Should we change the way we address suicide? Psychologist points to underlying factors

The recent trend of raising suicides among students calls for reflection from all quarters of society including the media. 

Psychologist A.Shridhar spoke to NewsFirst Prime, with regard to how we can better address this crisis. “There are some suicides where the incident can be mapped to a single stress factor such as inability to repay loans. But in the case of student suicides the stress is coming from multiple directions. Apart from academic stress there is also social stress. There is no data available with regard to the socio-economic background of the suicide victims. In western countries, you will find students dropping out from premier institutes like Harvard but it is not that simple in India. Students would have the additional component of intenalised guilt. When they go back home for vacations, they will be faced with questions pertaining to CTC, plans of going abroad, marrying up the social ladder and so on. This skewed thinking has to change,” he said.

“The environment of constant encouragement and motivation they had up to the point might change when they move to a hostel for university education. In premier institutes, they are exposed to new styles of gathering information and having a relaxed mind is important for that,” he added.

He also highlighted the role the media plays in communicating instances of suicides. “Graphic visuals and sensationalism shifts the focus on the event and away from the causes of the events. Alternate means of dealing with the stress has to be presented to the students. We need to realise that we are dealing with young people who are prone to influence,” he emphasised.