Depression is the primary cause for 65-75% of the suicides in the country, said psychiatrist C.R. Chandrashekhar at a meet with reporters at Patrika Bhavan here on Monday as part of the 2017 World Health Day campaign on depression.
“Everybody has one problem or the other. Problems alone don’t push one to end his or her life. Problems coupled with depression drive one to suicide. Around 1.34 lakh people committed suicide in 2015 [in the country]. In 65-75% of the cases, depression is the primary cause,” he said.
Referring to a survey conducted in 15 States in the country, Mr. Chandrashekhar said 5% of the population suffers from depression and everyone has a 20% risk of depression. He added that depression was the fourth major disease causing physical ailments.
“Women are more prone to depression for both biological reasons, such as hormonal imbalances, and psychosocial reasons such as domestic violence. The depression ratio among men and women is 2:1. Adolescents and the elderly are more prone to depression for various age-related factors, including insecurity and lack of care,” he said.
Agitated by the way the visual media is “promoting illogical and superstitious remedies to depression” and other serious health issues, the psychiatrist called upon people not to fall prey to astrologers appearing on TV and sharing absurd remedies to problems, both physical and psychological.
“Astrologers direct you to temples and ask you to perform rituals. We need to identify the root cause of the problems and address them. Television is no longer an entertainment media and the programmes being telecast worsen the psychological disorders and mental unrest of viewers instead of controlling them,” he said.
Mr. Chandrashekhar also expressed disappointment with the “commercialisation of the health sector”, with remedial measures getting preference over preventive measures as the latter would hit the business of healthcare.
So, what are his tips for a stress-free life? “First of all, we must remove the social stigma and understand that depression can be prevented and cured. We should not hesitate to approach [a] psychiatrist as and when required. Keeping ourselves away from greed and worries and extending love and care to others plays an instrumental role in prevention depression and psychophysical ailments. Love and contentment are the greatest healers,” he said.
