Despite reporting number of suicides, Visakhapatnam does not have dedicated helpline for people in distress

Many suicides can be averted by proper counselling to those suffering from mental stress, says Indian Psychiatric Society president

September 10, 2022 06:30 am | Updated 06:30 am IST - VISAKHAPATNAM

In 2013, Sravani (name changed) faced the darkest days of her life. Her trust was betrayed by the person whom she loved. She was on the verge of suicidal tendencies and even attempted to end her life once. But timely intervention by her parents and medical treatment saved her. She is today happily married and working as a teacher in a school. Her only regret is that she did not have a shoulder to lean on during those trying days.

Not just Ms Sravani, a number of people, especially the youth, including college students, are developing suicidal tendencies and many are even taking the extreme step. And unfortunately, despite the rise in such cases, there is no dedicated helpline for the youth provided by the government to counsel them.

There are times when the Police Control Room (PCR)(Dial 100) receives calls, where people inform police when some of their friend/family try to end their life. But Dial 100 is not a dedicated Suicide Helpline.

“There are around five to 10 incidents this year, when people called and informed us when their known ones were trying to end their life. We immediately sent police and prevented the suicides. We personally counselled those persons,” said V. Gopinath, Inspector of PCR, Visakhapatnam.

Mr. Gopinath said that though dial 100 is not a dedicated suicide helpline, but the police would definitely help if such distress calls are received.

According to a senior police officer from the city, Visakhapatnam often reports suicides for various reasons like family problems, domestic violence, failure in examination or professional life, love affairs and financial issues.

“There is definitely a need to have a dedicated helpline. There are stages in life when a person feels low, there must be someone to talk to them and say everything will be fine. People might have stigma to speak about mental issues to their close ones. So, a round-the- clock helpline with qualified counsellor seems to be mandatory with the increase in suicide cases across the country,” said a senior police officer.

He also stressed on the need for parental counselling in case of minors and teenagers. There was a case in which a minor boy ended his life after his parents refused to buy him a pet dog or mobile phone. Such incidents could be averted only by the parents, he said.

Senior psychiatrist and national president of Indian Psychiatric Society N.N. Raju said, “At least two-third of suicides can be averted by proper counselling to those suffering from mental stress,” stressing on the need for helpline.

He was probably first in the city to start a dedicated helpline for people with suicidal tendencies. But it could not be run for long to maintenance issues.

Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies could seek help and counselling by calling any of the numbers in the link below:

Suicide prevention helplines

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