Suicide prevention counselling centres have noticed a growing tendency among the young to use the threat of suicide as a tool to get their way. It could be a reflection of what they see in society, said Rajesh R. Pillai, president of Befrienders India, a suicide prevention agency associated with Maithri here.
He was speaking on the occasion of World Suicide Prevention Day earlier this week. The average age of the child who took such a step had come down to seven from the earlier 10, he added.
College students
The tendency was more prevalent among college-going youth. Luxury bikes, gadgets or smartphones rule the imagination of adolescents and when they fail to get them, peer pressure forces them to make such threats. But such tendencies had to be nipped in the bud, especially among children, said psychiatrist C. J. John. “Any suicide threat is not right. Imagine children doing the same at home.”
While the distress experienced by persons could be genuine, combating and living through it was the signature of life, said Dr. John. There was an increasing trend to use the threat of suicide as a tool, which was legitimising such aberrations.
Chaithram, a suicide prevention agency under Ernakulam Karayogam, has also noted in its counselling sessions the use of suicide threats to get what one wants. While children took the cue from society, parenting issues too could not be discounted, said Chaithram director Malini Menon.
While threats leave parents in a confused state, they take children to counselling centres when they indulge in violence against parents or other family members. “We have had a case in which a 13-year-old girl hit her mother for keeping her away from the internet for a few hours,” said Ms. Menon.
The contact numbers of suicide prevention agencies in Kochi are: Chaithram 0484-2361161 and Maithri 0484-2540530.
