Suicide attempt by security personnel

Pressures of being a security official is not easy to cope with..especially if one becomes aware of the secrets of the VIPs and the danger of that knowledge...


Fear of prosecution, Uncertainty of future, Shame of not being able to speak for the truth, Guilt of doing something under pressure against the honour , etc...any emotion can block the normal progress of life in such situation.. 


An unbiased professional emotional support system can help such a person..


Perhaps, our security agencies should involve some outside organizations like Sumaitri to facilitate the unburdening of choked emotions of their officials...



Ishrat Jahan Case: Constable part of Vanzara, Pandey’s security attempts suicide | The Indian Express

News: perception and reality...

Three headlines of the last week:

1. Two inmates commit suicide inside Tihar jail.

    Message: condition of inmates inside a prestigious jail

2. Two students commit suicide in Hyderabad during the protests against Telengana.

    Message: anger against the making of a new state by central Govt.

3. An ex-constable of paramilitary force trying to commit suicide in Delhi arrested

    Message: paramilitary soldier’s plight and the quick police action

On the surface, these headlines conveyed different messages, as conveyed by the media or understood by the public.

Is it really so?

Let’s look at each of them closely.

First one, the suicide inside the jail, doesn’t concern most of us, as it is about those who have been punished by the law. They deserve it, we can say.

Does it matter if a criminal lives or dies?

Even if the crime is not fully proved, being inside the jail is sufficient to label a person.  We never distinguish between a crime and the criminal. And we are not interested why the criminal did it?

Should we bother?

Is the criminal a human being first? Does he need support to vent out his feelings? Of maybe guilt, or loneliness inside the prison cell, or the anger against the system, or the stress of what will happen to him in the future, and so on.

What if the criminal gets a chance to reform?  -To lead a normal life… so that the crime rate will eventually go down…

Or maybe the person, before doing the crime, has an emotional support system available so that he or she can release the choked feelings, and perhaps think more rationally…?

Second news, of students’ suicide, connects immediately with the people divided clearly between the favour and against of formation of a new state. How an agitation can go to such extreme?  

And the suicides could not stop the Govt to pass the Telengana bill.

Amid all the politics, nobody thought about the students who ended their lives openly.

Were those students so stressed that they had no other option left?

Did they have proper support system to vent out their choked feelings?

Did they really want to die? Or was it their call for help?

Were they able to share their suppressed feelings with somebody around?

     

What if they had someone to unlock their anger and channelize their energy for a better tomorrow?

Third headline, the suicide attempt by a paramilitary constable, got chewed with a little amusement.  A drama played out in public place and quick response by usually inefficient policemen saved a life.

Nobody asked why a depressed person was sent to the prison.

Because, the law is like that only. Trying to commit suicide is punishable under Indian Penal Code.

The constable, in news, had served in Border Security Force.

Are we insensitive enough not to bother about a soldier?  

Did he have sufficient support to vent out his emotions?

What if he had someone to share his agony and lead him to proper medical care if required?

Do our military and paramilitary forces have a proper emotional support mechanism in place for such a soldier?

To protect our national borders can have at times a toll on the emotional health of the soldier. Who is there for him in such a difficult times?

So,

Underneath, all the above three are about the absence of a suitable support system for the stressed souls.

As a human being, are we ready to provide such a care to anybody in need?

to share the suicide feelings on web...

a website called suicide project:

http://suicideproject.org/about/

Myths about suicide

           Some false notions in our society are so prevalent that they sometimes play a crucial and negative role in our psyche if we try to help a suicidal person. 

Here is a list of such false notions:   

1. People talking about suicide will never do it. 
           

            Almost every person who commits or attempts suicide has given some clue or warning.

          

            “I’ll do it very soon.”

            “I have no choice but to end it for once and all.”

            “I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow.”

            “It’s the only option I have.”

... Such statements even if told casually are matter of concern and may be because of suicidal feelings hidden under the calm and composed person.

            Do not ignore such statements. They may signal the call for help...

2. Anyone who tries to commit suicide must be crazy. 

            Most suicidal people are not psychotic or insane. They must be upset, grief-stricken, depressed or despairing, but extreme distress and emotional pain are not necessarily signs of mental illness.

3. If a person is determined to end the life, nothing is going to stop them. 

            Even the most severely depressed person has mixed feelings about death, wavering until the very last moment between wanting to live and wanting to die. Most suicidal people do not want death; they want the pain to stop. The impulse to end it all, however overpowering, does not last forever.

            A suicidal person can be saved from committing it.

4. People who commit suicide are people who were unwilling to seek help. 

            Studies of suicide victims have shown that more than half had sought medical help in the six months prior to their deaths.

5. If one tries to ask about the suicide, it will give the idea of suicide to that person

            A suicidal person doesn't get this idea from others. 

            In fact, talking about it with someone releases his stress.

            So, don’t hesitate to ask about the suicide if you have any doubt about the depressed person.  

An experience..of hope..

Being and Becoming: SUMAITRI -A NEW LEASE OF LIFE: Depression is horrifying. People kill themselves, unable to face immeasurable grief. If there were a reason for grief it would make the proc...

Sumaitri : a crisis intervention centre

www.sumaitri.net 
Call if depressed or suicidal : 011-23389090

Depression

During the journey called life, we all feel depressed at some point. And then recover to move on. But some of us find it difficult to cope. Maybe because nobody is there, or to share the woes with someone is not easy.  

  

At times, the situation is beyond our control, making us feel helpless. We want to share such difficulty with an understanding person, but if we can’t, it makes us lonely and more prone to depression.

As such, the depression is widely misused term. In our daily routine, slight disturbance can put us under its spell. To overcome it, we need positive attitude that’s not available off the shelf. We need an in-built mechanism for this menace. If it is not there then an outside support is required to remind or rekindle that mechanism.

A helpline like Sumaitri can provide that support, provided one is ready to take that help. But, it’s not panacea. To think that someone else can solve our own difficult issues is escapism. But to vent out the locked emotions, and share the plans to build the future always helps…