Psychiatrists concerned over increased suicides

Dr Alka Subrahmanyam, a psychiatrist from Mumbai, expressed her concern over India being one of the nations with high suicide rates among youth and women.

Speaking during a session on the last day of the 52nd Annual Conference of Indian Psychiatric Society South Zonal Branch held at Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences in Madikeri on Sunday, she said that if the suicide rate keeps on increasing, India will face the danger of being the country with the highest number of suicides in the world.

“There has been an increase in suicidal tendencies among the age group of 15 to 30, in India. About 18% of this age group are ending their lives. About 13% succumb to road accidents, 10% lose their lives owing to alcohol addiction and 5% die due to other reasons.”

Delivering a lecture on the occasion, Researcher Dr G Prasad Rao said that the youth of today are going through a sense of discontentment in everything they do. They are not satisfied even though they earn lakhs of rupees.

Psychiatrist Dr Mohan Sunil Kumar from Bengaluru said that psychiatrists have been looking up to modern technology to cure their patients, as the latter are getting restless owing to the present lifestyle. However, one should realise that no technology can replace love and care when it comes to treatment.

Indian Psychiatric Society South Zonal Branch President Dr P Kishan said that more than 900 doctors have taken part in the conference.

On Saturday, Indian Psychiatric Society President Dr Murugesh Vaishnav had said that legal action will be initiated against those who project psychiatrists and those suffering from depression in a bad manner in cinema and social media.

“The Society had been successful in changing the name of the Hindi movie ‘mental hai kya..’. Instead of instilling wrong notions in those who are suffering from mental illness, there is a need to instil confidence in them,” he added.

Psychiatric Society South Zonal Branch immediate past president Dr A Jagadish said, “All efforts are on to implement a global standard of treatment by 2027. It is a challenge for the psychiatrist to bring youth out of the clutches of drug abuse.”

Kodagu Institute of Medical Sciences Chief Executive Officer Biddatanda Mary Nanaiah, Registrar Dr Ravikiran, Conference Organising Committee Chairman Dr A Jagadish and General Secretary Dr Mahesh Gowda were present.