change in economic status 2.00% Love affairs 3.1% Unknown causes 16.9% ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Suicide victims in India in 2010 by sex and age group upto 14 years --- Male 1640 and female 1490 15-29 years ---Male 26,387 and female 21,238 30-44years --Male 30,444 and female 14,402 45-59 years --Male 20,768 and female 7,121 60 years and above---Male 7,941 and female 3,168 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Students stress,suicide, work stress and youngsters

Minor sets herself on fire after rape bid in Mumbai Published: Thursday, Sep 22, 2011, 3:03 IST By DNA Correspondent | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA A 14-year-old girl set herself on fire on Wednesday after a 57-year-old man molested and tried to rape her in Dahisar. She has suffered 40% burns and is recuperating at the Bhagwati Hospital in Borivli. According to police, the girl tried to kill herself after her mother scolded her for visiting the accused.The accused has been arrested. The police said the accused, Dhanraj Gupta, works as a security guard and resides alone at Rawalpada area in Dahisar (East). His wife and children lives in his native Uttar Pradesh. “The girl is a neighbour of the accused. The girl and her younger brother spent most of the time in Gupta’s house,” said a police official. “Slowly Gupta started taking advantage by touching her private parts,” said the officer. “Last Friday, Gupta took an aphrodisiac pill and when the victim came to his place he started molesting her and later stripped her and tried to rape her,” said the official. But her younger brother saw Gupta with his sister. Then he went home and informed his mother. “Instead of consoling, her mother started scolded her saying why she went to Gupta’ house. The girl then set herself on fire when her mother went out for some work,” said the officer. “The girl’s siblings were playing outside the house and seeing smoke in the house they rushed and found her burning. They informed her mother and neighbours, who doused the fire and saved her. But she sustained 40% burns and is recuperating at the Bhagwati Hospital,” said Additional Commissioner of Police Ramrao Pawar (North Region). “We have arrested Gupta under Section 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC),” Pawar said. Gupta has been remanded in police custody for two days. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 91-year-old doctor hangs self in south Mumbai flat HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times Mumbai, September 27, 2011 Email to Author First Published: 01:12 IST(27/9/2011) Last Updated: 01:13 IST(27/9/2011) Share more... 0 Comments Email print A 91-year-old retired doctor committed suicide at his south Mumbai residence early Monday morning. Pratap Shroff hanged himself in the bedroom of his fifth floor apartment in Zorawar Bhavan at Maharshi Karve Road, CST. He did not leave a suicide note. Police sub-inspector S Pawar from Azad Maidan police station said, “The deceased resided along with his family comprising his wife son and daughter-in-law. The deceased was suffering from high blood pressure and related ailments which, we suspect, may have driven him to suicide.” The police said Shroff’s body was found around 5 am on Monday following which he was rushed to Bombay hospital where he was declared dead before admission. The Azad Maidan police have registered an accidental death report and are conducting further inquiries. “Currently, Shroff’s family members are in a state of shock, hence we have not taken their statements. We will wait for things to settle down and then get some more information. No foul play is suspected,” added an officer from the Azad Maidan police station, requesting anonymity. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Missing med student couldn't cope with studies ? The curious case of two MBBS students going missing from the campus of BYL Nair hospital in a span of nine months could point to the underlying pressure associated with the medical profession and the inability of some students to cope with it. College authorities are wondering if this is another case of a student dropping out due to pressure. 'Students who were average in their school days , but managed to find a seat in a medical college , usually struggle to cope with studies" - Dr Pravin Shingare, Joint Director, JIPMER. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Students go missing to escape exam phobia Nikhila Henry, TNN Sep 8, 2011, 02.42am IST Tags: Vizianagaram| Exam phobia HYDERABAD: Is pressure of private education in the state too much for students to cope with? It seems so as several students go missing from private junior colleges for fear of facing examination and failure associated with competitive skill testing. According to police records collected from various districts in AP, where main branches of many private junior colleges are located, about 12 to 15 students go missing every year only to be sent back to the same college by parents who want them to prepare for competitive examinations. For instance, Edupugallu, located between Vijayawada and Guntur, known as the coaching capital of Andhra region had registered 12 missing cases of junior college students who had run away fearing examinations in 2010. In another case, Vizianagaram, which hosts over 50 junior college coaching centres has recorded about six police cases filed by parents of missing children. Even in Hyderabad the number of missing complaints filed by parents went up to three in the past two years, the most recent case being that of a student from a Vanasthalipuram-based junior college going missing about three weeks ago. Police officials say that the trend has been catching up for the past five years, with the competition for admissions in IITs, IIITs and medical colleges becoming tougher year by year. "Two percent of all the missing cases filed are that of students who run away from junior colleges due to failure to cope with pressure from parents and classmates," said G Srinivas, SP, Vizag, which has many junior colleges and coaching centres. He added that the students usually go missing for just two to three days. However, pressure of studies and exam fever are not the only reasons behind the missing cases. Students who had gone missing from colleges earlier said that they were worried about being harassed continuously for not faring well. "It is the humiliation that I was worried about when I decided to leave the campus. I couldn't stand being insulted in front of my friends for doing badly in examinations," said Sahit Kumar, a student from Hyderabad, who went missing recently from a corporate college in Hyderabad. Junior college officials, however, said that in most cases students who do not like the subject from the very beginning quit the course. Police officials explained that those who run away do so soon after they fail in an examination or two. The students unions helping parents to find their missing children said the police records reflect just about 15 percent of the actual number of missing cases. "Most parents get worried that they children might not get an admission when they get back and hence refuse to register a police complaint. Most cases that reach police are also later settled between the management and parents," said G Eswaraiah, state president of All India Students' Federation (AISF) who helped book a missing case in Vanastalipuram police station ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Why do teens turn to suicide? Superstar scientist tries to find out anne mcilroy OTTAWA— From Tuesday's Globe and Mail Published Monday, Sep. 26, 2011 8:15PM EDT Last updated Tuesday, Sep. 27, 2011 10:46PM EDT 105 comments Email Tweet Print/License Decrease text size Increase text size This is part three of the The Globe and Mail's special series confronting an agonizing enigma of teen suicide - the second leading killer of teens in Canada. Read part one here, part two here and part four here. She was a brilliant student from a poor family. Neighbours in her village raised the money to send her to a prestigious university in Beijing, but the 19-year-old struggled with her courses and became depressed, then tried to kill herself. A month after her second suicide attempt, she met a scientist who had been invited from Canada because he suspects what makes the brains of people like her different. If he is right, it may be possible to identify young people most at risk and develop drugs or therapies to save their lives. As one of the first volunteers examined by researcher Georg Northoff, the young woman had a brief introductory interview, then her brain was scanned as she was asked a series of simple questions: Where would she be in a year? What might make her happy then, or sad? She thought hard, but in the end, just didn’t know what to say – and Dr. Northoff wasn’t surprised. Her inability to see herself in the future fit with his theory that there is a biological explanation for why people lose hope. At 48, Dr. Northoff is a scientific superstar with a remarkable skill set. Recruited from his native Germany by the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre and the University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, he is, as well as a medical researcher, a psychiatrist and a philosopher. He was lured to Canada two years ago with more than $1-million in grants plus a prestigious research chair. A year into his new position, a rash of teen suicides in Ottawa and its surroundings prompted an outpouring of concern and a desire to take action that spurred him to intensify his efforts to understand the hopeless brain and to find new ways to identify and treat young people at high risk of taking their own lives. Having already started in China, he is now putting together a parallel study, expected to begin next year in Montreal or Toronto. His visits to Beijing are at the request of the Chinese government, which has come to see suicide as a serious public-health issue. The country has one of the world’s highest suicide rates, but only 15,000 psychiatrists to serve a population of 1.3 billion. One survey found that fully 20 per cent of 140,000 high-school students who were interviewed said they had considered suicide. Sitting in his Ottawa office, Dr. Northoff uses quick sketches and graphs on scrap paper to map out why he wasn’t surprised the young woman couldn’t see herself in the future. As a psychiatrist, he treated many patients who seemed stuck in time, and research led him to a radical theory: that this is due to dysfunction in part of a key network in the brain. Called the default mode or resting state network, it includes components in the cleft between the brain’s two hemispheres that fire up when a person is lost in thought, doing nothing in particular. Neuroscientists aren’t sure what, exactly, the network does, but there is strong evidence that it plays a role in people’s sense of who they are and their relationship to their bodies and environment. Dr. Northoff says that because it also provides a continuum of time into which new experiences are integrated, he suspects it’s central to envisioning the future. There is growing evidence that abnormalities in this network are related to many types of mental illness. Dr. Northoff found that, in patients with depression, one part of the network behind the forehead is hyperactive, with far higher levels of activity than is normal. This is especially pronounced in those totally caught up in themselves, he says. A healthy brain stops resting as soon as it is stimulated, but in those of depressed people, “when the stimulus comes, it has no effect at all,” Dr. Northoff says. “That is why they feel so detached.” His research (the Canadian study is still before an ethics-review board) will also explore the neurochemistry of hopelessness. He suspects the balance between gaba and glutamate, two chemicals in that part of the brain, may be the key to the hyperactivity in the network behind the forehead. He says that “it is like in diabetes, when the balance between glucose and insulin doesn’t work any more.” So drugs may be able to restore the balance, just as new approaches to psychotherapy could help those with “time continuum” problems learn to look ahead. “The healthy person always takes the future for granted,” Dr. Northoff says, but those who are suicidal can’t see the end of the tunnel. “They just see a dark hole, that’s what many patients describe.” For example, the brilliant 19-year-old who tried to kill herself after her marks began to fall considered a year in the future “an eternity for her that she couldn’t imagine,” Dr. Northoff says. But shorten the time frame to a month and she seemed much more aware of what might be in store. “It was mainly … ‘How do I face my parents?’ ” he adds. “It was all about that – and the shame.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Teen suicide: ‘We’re not going to sit in silence’ erin anderssen Globe and Mail Update Published Saturday, Sep. 24, 2011 6:00AM EDT Last updated Tuesday, Sep. 27, 2011 10:46PM EDT 191 comments Email Print/License Decrease text size Increase text size Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers in Canada, and the start of school is a particularly high-risk time for vulnerable youth. This week, The Globe and Mail presents a special series confronting an agonizing enigma. Amid their pain, victims’ families are defying stigma and bringing the issue to light as never before. Read part two here and part three here and part four here. More related to this story Do we need a national strategy against teen suicide? Teen suicide: Warning signs, resources and help for concerned parents LIVE DISCUSSION Suicide and Canada's youth: Your questions and commentary Seventeen year old Rachel Alexander, who has been diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety disorder poses for a photo in her bedroom at home in Bell's Corner near Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Video Suicide: A survivor’s story RESOURCES Youth suicide in Canada: Prevention strategies by province A year ago today, Gary and Mindy Nelson went to work, believing that their 16-year-old son, Ben, was going to catch the school bus. Four months earlier, the family had moved to the country from Ottawa, hoping to draw Ben away from his “dark thoughts,” as he called them. Unlike his older sister, Ben wasn’t a Starbucks kid; perhaps he would be happier in open spaces where he could ride his motorcycle on the dirt roads, see the stars at night and start fresh in a new school. So they moved into a rambling farmhouse in Ashton, bought a flock of chickens and took solace on the rare days when they heard Ben whistling or saw him with his new cat, Gray, draped like a stole around his neck. They thought it was the right choice then. Now, they don’t know, and never will. On the morning of Sept. 24, 2010, Ben circled back to the house, went out to a shed beside the house and took his own life with his great-grandfather’s antique gun. He didn’t leave a note. “I always think of him making that walk. What was he thinking?” Mindy says, her voice straining. “I can’t conceive of it.” In Ottawa and the surrounding rural area, a shocking number of families are still trying to understand why their children made similarly terrible choices and what they could have done to prevent it. In June last year, six young people died at their own hands in small towns southwest of the capital – stoic, old-fashioned places where most parents still worry far more about kids driving home in the dark from bush parties than about problems like depression or anxiety. At least two more suicides followed last September. The victims were mostly young men, some in their early 20s, current and former students. None of them knew each other, at least not well. This seemingly random scattering of loss points to the complexity of suicide, which is not confined to a “type” or any particular circumstances. By the time the suicide of 14-year-old Daron Richardson, the daughter of Ottawa Senators assistant coach Luke Richardson, made headlines in November, communities were scrambling to prevent more deaths, without really knowing how. Teenage suicide remains a maddening enigma. Though rates in Canada have declined since the early 1980s, it is still the second-leading cause of death among teenagers, after car accidents. Numbers are small; in 2007, the most recent year with available data, there were 218 suicides of people between 10 and 19. But the idea that even the smallest percentage of teens could feel so hopeless and bereft makes families fear what their own children may be concealing, holed up in their bedrooms with Facebook. The start and end of school years may be particularly vulnerable times for at-risk youth, some studies say. Just this week, in Mississauga, a 16-year-old boy killed his best friend, in an apparent act of unrequited love, and then jumped off an overpass. Last weekend, in Buffalo, N.Y., 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer killed himself after years of bullying; months earlier, he had posted a video to the It Gets Better anti-bullying (and anti-suicide) website, describing the taunts he had faced. He urged listeners, “Just love yourself, and you’re set.” He was found dead outside his home on Sunday morning. And then there is the story of 17-year-old Jesse Graham, who happily posed in Ray-Bans and black tie for his Grade 12 prom in Balderson, near Perth, Ont., then decided, days later, to hang himself in the dark. According to University of Ottawa psychologist Darcy Santor, at least 91 per cent of suicide victims are suffering from some form of mental illness at the time of their deaths, though it may not have been diagnosed. The danger rises exponentially the more risk factors are present: depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse, bullying, social isolation, learning disabilities and often, at the root, shame. But even more so than adults, adolescents with mental illness face long waiting lists, a shortage of psychiatric beds and are often misdiagnosed. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After all, what teenager doesn’t slam doors and keep secrets, sleep too much or too little, fail tests, and suffer meanness or heartbreak? Large numbers of high-school students also say in surveys that they ruminate, however fleetingly, about suicide. So what makes the few who do take their own lives so different, and how might they be found, and saved? If society could figure this out, the benefits would be vast, for every teenager who has teetered on the edge and the families they would leave behind. As a vital starting point, some survivors are coming out and talking about it – Daron Richardson’s father and her mother, Stephanie, went public immediately after her death. They and several other families also willingly shared their experiences and reflections with The Globe and Mail. In the face of the stigma that has surrounded suicide from the days when it was classed as a criminal offence, families are beginning to defy the long-held fear that simply saying the word will cause more deaths to occur, like a cough spreading a cold. In Carleton Place, Ont., this month, a fundraising run was held in the name of a teenage suicide victim named Brett Pearson, who died in 2006, and a band played in a field outside the high school afterward so people could linger – an event hard to imagine even five years ago. “We’re not going to sit in silence,” said Jesse Graham’s mom, Shelly, who joined the run. “That’s why kids are dying.” Out of the blue? “When the music’s over, turn off the lights,” 17-year-old Jesse wrote in the early morning of June 18, 2010, quoting Jim Morrison in the note he left for his parents to find in his bedroom. “They say that high school is the best time of your life,” he continued. “Well, high school is over. My music is done. … I’ve lived my life to the fullest.” The next morning, his father, Jeff, noticed the lights on in the basement where Jesse slept, and found his son hanging from a beam in the ceiling. The family was stunned. They knew Jesse had been going through some issues the past year, switching friends, drinking more heavily and doing drugs. His grades were sliding. In a family of six kids, the Grahams had already raised three other teenagers, creating the kind of home where kids’ friends turn up randomly at dinner time. They assumed Jesse was testing boundaries, lectured him on grades and gave him some space. Earlier that spring, he had suggested to his mom that he might have attention deficit disorder; their doctor prescribed him a drug similar to Ritalin, which seemed to help with his concentration. But as for real warning signs? According to his parents and his older sister, Kelsie, there weren’t any. Jesse was by all accounts funny and smart, a drama-club kid with a protective circle of long-term friends. He had been bugging his dad for the truck so that he could take a girl on a date that Sunday. He spent his last night with an old friend from his church youth group, Derek. On the way home, they bought six discount movies at a video store. The two of them went down to the basement; after Derek left around midnight, declining an offer to stay over, Jesse stayed up, drinking and texting, alone. Along with individual mental illness, suicides also do reflect social and cultural conditions. Patrice Corriveau, a researcher at the University of Ottawa, has been analyzing and cataloguing every suicide note left by a self-inflicted death in Quebec going back more than 100 years – a project uniquely possible in the province because a coroner’s inquest is mandated for every suicide. He has found, for example, that in the late 1800s, long before “teenagers” were a recognized social category, the young people most likely to die from suicide were unwed girls who found themselves pregnant. In the 1930s, it was young men from Europe who had failed to find their fortune in the new land, or young husbands who had lost their fortunes and killed themselves out of shame. 191 comments Email Print/License Decrease text size Increase text size Teenage suicide is a phenomenon of more recent and, paradoxically, more prosperous decades, coinciding with the invention of teen culture (and its inherent peer pressures), higher divorce rates and declines in religion, though researchers are careful not to blame any one cause. The rate among teenage boys is twice as high as girls, but that’s largely because boys use more lethal means – girls actually attempt suicide more often. Global suicide statistics are difficult to compare, but Canada falls in the middle of the pack – well below Finland or New Zealand, yet higher than Britain or Brazil. Suicide rates are generally higher in wealthier countries, where, researchers theorize, a failure to measure up in the midst of relative success is more devastating to the human psyche than being poor among the equally poor. Shockingly, Canada’s youth-suicide rate per capita is nearly triple that in the United States, although our youth homicide rates are much lower – facts partly explained by the high suicide rates in Canadian native communities, particularly in the North, and, respectively, the high rates of handgun violence in American inner cities. Much of what we understand about suicide is the result of hindsight, finding what was missed only afterward, when it is too late to prevent it. These “psychological autopsies” have got us closer to understanding the population-wide risks, but not much better at identifying individuals. In about one-quarter of the cases, the families report no signs of trouble until a psychologist goes digging, says Antoon Leenaars, a leading expert on suicide and past president of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. “I spend a lot of time with families who say, ‘We never saw anything.’ But people simply are not taught what to look for.” A psychological autopsy of Jesse Graham, for instance, reveals a picture of a boy in trouble. After a local paper ran a photograph of Jesse’s suicide note, a leading expert in dyslexia contacted the Grahams to say she believed Jesse had suffered from the reading disability, which would have compounded his frustration at school, adding another possible ingredient to his stress. (Jesse’s 13-year-old brother, Jarred, has since shown signs of the same disability.) Looking back, it seems likely that what his parent saw as teenage angst was a deeper form of depression and anxiety. One close friend, Krystal, who was in Jesse’s grade and lived with the Grahams for months after he died, says he often kicked himself for drinking and doing drugs, and worried he didn’t have time to turn around his grades. “He thought he couldn’t get back up, couldn’t fix things.” Since his death, other friends have spilled a darker secret – that he had mentioned suicide on several occasions up to a year before he died, which not surprisingly is one of the strongest predictors. But as Krystal explains, “People my age don’t go to adults to talk about things.” Another friend, Kevin, who was worried about Jesse’s drug use, says, “How can you betray a friend’s trust like that? But at the same time, when does the trust get null and void by the seriousness of the situation?” Put all the pieces together, and the “typical teenager” portrait dissolves – Jesse’s apparent cheerfulness starts to look forced and his rebellion becomes self-medication. The afternoon before he died, he attended the wake of an 18-year-old who had died by suicide the week before, someone he hardly knew, who had been a grade ahead of him at school. Krystal passed Jesse on the steps, and thought it odd that he was there: “He looked so sad.” But the place was packed with students and not all of them had been close to the victim either. The research on what’s called contagion – the idea that one suicide can be a form of “permission giving” to others – is ambiguous, and certainly too broad to pinpoint individuals at risk. Grieving friends experience first-hand the devastation that suicide causes, which is believed to be a deterrent. However, people who are susceptible to contagion may identify with the suicide victim from a distance – and teenagers, more likely to be influenced within a peer group, would be particularly vulnerable. Even if Jesse’s decision to attend the wake had alarmed his family, though, his behaviour afterward would have reassured them. His co-workers at McDonald’s said he seemed down, in hindsight, but he had made weekend plans – to spend time with Derek, to watch those movies, to go on that Sunday date. That’s part of why his sister Kelsie believes that his suicide was a rash decision, made after a few drinks, without considering the consequences. “My brother did something really stupid,” she says. “He didn’t think it through.” Indeed, while mental illness sets a teenager on the track for suicide, the act itself is often highly impulsive. In 2001, researchers in Houston interviewed 153 young people 15 to 24 years old who had survived a serious suicide attempt. They were asked to estimate the amount of time between when they had decided they wanted to die and when they actually attempted it. In 70 per cent of the cases, the time was less than an hour. In 25 per cent, it was barely five minutes. For Jesse, it’s impossible to know. But perhaps he hoped someone would stop him. That night, he posted a “goodbye” message on Facebook for anyone to read. And not long after Derek arrived home, he received a strange text: “Will you be my pola bearer?” Only later would he realize that Jesse had misspelled “pallbearer.” Asleep, Derek missed a second message, found on his phone when the police knocked on his door the next morning: “You’ve always been a good great friend. Goodbye.” Nowhere to turn Not knowing is one thing. But what happens when you suspect a problem but can’t get help? Another one of the June, 2010, wave of suicide victims was 16-year-old Kyle Leron-McCready, who jumped off an overpass not far from his grandmother’s house in Orleans, a suburb east of Ottawa. He didn’t leave a note, but the trigger for his family is no mystery: That morning, a teacher had called his house and told his grandmother, Althea House, that he had failed two exams. Ms. House passed the message on to Kyle, a decision she now regrets. She was on the phone looking for him when the police arrived. Kyle’s family had known something wasn’t right: His grades were slipping, he never brought any friends home and he slept all the time. When he played on his hockey team, he sat by himself and left immediately after every game, never wanting to socialize. Kyle’s mother, Samantha, was living in Toronto at the time. When he lived there, Kyle had started refusing to go to school or get out of bed. “At first it was frustrating,” she says, ”then frightening.” She sought help from mental-health services, but finally decided to let him move back to the capital, where his grandmother and father lived. In Ottawa, Ms. House says she raised concerns with the school and with her family doctor, but nobody wanted to call it depression. Her suggestion that he might need medication – often a controversial course for adolescents – was rebuffed. “You can’t blame it on anyone,” Kyle’s grandmother says. “But the people who should know don’t have the knowledge.” Even she, a public-health nurse, wasn’t thinking about suicide. “I was worried about him losing another semester of school.” When she was finally able to get him into see the school psychologist a few weeks before he died, she was told that “there were no immediate concerns.” But maybe, she says, no one was listening closely enough, seeing Kyle simply as a behaviour problem, an indifferent student who would put on his earphones during class. In the white noise of his bad attitude and lacklustre school record, was something missed? As she learned from her days in palliative care, Ms. House says, “pain is what the patient says it is, not what I think it should be.” But she adds, carefully, “Nobody did anything malicious. People just didn’t know.” The Nelsons, on the other hand, already had known they had demons to chase: Ben had tried to commit suicide before, in January, 2010, skipping school and chugging cough syrup by the train tracks near their west-side Ottawa neighbourhood; he had thrown up after the first bottle, and later confessed what he had done to his parents. They found him a psychiatrist, who put him on an antidepressant. They relaxed on school, especially the math that gave him so much trouble. Even when they found pot in his room, they let it slide. “You feel like you are walking on eggshells all the time,” says Mindy. At the farm he appeared to be getting better, and when school began he found new friends. But at home he didn’t talk much about his feelings. “You didn’t get a lot of echo from him most of the time,” Gary says. You had the feeling, he says, that Ben “had bricks piled on top of him.” His parent felt helpless, trying to buoy him up with shawarma dinners and movie nights at home, and not to leave him alone for very long. They hesitated about sharing the full story with his new school (although they did give some details) – they didn’t want to violate Ben’s confidence, and weren’t sure how the information would be handled. “I feel we were working in the dark, stumbling around,” Mindy says. In a journal started after Ben’s death, Gary calculated the number of days he had with his only son: 6,007. Not nearly enough. Rebuilding and reaching out “I forgive you that you didn’t tell me you were in such pain,” Shelly Graham wrote recently in a letter to her lost son. “Please forgive me for not hearing.” And yet, it seems, more and more people are listening. In Lanark County, committees have been struck to try to build a plan for prevention and intervention. With every family that comes forward, another one is inspired to do the same. Across the country, Facebook memorial pages remain alive with birthday wishes and memories, months and years later, suggesting a fledgling vehicle for a real discussion. What’s more, the families are reaching out to their children’s peers – on Kyle Leron-McCready’s birthday, his mother went to Ottawa and invited a few of his friends; they spent hours talking in his bedroom, where his last load of laundry still sits unfolded on the floor, and his hockey trophies stand on the shelves. Going even further, after opening the Grahams’ home to Jesse’s heartbroken friends, Shelly is taking a course so that she can run a program on grief for youth. “I had no idea, the hopelessness that’s out there,” she says. “And kids telling me they had suicidal thoughts. They don’t know how to deal with loss and disappointment.” Finally, today at the Nelsons’ place in Ashton, on the anniversary of their son’s death, they are hosting a party, inviting Ben’s friends out to the farm. Maybe they will share some of his secrets, or a few of their own. “I hope they tell me something I didn’t know about Ben,” Mindy confesses. “I want to know him better.” ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Work stress forcing youngsters to call in sick more than the aged PTI | Sep 27, 2011, 01.56AM IST LONDON: The fast-paced modern workplace seems to be taking its toll on younger employees, as they are twice as likely to miss work because of illness as their older colleagues, according to a new survey. more Times of India ( 9/26/2011 12:33:29 PM -08:00 ) How sick do you have to be to stay home from work? How sick do you have to be to stay home from work? By Community Team A survey of British workers has found that workers under the age of 30 are twice as likely as those 55 and older to call in sick when they are suffering from a cold, flu, allergies or stress. Those under 30 are also more likely to more CBC.ca ( 9/26/2011 9:43:23 AM -08:00 ) Are young people more likely to call in sick? Are young people more likely to call in sick? What does it take for you to call in sick to work? Photograph: Stock4B GmbH/Alamy Young workers have different attitudes towards missing a day's work through illness to their older colleagues, according to a new survey. Eighty-five per cent of over-55s more The Guardian ( 9/26/2011 4:31:10 AM -08:00 ) Younger workers twice as likely to call in sick LONDON: The fast-paced modern workplace seems to be taking its toll on younger employees, as they are twice as likely to miss work because of illness as their older colleagues, according to a new survey. A poll of 3000 adults in the UK found that more more Economic Times ( 9/26/2011 3:36:54 AM -08:00 ) Younger people twice as likely to call in sick Younger people twice as likely to call in sick Younger people are twice as likely to miss work through illness as their older colleagues, according to a new survey. By Nick Collins, Science Correspondent Under-30s are more likely to stay at home while suffering from colds and flu, allergies and more Telegraph.co.uk ( 9/25/2011 9:44:03 PM -08:00 ) Younger workers twice as stressed as their parents, survey shows YOUNG PEOPLE ARE far more likely to experience work-related stress than their parents' generation, according to a new survey. Some 55 per cent of employed people under 30 said work pressure was a significant stress factor, compared to 24 per cent of more thejournal.ie ( 9/26/2011 10:20:56 PM -08:00 ) Stressed under-30s 'more likely to take sick days' Stressed under-30s Today's fast-paced working environment is taking its toll on the younger generation, says a new UK survey of 3000 people. The study by probiotic company Multibionta found that in the past year, 72 per cent of under-30s surveyed said they took at least more MSN NZ News ( 9/26/2011 8:05:03 PM -08:00 ) Poll shows workers under 30 more likely to call in sick than older employees The new generation of people heading into the workforce are more likely to take a sick day with a cold, compared to the older generation. A new poll conducted in the United Kingdom found that, in the past year, 72 per cent of workers under 30 years of more 680 News ( 9/26/2011 1:59:31 PM -08:00 ) Younger people more likely to call in sick London, Engand, United Kingdom (AHN) – It appears today's fast-paced, work hard, play harder lifestyle is taking its toll on the younger generation. Workers under 30 are twice as likely to stay at home when they are suffering from a cold, flu, more Gant Daily ( 9/26/2011 8:27:00 AM -08:00 ) Under 30s Twice As Likely To Call In Sick Workers under 30 are more likely to stay at home with a cold or flu than the over-55s, a survey has revealed. The poll of 3000 people found that less than half of those over 55 had taken a day off for a cold in the last year compared to more than two more Huffington Post UK ( 9/26/2011 4:22:54 AM -08:00 ) Calling in sick? You must be under 30 Calling in sick? You must be under 30 Workers under 30 are more likely to phone in sick than their older colleagues, with one in five saying that a hangover is a reason to stay at home, a new study reveals. The younger generation appears to allow itself time off work for stress, more TNT Magazine ( 9/26/2011 12:49:42 AM -08:00 ) Lazy or more health conscious? Under 30s 'twice as likely to call in sick with Lazy or more health conscious? Under 30s Workers under 30 are twice as likely to take time off if they have a cold than the older generation, according to a survey. A poll of 3000 adults found the fast-paced modern workplace is taking its toll on younger workers. more Daily Mail ( 9/26/2011 12:18:19 AM -08:00 ) Under-30s twice as likely to miss work due to illness than over-55s A new survey has found that younger people are twice as likely to miss work through illness as their older colleagues. According to the figures, under-30s are more likely to stay at home while suffering from colds and flu, allergies and intolerances more BioScholar News ( 9/26/2011 10:30:47 AM -08:00 ) Younger people more likely to call in sick It appears today's fast-paced, work hard, play harder lifestyle is taking its toll on the younger generation. Workers under 30 are twice as likely to stay at home when they are suffering from a cold, flu, allergies or stress than those 55 and older, more AHN | All Headline News ( 9/26/2011 8:29:51 AM -08:00 ) Lazy or more health conscious? Under 30s 'twice as likely to call in sick with The fast-paced modern workplace is taking its toll on younger workers, a survey has revealed - but the older generation are just getting on with their jobs. A poll of 3000 adults found more than two thirds of under-30s took at least one more

IIT suicides, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MENTAL HEALTH Panel to UNDERTAKE A STUDY

Panel to study suicides at IITs TNN Sep 26, 2011, 12.46am IST Tags: Suicides in IITs| National Institute of Mental Health MUMBAI: The central government has set up a task force to study stress levels among students on Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) campuses and find out what pushes them to suicide. When it met recently, the IIT council, which is the highest decision making body of the institute, concurred that the committee must be headed by a senior doctor, like the director of the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (Nimhans). "The task force would analyse the issue threadbare, study the present situation in the IITs, review the support systems available, and suggest measures which can be undertaken to address the situation," an official from the Human Resource and Development (HRD) Ministry said. The task force will include students, alumni, deans, parents and teachers. The need for such a body was being felt increasingly as the steps taken to address the problem so far, including measures to de-stress students, did not prove sufficient to check the number of suicides, the official said. Studies have suggested that most students took such extreme measure either due to stress-related disorders or depression. Then, there were some who could not cope with the rising academic expectations. In recent years, cases of suicides have been reported from several IIT campuses - the latest one being from IIT Patna on September 1. where a 20-year-old girl from Andhra Pradesh allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the roof of her hostel as she was depressed with her performance in the elite institute. IIT-Bombay had recorded its last suicide in 2009. The last such case at IIT-Bombay was in 2009. Institute /Year ---------- Number of cases IIT-Kanpur 2008 --------- 2 2009 -------- 1 2010 -------- 1 IIT-Kharagpur 2009 ---- 2 2011 ---- 1 IIT-Madras 2008 ----- 3 2010 ----- 1 2011 ----- 2 IIT-Bombay 2009 ----- 1 IIT-Delhi 2011 ---- 1 Ads by Google Lodha Supremus, Worli

Suicides in IIT's article on PaGaLGuY.com by Pooja Das

The IITs will have a panel for addressing student suicide on its campuses. How do Indian b-schools fare in providing help to their students? by Pooja Das Sarkar on 26 September 2011 in IIM Bangalore, ISB Hyderabad, Malini Murmu, Student suicide, XLRI Jamshedpur 13 comments

(Photo credit: Jim Ryan) Earlier this year, Radha Sharma got an unexpected visit from an ex-student and his family. The student had taken her course on emotional intelligence at Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon. While still a student, he had sought her advice when he was upset over his father’s death. “A student came with his daughter and his wife to meet me a few months back. He said ‘Do you remember, I was very upset? I was keen that my family meets you and knows how I got over my sadness’,” recalls ,student depressionSharma. In this case, the student found correct guidance close at hand, but cases where personal distress leads to suicides in highly competitive places like engineering colleges and b-schools are not unheard of. The issues faced by the students can range from the personal to the professional, including peer pressure and living up to parental expectations of placement after the course. It’s not a surprise then, that today’s news reported that under the directive of the HRD ministry, a panel has been set-up at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) to study stress levels among students at its campuses. The panel will also try to understand the support systems at place to prevent student suicide. This follows closely on the heels of the suicides of Pankaj Chowdhury of IIT, Kharagpur in July and Malini Murmu of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore last week. Both were found hanging from a ceiling fan in their respective hostel rooms. Do the b-schools in India also have a way to deal with student depression? In December 2010, a student of the Indian School of Business (ISB), Lakshminarayan Iyer (31), was found dead in his hostel room a few days after he consuming poison-laced alcohol. He left a ‘do not disturb’ board on his door, so the housekeeping did not enter the room for a couple of days. Post the incident, no student can put up the ‘do not disturb’ board for more than 24 hours, as the room would be opened with a master-key if such a situation arises. But are there any systems in place for students to seek help? Dishan Kamdar, senior associate dean, academic programmes at ISB, said that “We have two counsellors on ISB’s payroll who usually come twice a week on rotation or according to student requirements.” Although Xaviers Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur, does not have a formal structure of counsellors coming to the campus every week, informal methods of letting students vent their concerns do exist. “The XLRI culture by itself is very different from other institutes,” said Prof P Ray, dean of academics. “The informality of relationships between students and teachers automatically facilitates students to gravitate towards the teachers to discuss their personal and academic problems. The teachers are also easily accessible as they are living on the campus.” According to Prof Ray, the fact that Jamshedpur is a small town also assists in strengthening the bonds that are built. “In jamshedpur there aren’t enough opportunities to go out, so the students spend more time amongst friends on campus and the community feeling helps them share their troubles with each other,” he added. One reason why counsellors are the second choice of students is also because of the stigma attached to consulting a counsellor. For example, in Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), the anonimity of the student seeking counselling is maintained. “We have a two-tier system of counselling. One is called the mitra (friend) concept, where a student is trained to do the first-level counselling and the second is the regular counselling service provided by the group Vishwas,” said Bringi Dev, adjunct professor and head of communications at IIM-B. “Anonimity is an issue, so we have certain rooms assigned which are away from the main hostels.” On being asked if Malini Murmu’s suicide on the campus has brought any change in the ways of dealing with student depression and preventing suicide, Dev said, “It is too early to comment on that.” The Mumbai-based NGO Aasra has telephone helplines that assist in suicide prevention. Upto 56% of the calls they receive in a day are from students contemplating suicide. Although most of these calls are from school students appearing for board exams, this also includes students from colleges and professional institutes. The most common issues faced by student callers include inability to communicate, relationships and education. Helplines like Aasra are available in different cities all over the country. Johnson Thomas, the director of Aasra says that for a suicide, anything like a break-up or bad grades can be a trigger. “The problem with basic education is that students are not groomed in a manner to provide them with life skills for coping with relationship or anger issues that they already have,” he said. “So while students are already riddled with issues that they have been repressing, the competition and pressure levels of a b-school act as a trigger to accentuate these issues.” Aasra conducts workshops with schools, colleges and other professional institutes like the b-school SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, to help students learn the essential life skills and coping mechanisms that are missing. A workshop on social skills covers six topics in all: Coping skills and relaxation techniques; anger management and identifying negative emotions and behaviour; conflict resolution; more advanced modes of relaxation; self-talk and role-plays that lead to calming oneself down; and finally leisure skills that give meaning outside of one’s work. Mumbai-based b-school, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research has other systems in place. “We have faculty mentors we attach to a group of 5-6 students for a span of two years,” said the director Satish Ailawadi. “There are students from small towns who are mentored by senior students. In fact, after the orientation, the senior students take all the junior students out in the city for a day.” This process helps the students form the bonds required to adjust in the new place and a city. The faculty taking the position of a counsellor or mentor might not always be effective though. At Xaviers Institute of Management, Bhubaneshwar (XIMB), students can express and introspect in the mandatory emotional intelligence course conducted by the director of the institute, Fr PT Joseph. “The students are divided in groups of seven for the course and they discuss their insecurities and fears within the group,” said Sakshi Swaroop, a second year PGDM student. “If there is a bigger problem, they can approach Fr Joseph, who gives them personal attention.” There is also an Art of Living course on campus that some students find helpful. But is there anything else the students want? “I feel there should be proper counsellors or some kind of meditation, healing or yoga classes on a regular basis. Everyone might not feel comfortable going to the faculty because the course faculty is also our director,” Swaroop replied. In spite of all these mechanisms in b-schools, does any of this help in curbing student suicide? Dishan Kamdar thinks that despite these systems, ultimately an individual’s decision is based on many outside factors. “Suicides are very personal in nature and it might just so happen that it takes place when the person is pursuing education. In a lot of the cases, the reason is external,” he said. “But the only way to prevent suicide is to create a stronger bond in a peer group and speak to a mentor or a counsellor on campus. Hearing out the person would help them come out of the downward spiral of loneliness that they feel.” The following 42 users Say Thank You for this Useful Post: kartick.m (26-09-2011) , subhakimi (26-09-2011) , Unruffled (26-09-2011) , Angadbir (26-09-2011) , manika1988 (26-09-2011) , vikas_mba_iim (26-09-2011) , Abhishek MDI (26-09-2011) , tamal220187 (26-09-2011) , anshul_mechie (26-09-2011) , cooltsr (26-09-2011) , jai_praqas (26-09-2011) , pom (26-09-2011) , jpriya_jce (26-09-2011) , rationalnuts (26-09-2011) , missionmba11 (26-09-2011) , gudda1122 (26-09-2011) , Crackpots (26-09-2011) , Versuvio (26-09-2011) , the_hate (26-09-2011) , srikvarmap (26-09-2011) , great_timer (26-09-2011) , [Show all...] The following 1 user Says NO Thank You for this Un-useful Post: Skrillex (26-09-2011) « Previous Comments (13) Leave a Reply M Kartick #1 September 26, 2011, 8:00 pm 24X7 availability of such counsellors is a must in many of the premier institutes of india…. chilledmba #2 September 26, 2011, 9:20 pm Good article keep it up. aprofessor #3 September 26, 2011, 9:23 pm life is more precious than thee grades and cozy jobs… people need to get a life now a days running after ………… sanchit srivastava #4 September 26, 2011, 9:31 pm 1 advice- ragging band kar do 70% suicide ruk jaayenge CR7 #5 September 26, 2011, 9:52 pm sanchit srivastava: Ragging is bad. But its certainly not the cause for most of the suicides on IIT campus. I don’t have knowledge about other colleges in India. Versuvio #6 September 26, 2011, 10:08 pm @CR7 Its not? maybe its not but its the reason in most of the cases… and i agree with sanchit srivastava. Chetan Agrawal #7 September 26, 2011, 11:58 pm B school is all about managers, and manager is all about managing everything properlly. If one can’t manage his own stress then how he will be able to perform in competative corporate world. aditya321 #8 September 27, 2011, 12:01 am @CR7 I feel in IIT’s it has nothing to do with stress level. Some students have unrealistic expectations from life. khanjan #9 September 27, 2011, 12:13 am Here at Tapmi, I have seen some students with 4-5 years of experience getting into depression cause of peer pressure or other personal issues. Here we have mentors but I feel apart from those mentors, we have some faculties who are always ready to help students. Many experienced students goes to such faculties and try to resolve the issue. I feel even a informal counselor would do a good job. Vinod Gandhi #10 September 27, 2011, 12:42 am Even after having professional Psychologist and counselor in campus, I have seen that this is one of the area where b-schools need to do the ground work. Atleast making a smooth discussion process with recognized mentor can work too , i believe provided FACULTY is interested enough to counsel, which could also be a rare case… PS : Just my views CR7 #11 September 27, 2011, 1:08 am @aditya321: Absolutely, unrealistic expectation and fear of ‘what society will think about me’ is the prime cause followed by other personal reasons. Role of friends is very important in such situations, a person may not approach professional counselors in such cases. Nothing should be taken for granted in life. Tough times dont last forever. kribanidhi #12 September 27, 2011, 11:11 am Strong peerbond is truly the most essential thing to fight depression. I support CR7 that, major part of the worries is due to the imaginary concerns emerging due to the negative assumptions on which one places himself and wrong connotation of other people’s perspective. Some words of Great Men: 1.I have lived through my life with lots of worries, which I actually did not experience. So break your negative assumptions. 2.Everyone has his own worries. If at all one thinks about you, one would be thinking what you would about him. So its all a matrix of illusion, which is virtual and never really existed. Think positive. Think big. The world is yours. All the best to all, in whatever they pursue. Have a great day. :-) kribanidhi #13 September 27, 2011, 11:13 am Correction in 2nd point of the comment above: If at all one thinks about you, one would be thinking what you would think about him…………..

suicides among the very young- a few facts

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Suffering is a product of limited knowledge

Student Suicides in India - Key Facts

We have been collating information from various media outlets and research papers on Student Suicides in India. The following are relevant excerpts from various media reports which put forth a stark reality in front of us...

a. This is not a periodic phenomenon, as some suggest
(indicated by a slump in media reportage as well)

b. the numbers are very disturbing and demand concrete solutions in terms of the way we perceive and practice learning and education in India

c. no current and/or concrete data is available on this issue!!

Please feel free to add to the below stats. Its a work in progress and is merely indicative and not exhaustive. Information will not only empower but also enlighten all.

1. In 2006, 5,857 students — or 16 a day — committed suicide across India due to exam stress. And these are just the official figures

[Source: TOI, March 2008, Report]


2. The study (conducted 10 years back) had found that 16 per cent of Mumbai students were depressed - that is 2 per cent more than the students in Boston. It also found that 8 percent of these were suicidal.

3. Today, 10 years later, researchers say things could be worse.
- Statistics show that India has the highest suicide rate in the world, marginally behind China, but ahead of the west
- 95-100 people commit suicide in India every day
- And of these a whopping 40% are in the adolescent age group
[Source: CNN-IBN Report, Jan 13 2010]


4. Crime Records Bureau figures show India’s suicide rate has risen 8 per cent a year for 10 years. According to a 2007 estimate, 45 per cent of suicides involve people between 15 and 29. And WHO lists suicide among the top three causes of death in the age group 15-35.

5. The motive when students kill themselves is invariably academic pressure - this accounts for 99 per cent suicides in the age group 12-18 - but psychiatrists sought to assess why the trend has risen of late and put it down to three reasons: deprivation of sunshine, exam results, and the copycat syndrome.

6. Distressed teenagers account for 70 per cent of the phone calls to a helpline run by NGO Aasra, says founder Johnson Thomas.


[Source: Express India, Jan 10 2010]

7. The leading mental health institution in India, the National Institute of Mental Health and Mental Sciences in Bengaluru, has been involved in several studies to understand why the rates of people taking their own lives, particularly younger people, are on the rise.

8. In the last formal study conducted in 2007, the Institute found that 122,637 people ended their own lives and for every successful act, it estimated that 8-10 attempts go unreported.

9. Nearly three-fourths of those taking their own lives were aged 16-45 years.

10. Bengaluru topped the list of cities where the largest number had taken place, followed by Chennai. In New Delhi data collected from 1,205 adolescents (aged 12-19 years) in two schools revealed that, on average, one in seven adolescents had thought about ending their life.

11. A lack of methods to help identify youngsters at risk further hinders prevention efforts.

[Source: Guardian, Jan 28 2010]

12. Since the start of 2010, more than 20 students have killed themselves in Mumbai, India’s financial capital


The Big Ten Student Suicide Study: a 10-year study of suicides on midwestern university campuses.
Silverman MM, Meyer PM, Sloane F, Raffel M, Pratt DM.
Source

Department of Psychiatry, University of Chicago, IL 60637-1507, USA.
Abstract

The Big Ten Student Suicide Study was undertaken from 1980-1990 to determine the suicide rates on Big Ten University campuses. The study design attempted to address many of the statistical and epidemiological flaws identified in previous studies of campus student suicides. The 10-year study collected demographic and correlational data on 261 suicides of registered students at 12 midwestern campuses. The largest number of suicides for both males and females were in the 20-24-year-old age group (46%), and amongst graduate students (32%). The overall student suicide rate of 7.5/100,000 is one half of the computed national suicide rate (15.0/100,000) for a matched sample by age, gender, and race. Despite the overall lower suicide rate, the analyses revealed that students 25 and over have a significantly higher risk than younger students. Although women have rates roughly half those of men throughout their undergraduate years, graduate women have rates not significantly different from their male counterparts (graduate women 9.1/100,000 and graduate men 11.6/100,000).

PMID:
9357084
[PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Publication Types, MeSH Terms


Experts to study student suicide cause
Yogita Limaye Yogita Limaye , CNN-IBN
Updated Jan 13, 2010 at 02:10pm IST
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Mumbai: India's suicide figures have risen starkly over the past decade - even worse than the west. Mumbai has seen nine student suicides in the past week.

Researchers now hope to study the depression quotient amongst the city's youth after worrying figures have come to light in 2010. The last such survey was done 10 years ago and the results then too were alarming.

Director Psychiatry Research, Jaslok Hospital, Dr Rajesh Parikh says, "What we found 10 years ago was that students in Mumbai were more depressed than those in Boston."

The study had found that 16 per cent of Mumbai students were depressed - that is 2 per cent more than the students in Boston. It also found that 8 per cent of these were suicidal.

Today, 10 years later, researchers say things could be worse.

SUICIDE CAPITAL?

Statistics show that India has the highest suicide rate in the world, marginally behind China, but ahead of the west.

95-100 people commit suicide in India every day.

And of these a whopping 40% are in the adolescent age group.

So what's pushing our students over the edge?

Associate Director Psychiatry Research, Jaslok Hospital, Dr Shamshah Sonwalla says, "They are dealing with so many things, the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, dating, peer pressure the huge academic pressure."

Over the next few months researchers will be visiting campuses across the city and interviewing students, but the recent spate has even got the city corporation worried which has planned meetings with top psychiatrist to find a solution to the worrying trend.

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#Mumbai student suicides #expert study