World Mental Health Day

A day for “40 seconds of action” – WHO

‘Where there is sound mental health, a healthy body resides! In recent years, there has been an increased focus on mental health awareness and this has led to the observation of World Mental Health Day on 10^th October each year.

The theme for this year is Suicide Prevention and it is an opportunity to raise awareness about mental health issues that lead to suicides. Did you know that our country’s suicide rate has been on a record-breaking high in the last 5 years? In the year 2016, the total number of suicide reported were 8,17,000 of which 2,30,314 were reported from India. India accounts for 1/3^rd of the world’s female suicides and nearly 1/4^th of the world’s male suicides. According to a report submitted in 2016, the Indian states with the highest suicide rates are Tripura, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. While women from the rather developed states of South India are more likely to commit suicide, the suicide rates among the youth have become a matter of concern.

The prevalent caste system, unemployment among the youth, the easy access to pesticides and other similar chemicals, decriminalization of suicides are major reasons for high suicide rates in India among the students, farmers, and women.