When someone commits suicide, he or she most likely does it out of frustration saved up for many days. In most cases, the victims die without expressing their feelings even for the last time. Only a few weeks ago, Tarun Hossain, a student of Dhaka University, committed suicide before next one follows the same path. Such deaths raise the question: Why do the victims find it hard to express about the pressures they are dealing with? What is the underlying root cause of such suicides?
The consequences of suicidal events are inevitable. People burst into storms commenting on the unfortunate incident. No matter how people react to any suicide, the sense of worthlessness leads to suicidal thoughts in the minds of many of us. Self-preservation is in the instincts of any human being. Have we ever thought why people committing suicide find themselves all alone with no one to share, let alone seek professional help? Why do people find it easy to kill themselves against own survival instincts?
World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that globally in every 40 seconds a person commits suicide somewhere. The most alarming fact is that suicide is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 age groups globally. In 2015, WHO reported Bangladesh as the 10th ranked country among high-suicide prone countries. On the other hand, Bangladesh Health Injury Survey 2016 found that 23,868 suicides occurred in Bangldesh in one year. Such statistics show severity of the issue and how it must be addressed properly as soon as possible.
The most worrying fact is that no matter how well our nation progressed in terms of attaining child and maternal mortality rate and also in other health indexes, such suicidal deaths cannot be cured with any doctor or medicine. The suicide of Tarun Hossain raised many questions. His acquaintances are blaming his poor academic result and humble family background for his suicide. But why did even his close ones have no idea about his such attempt? How can he be so lonely even though he was surrounded by many friends in class, social media and in his own village or town? Was it his poor communication ability or lack of empathy from the people he used to meet everyday? The answer to last question bears special significance.
Poor academic result, unhealthy competition, peer pressure and poor time management are the reasons for stress for most of the people. It is an irony that though we know the capability of any human brain is beyond limit, stresses are blamed as the prime reason for suicides. Anyone can overcome anything if he or she has the proper mindset. While many other people argue that depression is the key reason for suicides, as in most cases aching from depression appears too heavy to bear. Our mind follows a wonderful mechanism. No matter what we think about ourselves, our mind conceives it. The process can be dangerous if mind conceives something in the wrong direction. "Perhaps, they are right, I am worthless, everyone will be better off without me," such inner monologue inside the heads of any depressed triggers suicidal attempts. For that, in most cases, people suffer from these thought processes in all alone and kill themselves silently. If someone is suspected facing depression, it is our moral duty to speak to the hearts of people. Only a few minutes can be the means of his or her fight against injustice.
We have been on our way to becoming a progressive nation. But if we fail repeatedly to listen to the hearts who are suffering from injustices and social insults, will the progress be sustainable? How can we be so sure that our dearest ones are not suffering from the same chattering inside their minds? While finding the answer to these questions, remember that your deep feeling after the death of your close ones will not change anything.
Let us spread the message that each and every single soul in the world matters to us. The only important issue is that we have to treat each other as a solution, not as a problem. Only a few minutes of conversation in time can save a life.
The writer is a student of MBA programme at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka; [email protected]
