Hopelessness is striking people belonging to all sections of society, from the well-off to the poor. As a result, reports come in of a woman throwing her infant children into a canal and then jumping in after them; and of a woman jumping off a building in Greater NOIDA; and so on, day after day. And it is not just women in difficult domestic situations, many of those ending their lives in various ways are also men.
There is no doubt that present day existence has become very complex no matter one’s material circumstances. Faced with harassment of various kinds, financial hardship, tough conditions of existence, people take recourse to the extreme step, sometimes even taking with them other family members they do not wish should suffer from their absence. One reason for this is the lack of support other than that of family members. Neighbours, the local community, mentors, colleagues, etc., are so caught up in their own world that, despite the people all around, individuals experience a deep sense of isolation. Availability of counselling is scarce and, unfortunately, there is also social stigma involved in seeking it.
In the occasional case, passersby do intervene to prevent an attempted suicide, or rescue victims as in the case of the infants thrown into the canal, but mostly the world becomes aware only when the deed is done. And it leaves society with the question – how to prevent such incidents from occurring. Why do people inflict cruelty on their life-partners in a world where it is possible now to mutually and even amicably part ways? (If not suicide, there is now the other option being exercised of murdering the other and it is just another manifestation of the problem.)
The anonymity of urban existence, which often causes the sense of isolation among people needing psychological support has, unfortunately, now extended to even the semi-urban and rural communities. A large number of people are now migrant workers without the support system a more organisational ‘posting’ would provide. As such, they have to deal with their problems on their own.
Knowing all this, society in general and the official agencies concerned should chalk out ways to provide a support system through enhanced community interactions. Wherever there are people resident, there should be developed an interactive environment that ensures the participation in one way or another of all those living there. This would allow trained counselors to recognise symptoms that need to be addressed in individuals under stress. Going by how ASHAs have taken on a significant role in society regarding physical well-being, one can be confident that such an outreach would also prove significantly beneficial.
