Sunday, 16 March 2014

Suicide by a doctor and a nurse...

March 15, 2014
Chief medical officer of 'Aligarh Muslim University' commits suicide 

March 16, 2014
AIIMS nurse commits suicide in Delhi


These news items are almost unnoticed amid the hullaballoo of General Elections.
  
       Suicides by a doctor and a nurse at the institutions of repute are like just any other incident.

But if we try to understand, it may mean that the medical fraternity is also not immune to what we otherwise presume:

That, the doctors and the nurses can get better “treatment” if required.

Perhaps it may be true only for the usual diseases, and may not be so for the depressed and suicidal…

Why?

The psychiatrists are also there in a hospital. A nurse or a doctor can easily get their appointment if needed.

Then how come suicide still finds its takers among the healthcare professionals?

Do we need something more than our usual apparatus of serving the patients?

Or the mindset of the society that discriminates between the mental illness and other general illnesses is not right?

Why can’t we talk about our depression as openly as we talk about common cough and cold?

Why can’t we discuss about our suicidal thoughts as easily as we can discuss about our kidney or liver problems.

Absence of an emotional healthcare system, integrated with the professional medical services, is perhaps another reason.

That’s why many of us silently suffer from our mental trauma – that may be chronic or acute.

Even, the family members and the workplace colleagues remain ignorant of what a depressed or suicidal person is going through…

Perhaps the timely intervention may save more lives…but first we should be ready to listen… 

...Are we? 

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