There are a lot of myths about suicide. One of the most common myths is that the majority of suicides are impulsive. That people often commit suicide without warning–“out of the blue.” But this widely held perception about impulsivity is not supported by research. According to WHO, though suicides happen impulsively in moments of crisis most people who take their lives have communicated intent beforehand, either blatantly or subtly. By far the strongest risk factor for suicide is a previous suicide attempt.

In September 2018, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a leading public health think tank based in New Delhi, reported the findings of a series of papers published in The Lancet family of journals, which said “Suicide is presently the leading cause of death in the 15-39 year age group in India, 37% of the total global suicide deaths among women occur in India, and suicide death rate among the elderly has increased over the past quarter-century.”

Globally the suicide is the second leading cause of the death among those aged 15–29 years and the third leading cause among those aged 15–39 years and India is accounting for a large proportion of all suicide deaths.

World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 800,000 people die by suicide every year and the suicide rate is 16.5 suicides per 100 000 people in India. In the South-East Asian region, India had the highest suicide rate in 2016.

According to WHO the persons who are at risk of committing suicide may include those who have:- suffered abuse or violence, lost a loved one or relationship break-up, financial problems, chronic pain and illness or made a previous suicide attempt. According to WHO, a prior suicide attempt is the single most important risk factor for suicide in the general population.

“The suicide rate is generally reported to be higher in elderly people as compared to the younger generation,” says Dr Debanjan Banerjee, a Senior Resident at National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) in Bangalore. “It is because older people are socially dependent or are isolated, whereas the younger generation is more vocal about their problems.”

Majority of suicides precede with the warning signs; therefore it is important to recognize such signs.

Several studies including this one by NCBI suggest that the possible warning signs that a person may be at risk for suicide include: extreme mood swings, withdrawing or isolating themselves, getting things in order or saying goodbye, lack of interest in once pleasurable activity, sleeping too little or too much, talking about feeling hopeless or no reason to live. They also search online the ways to kill themselves.

The best way to prevent suicide is to know the risk factors, recognize the warning signs for suicide and be alert to intervene before a person can accomplish the process of self-harm. “The two-thirds of suicides are preventable,” says Dr Banerjee. A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that “If the patient expresses the intention to die, has a plan to commit suicide, and has lethal means available, the risk of suicide is considered imminent and the action should be taken immediately.”

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