Suicide rate among men goes up

Visakhapatnam: About 1.2 lakh men committed suicide in 2021 across the country. Of them, a majority of 33.2 percent men took the extreme step due to family disputes and other legal pressure.

Sharing the statistics of the National Crime Records Bureau on the occasion of the 'World Suicide Prevention Day' observed on September 10, representatives of the Visakhapatnam chapter of Save Family Harmony (SFH) laid emphasis on saving the lives of men with timely interventions and concrete measures of the government.

Expressing concern over the rise in the number of suicide rate, especially among men, founder of SFH BK Agarwal mentioned that a majority of them were due to marital disputes and other legal pressure. Further, he spoke about how false cases filed against men continue to affect the rest of their lives. "Men are going through tremendous pressure both at the work and domestic fronts. With several factors compounding to their pressure, they are taking the extreme step," he reasoned.

SFH has been creating legal awareness among families and help can be sought by contacting its helpline by dialling 8882498498. Speaking on the occasion, Superintendent of Government Hospital for Mental Care Ramanand Satpathy mentioned that a majority of men complain of family disputes and financial problems. "Most of them feel their emotions were bottled up without having any let up. A majority of the cases could be prevented if the signs of depression were spotted early and with the support of family and friends," he informed, stressing on frequent counselling sessions to ease the mental stress faced and bringing in behavioural change among people.

With help available round the clock, the SFH members stressed on identifying suicidal tendencies early and seek expert intervention at the earliest. In the evening, about 200 members associated with the SFH and men's rights activists took out a candle light march under the aegis of Save Indian Family opposite the GVMC office. As suicidal deaths turn out to be a public health concern, the organisers called for raising awareness, bringing down the instances to a maximum extent possible and making the world suicide-free.

Meanwhile, the city police took out an awareness walk in collaboration with the Indian Psychiatric Society at RK Beach. City Police Commissioner CH. Srikanth stressed on the need to dispel stigma of mental illness, associated stress and urged people to approach experts and police for help to overcome suicidal thoughts. The CP recalled how people with suicidal tendencies were saved with appropriate counselling by the police in several cases. District Police under the supervision of Superintendent of Police S Gowthami took out a rally involving students at Anakapalli.