SUICIDE-A SIGN OF COWARDICE
Did you know??
- There are one million approximate number of suicides worldwide each year.
- Every 40 seconds somebody dies by suicide.
- There has been a 60 per cent increase in worldwide suicide rates in the last 45 years.
- For every 20 failed suicide attempts there is one which is successful.
- Women are more likely than man to attempt suicide, while men are much more likely to succeed.
- The current average world suicide rate is 10.07 per 100,000 people.
Every 40 seconds somebody dies by suicide and for every 20 failed suicide attempts there is one which is ‘successful’. So every 2 second, there is a suicide attempt somewhere around the globe. Let’s assume that it takes you 5 minutes to go through this article. This would simply mean that by the time you end up, there would be 150 more fresh suicide attempts and more than 7 successful ones. Isn’t the picture horrifying?
Pajneet Singh, B.Tech third year student of Thapar University, Patiala , committed suicide in the university hostel H by hanging himself by ceiling fan of the room on 14 th August,2009(Friday). Pajneet belonged to Amritsar and was the only son in the family.
Exactly One year ago a similar incident took place in Delhi. A sixteen year old girl from DPS RK Puram girl’s hostel committed suicide. Pushpanjali Raj was found dead under mysterious circumstances on Wednesday, Aug 27 2008, in the DPS hostel in RK Puram. She jumped from the bathroom located on the fifth floor of her hostel. What instigated her to do so is still unclear and vague.
Reason for both the suicides could not be ascertained as no suicide notes were recovered. But it has been haunting my mind ever since, for what leads one to succumb to circumstances. Suicide by a teen is not new. Whether it be peer pressure or inability to cope with studies or fright of failure, every year a lot of such incidents are actually reported and are then forgotten with the passage of time.
This is a topic which is not much talked about as we fear it would spur this culture. However, it is high time now that we realize that if we try to cover up our faults, they would simply pile on and the situation might even become worse. Whenever we come across such news, we feel that such accidents only happen with other people. Every parent feels that his child would never commit suicide. But let me inform you that parents of Pajneet Singh and Pushpanjali Raj also thought the same way till the tragedy occurred. This blunder once committed can’t be undone.
It needs no special people but special circumstances that compel people to commit suicide. Those who commit suicides are as ordinary as we are. The point which I want to drive home is that ‘we can’t rest in peace when our neighbor’s house is in flames’. This problem exists in society. If not checked swiftly, it might take a malignant form. We can’t sit idle just assuming that we are safe or waiting for our turn to come. We need to discover the reasons and appropriate solutions to curb the incidents of suicide.
It is for sure that it is impulsive emotion in reaction to any situation which leads one to commit such a blunder. Until recently, I thought that one needed to be brave and strong at heart to commit suicide. It is not easy to willingly jump from a building or hang oneself. Just imagine a person, who knows when he is to die and he dictates the way he is going to die. At the same time one may argue that suicide is a sign of cowardice and virtual escape from reality. Of course, suicides never come out of courage but emotional crisis. It vehemently depicts mental and emotional instability.
When one is led to a fork in life, where one assumes that his life would be more miserable and hellish if one survives, that one ends his life. It needs no courage to tie oneself from a ceiling fan; it’s only when one pushes the support of chair aside and hangs in the air that one gets the feeling of hellish pain and catastrophe. It may sound ironical but intolerable pain forces one to pray for help, only to realize the truth of the dictum- What has been done, can’t be undone. Out of rage, one can jump from the top of a building, but just picture the pangs as one hits the ground, yearning for help. May be before the last heart beat, realization of mistake dawns, but it is a bit too late by then.
The incident of suicide is seen mostly amongst teens. There is a simple reason behind it. As a teen, we are immature. Our tender mind finds it hard to solve complex problems of life. We have limited resources and options in our hand and if we are unable to solve out the problem ourselves, we assume that life is better not lived. On our part, we should share all our problems with our parents. Parents are more experienced and wise and they might have solution to our every problem. Of course they can guide us in a better way. Parents should also understand that apart from the role of care-taker, they have one more role to play, and that it is the role of a friend. A child should feel free to discuss all his problems with his parents. The bond between the parent and a child should be that of love and not of fear.
It's hard to weigh every one in the same balance and it is equally hard to prescribe one single antidote for all problems. But I believe, most of those who commit suicide have no one to share their confidences with. Their turbulent emotion, impulsive resentment curbs their mental reasoning ability. With anger and ire at throne and wisdom out of doors and no one to fall back to, their brains are white-washed. This makes them justify their act. They become unwise as much as to inflict pains and pangs to themselves and their own parents and well wishers.
Debate that arises out of it is that are suicides solution to any problem? Isn't it escape from reality! No one denies that pains and sufferings come in life. But there are thousand reasons to live. Always remember-if winter comes can spring be far behind. What if a door is shut, there are many more waiting for you. Life is not about what you don't have. It’s about what you have and how smartly you use it. No one is perfect. Every defeat or mistake has some lesson to impart. Be brave to face the situation than to show your back. It is our foolishness to assume that we have full right over our life and we can terminate it as and when desired. We owe our life to our parents. We have no right to bring tears to those who always made us smile!
It is for sure that it is impulsive emotion in reaction to any situation which leads one to commit such a blunder. Until recently, I thought that one needed to be brave and strong at heart to commit suicide. It is not easy to willingly jump from a building or hang oneself. Just imagine a person, who knows when he is to die and he dictates the way he is going to die. At the same time one may argue that suicide is a sign of cowardice and virtual escape from reality. Of course, suicides never come out of courage but emotional crisis. It vehemently depicts mental and emotional instability.
When one is led to a fork in life, where one assumes that his life would be more miserable and hellish if one survives, that one ends his life. It needs no courage to tie oneself from a ceiling fan; it’s only when one pushes the support of chair aside and hangs in the air that one gets the feeling of hellish pain and catastrophe. It may sound ironical but intolerable pain forces one to pray for help, only to realize the truth of the dictum- What has been done, can’t be undone. Out of rage, one can jump from the top of a building, but just picture the pangs as one hits the ground, yearning for help. May be before the last heart beat, realization of mistake dawns, but it is a bit too late by then.
The incident of suicide is seen mostly amongst teens. There is a simple reason behind it. As a teen, we are immature. Our tender mind finds it hard to solve complex problems of life. We have limited resources and options in our hand and if we are unable to solve out the problem ourselves, we assume that life is better not lived. On our part, we should share all our problems with our parents. Parents are more experienced and wise and they might have solution to our every problem. Of course they can guide us in a better way. Parents should also understand that apart from the role of care-taker, they have one more role to play, and that it is the role of a friend. A child should feel free to discuss all his problems with his parents. The bond between the parent and a child should be that of love and not of fear.
It's hard to weigh every one in the same balance and it is equally hard to prescribe one single antidote for all problems. But I believe, most of those who commit suicide have no one to share their confidences with. Their turbulent emotion, impulsive resentment curbs their mental reasoning ability. With anger and ire at throne and wisdom out of doors and no one to fall back to, their brains are white-washed. This makes them justify their act. They become unwise as much as to inflict pains and pangs to themselves and their own parents and well wishers.
Debate that arises out of it is that are suicides solution to any problem? Isn't it escape from reality! No one denies that pains and sufferings come in life. But there are thousand reasons to live. Always remember-if winter comes can spring be far behind. What if a door is shut, there are many more waiting for you. Life is not about what you don't have. It’s about what you have and how smartly you use it. No one is perfect. Every defeat or mistake has some lesson to impart. Be brave to face the situation than to show your back. It is our foolishness to assume that we have full right over our life and we can terminate it as and when desired. We owe our life to our parents. We have no right to bring tears to those who always made us smile!
