suicide and society in real world

Over the past few years, suicide has become one of the most prominent public health concerns, globally in general and in Australia in particular. According to the recent statistics by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and World Health Organization, 10. 4 per 100, 000 people are committing suicide every year; on an average of 7. 85 deaths every day. In Australia, suicide is the leading cause of death in people aged between 15 and 24. The rate of death resulting from intentional self-harm is about three times that for men than for women. It is alarming that 370, 000 Australians think about suicide, 91, 000 make a plan to end their life, and 65, 000 actually attempt suicide every year. Apart from the social cost, these deaths have an economic effect as well, estimated at $22 billion a year. These numbers reflect not only the death of individuals but also the deaths of fathers, sons, brothers, husbands, friends, people who had served the society or had the potential to do so in the future. All of that drowned into nothingness. Admittedly, oversimplifying the reasons for suicide would be extremely indifferent, uncaring, and just plain wrong. However, trends do exist and have been studied since decades. Emile Durkheim – a 19th century French sociologist - was maybe the first person to study suicide scientifically, however crude his methodologies may be. In his 1897 book ‘Suicide’, Durkheim wrote about a number of trends he observed while studying the suicide rates in his target population. One of them was his finding that suicide rates tend to be higher in men than in women. In addition to this, suicide rates were higher for single people than married people; soldiers than civilians; Protestants than Catholics and Jews, et cetera. These comparisons, among other things, point towards the notion that unhappiness or dissatisfaction cause suicidality. This is the oversimplification mentioned earlier. Later, refined sociological studies show that depression does have a high correlation with the incidence of intentional self-harm. However the term depression is misunderstood by many and thus distorts the whole idea. Depression is a mental disorder. It does not mean just being sad. Nor is depression like a cold or an infection that you just give the person a happy pill and voila! he’s happy again. No, it doesn’t work that way. In a conversation about a disorder like depression, we talk about risk factors. There are many and can be broadly categorized into biological and social or environmental. The probability of developing depression is related to the exposure to these risk factors. While a person can be predisposed to developing depression due to genetic/biological reasons – e. g. he may have someone in close family suffering from depression – a life event can be the trigger that makes him more vulnerable. For many people it’s the loss of a loved one, money problems, a failed relationship, a failed career, substance abuse, witnessing or experiencing violence, so on and so forth. For a fulfilling life, soundness of both the body and mind are equally important. Many a times, nutritional deficiencies are the culprit. Unhealthy lifestyles, poor eating habits, and an unbalanced diet can cause these deficiencies. The most common are magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin B complex deficiencies. These minerals and vitamins are essential for the synthesis and functioning of special chemicals called neurotransmitters that play a large role in maintaining mental health. Any imbalance in these often cause mood disorders, as evidenced by a number of scientific studies. Where the physical health can be improved and maintained by adopting healthy eating habits, adequate sleep and exercise, mental health needs similar attention. Here’s where meditation comes in. Since times immemorial, meditation has been used – in various forms – to heal the mind. The basic aim is to achieve a heightened awareness, an acceptance, and calmness. Kamlesh Patel, famously called Daaji, is the global guide of the Heartfulness Meditation and the author of “The Heartfulness Way”. He explains the need of meditation wonderfully. He tells you to consider a scenario: suppose you return from the gym, all sweaty and smelly. Your mum greets you and you move to hug her. She loves you but she might not be too keen to hug you at that time. So what you should do is go straight to the bathroom and take a shower. Get rid of the gunk and sweat and then come out and now hug her to your heart’s content. This symbolizes an important aspect of our daily life. Every day when you go out, you meet people, you interact with them in various ways, you get involved in various circumstances. As a result of all this, knowingly or unknowingly, you take up some impressions and bring them back home with you. They might be good, but they might also be bad. You had a bad day at school or work, your car broke down, or you messed up an important assignment, you may come home with a bad mood and that can and will affect your interactions with those at home. That can set off a ripple effect. Heartfulness meditation is a simple and modern approach to meditation; one that suits to anyone leading a normal, busy life. You don’t need a roomful of paraphernalia or an Über-flexible body capable of rolling into a pretzel. You can do it whenever and wherever, for your own peace of mind, a tranquil and balanced life. The concept at the base of heartfulness is consciousness of the here and now. It teaches you to live in the moment, with the full awareness of your heart. It teaches you to live and experience every day with acceptance and thankfulness. In this journey, you remove from your consciousness every negative feeling, all worries and fears, and look for that place inside that is untouched and filled with lightness. That is where you need to be. Wake up in the morning, and take just 20-25 minutes and sit with yourself. Empty your mind and search for that inner calm. After your day out when you come home, go straight to your room and do this again for just 10 minutes. This is called ‘cleaning’. Try to shed the negative vibes that you might have been collecting all day and then go sit with your family. You won’t be successful the very first time. It might get frustrating, might even seem ridiculous to some hard skeptics. But remember, like anything else, this needs practice. You get credit for trying. Though, if you wish to go further, you can always take guidance from heartfulness trainers. Lately, spiritual practices like meditation have been increasingly recognized for their benefits to mental health. Meditating regularly helps in relieving stress, which in turn will improve your concentration at work, quality of sleep, your immune system, and your mood. Many studies report the experiences of suicide survivors and patients of depression who have benefitted by including meditation in life. Depression and aggression in adolescents - often linked to delinquency and suicidality - is also being looked at from a new perspective. In this regard, an American psychiatrist Murrey Bowen had suggested that a poor sense of self or low self-awareness is significant in developing aggressive behaviors. Mystic practices like meditation help in a process that he called, ‘differentiation of self’. This developmental process entails a differentiation of emotional and intellectual functioning of the self. This helps the individual in mediating internal and external aggressive behaviors. Life, however difficult, is always worth living. It will be hard but you will have to get up and help yourself. Even the most well-meaning friend cannot do for you what you yourself can. Throw the nutritional deficiencies out of the window and go cook a, healthy meal for yourself. Go out in the sun, stock up on your vitamin D and fall in love with nature. Being close to nature is probably the best known antidepressant. Find a place with fresh air and light and meditate. Learn to listen to your heart and focus on the moment. Let life throw lemon after lemon. After all, a happy life is not a successful one, but a hopeful one.