“Why does the wish to live ever, even temporarily, triumph over the wish to die?” Karl Menninger questioned in his book called “Man against Himself”. The burden you silently carry within yourself, isn’t it too heavy to be carried alone?
“Depression” is the least talked about in India, as it’s still considered as “Taboo” in many parts of India. One such was a young man was Sushant Singh, who was an actor, a dancer, a television personality, an entrepreneur and a Philanthropist, who took his own life today. This was a death that came to light because he was a celebrity. However, many such deaths go unnoticed. It could be anyone of us. It could be anyone among one of our friends, the boy/girl who lives next door, it could be that one “disturbed face” person whom you always notice in the class or it could be someone who always wears smile on their face & jokes around most of time. We may never know. But we MUST know that Mental illness is NOT A JOKE. And it’s not a “bimari”, rather it’s a state which happens to not be in control of you. In the mind of someone who dies by suicide, they are a burden to others.
We know that’s not true, but in their mind, riddled with the insidious lies of Depression, they believed, TRULY believed that their existence caused pain and that the world would be better off without them. From their perspective, their last act was a selfless one, it’s the way to end the suffering. That’s the tragedy of suicide. Suicide is not a selfish or cowardly act. It is not due to a lack of discipline or religion or to a weakness of character. It is caused by a number of factors, a perfect storm of vulnerabilities that results in circumstances that are beyond someone’s ability to cope. In that final moment, there is no alternative, no way out. Like when a heart no longer has the capacity to keep beating during a heart attack, they die of a brain attack. You can not tell by looking at someone if they are struggling with suicidal thoughts or who they’ve lost to suicide. It is a public health issue and affects all of us.
Suicide is just a cry for help. I urge you to be kind to others. By asking and listening without judgment and without anger, you’ll let them know that the door is open to talk about it, that you are a safe place for them, and that you will help them take the first steps toward preventing it.
Still we don’t want to talk about mental health? Still we want to believe that if it’s not hurting physically, then it must be over thinking? It’s Time we take Mental Health seriously. It is real, seek help when needed. Not all of us enjoy solitude. Please raise voice when needed. No matter what field you are from, there’s always a way and hope. You will survive this & you will be glad you did.
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