Every year World Suicide Prevention Day reminds us of something that’s easy to forget: suicide is preventable and talking about it can save lives.
- The pressure to have it all figured out
- We need to change the way we talk about suicide
- What can we do?
- Listen for changes.
- Ask directly when you are concerned.
- Stay with them.
- Take help seriously.
- Build environments.
- A conversation can be a lifeline
- That a difficult chapter is not the story.
- There is still help available.
For people in India this conversation is particularly important.
India continues to face a suicide-prevention challenge. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 1,71,418 suicides were recorded in India in 2023. Specifically student suicides reached 13,892 in 2023 accounting for about 8.1% of all reported suicides. Student suicides increased by around 65% over the decade from 2013 to 2023 according to analysis of NCRB data.
Behind every statistic however is a person.
A student worrying about an examination.
A young adult who feels like they have disappointed their family.
Someone struggling after a breakup.
Someone who cannot find a job despite trying
Someone scrolling through media and wondering why everyone else seems to be moving forward.
Someone who looks perfectly fine on the outside but is quietly exhausted on the inside.
The pressure to have it all figured out
Being young is often described as the time of life. Yet for young Indians youth comes with enormous expectations.
There is pressure to perform academically choose the “career, secure a job earn well look a certain way maintain relationships make parents proud and somehow remain mentally healthy throughout it all.
Competitive examinations and academic performance can become tied to a persons sense of identity. Career uncertainty can feel like failure. Financial dependence can create helplessness. Relationship difficulties can feel overwhelming particularly when someone lacks a space to process them.
Sometimes the problem isn’t one enormous event.
It can be small things accumulating over time.
Loneliness. Conflict at home. Bullying. Rejection. Academic stress. Financial difficulties. Discrimination. Grief. Abuse. Relationship problems. Substance use. Feeling like a burden. Feeling that nobody would understand.
WHO notes that suicide has interacting causes. Mental health conditions can be risk factors but suicidal crises can also occur in moments of acute distress particularly following experiences such as loss, loneliness, discrimination, relationship breakdown, violence or other major stressors.
This is why saying, “But they had everything” is not suicide prevention.
We cannot always know what someone is carrying simply by looking at their life from the outside.
We need to change the way we talk about suicide
The theme for World Suicide Prevention Day 2024–2026 is “Changing the Narrative on Suicide ” with the call to action: “Start the Conversation.” The aim is to move from silence, stigma and misunderstanding towards openness, compassion and support.
For people that conversation can begin very simply.
“How are you really doing?”
Not “Are you studying?”
Not “What are your marks?”
Not “When are you getting a job?”
Not “Why are you still upset?”
Just: “How are you?”
When someone says they are struggling we need to listen instead of immediately trying to fix them.
Sometimes a person does not need a lecture about how fortunate they’re. They need someone who can sit beside them without making their pain smaller.
What can we do?
Suicide prevention is not the responsibility of psychologists. Families, friends, teachers, colleges, workplaces and communities all have a role.
Listen for changes.
Withdrawal, hopelessness changes in behaviour giving away possessions talking about being a burden or expressing that life is no longer worth living should be taken seriously.
Ask directly when you are concerned.
Asking someone whether they are thinking about suicide does not create thoughts. It can create an opportunity for someone to finally say what they have been afraid to say.
Stay with them.
If someone is in danger do not leave them alone. Help them reach emergency or professional support and reduce access to anything they could use to hurt themselves.
Take help seriously.
Psychologists, psychiatrists, counsellors, doctors and crisis services can provide support during periods when coping alone becomes difficult.
Build environments.
Schools and colleges need spaces where students can discuss failure, academic pressure, bullying, relationships and mental health without being labelled weak or dramatic.
WHO specifically recommends strengthening socio- skills among adolescents, early identification and follow-up of people experiencing suicidal behaviour, responsible media reporting and reducing access to highly lethal means as part of comprehensive suicide-prevention strategies.
A conversation can be a lifeline
We often tell people to be resilient.
Resilience should not mean suffering silently.
It should mean knowing when to pause, ask for help lean on someone and begin again.
World Suicide Prevention Day is not about creating fear. It is about creating possibility.
The possibility that a student can fail an examination and still have a future.
That a breakup can hurt without defining a life.
That being unemployed today does not mean being unsuccessful
That asking for help is not weakness.
That a difficult chapter is not the story.
Most importantly that someone does not have to face their darkest moment alone.
If you are worried about someone start the conversation. Stay, listen and help them connect with support.
If you are the person struggling right now you do not have to solve your entire life today.
Just make it through this moment. Then the next one.
There is still room for things to change.
There is still help available.
There is still a life beyond the pain you are experiencing today.
Sometimes prevention begins with one person having the courage to ask: “Are you okay?”.. Another person finally feeling safe enough to answer honestly.
If you or someone you know is in danger or may act on suicidal thoughts, seek urgent local emergency help and stay with the person until support is available.
