Actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s was another in the growing list of celebrities who have pulled the plug on their lives. But there is a way to turn despair to hope, but it needs society to empathise and then energise the effort to fight and overcome depression, which is surely on the rise during the COVID period
The death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput has once again brought the heart-wrenching reality of suicide into focus. In Goa, mental health workers say the number of people struggling with depression, as they cope with the Covid-19 pandemic and its restrictions, has increased.
Margao-based psychiatrist, Dr Enid Miranda, offers an explanation for the increased number of cases she’s seeing: “The Covid-19 pandemic, which is a global health crisis, has sparked off economical and social crises in its wake. This is causing more and more people to become depressed as they cope with issues ranging from being alone to not being able to meet their family and friends to losing their job.”
She suggests a must-do in this time of social-distancing: “Stay in touch with your family and friends through the telephone and social media and don’t just make small talk but share how you are feeling.”
To maintain mental health—that balance in emotions that helps one handle life’s ups and downs—she suggests sticking to a daily routine, even if life has changed; sleeping for at least 7 hours at night; eating regular and healthy meals; exercising the body and mind, including through meditation and prayer; and reaching out to those around you who need help.
“When you offer help and you indulge in a creative activity you feel better about yourself,” she says.
The rise in cases is evident. Covidav.com, launched by the Psychiatric Society of Goa in April, to enable those seeking support to access mental health professionals, has on record almost 350 people from across India who are using its online audio and video services.
Nishadh Amonkar, the founder of internet start-up Octo, who founded this multi-NGO and government-collaborated online service, says of the number, “It’s definitely a spike. Almost 60% of the people are women and the average age is 25 to 30 years. Hindi is the second-most commonly spoken language after English on the website.”
The Taleigao-based Amonkar, incidentally, set up the website after he realised that his psychiatrist wife Akshada, like many in her field, were struggling to support people during the lockdown
Miriam Sequeira, a psychologist with mental health NGO, Sangath, says it is important to notice the signs of someone suicidal. “Please pay attention if someone you know is obsessing over making a will or sorting out their affairs or worrying about who will look after their children (or other responsibilities) if they’re not around or is leaning towards social media posts about death. These are warning signs from the person that may be accompanied by behavioural changes like crying, becoming very quiet, etc.”
She suggests listening without judgement, being supportive and getting the person help. If someone has taken steps towards ending their life make sure you are with them constantly if you can’t get them immediate help, she says.
Sequeira advises those who are suicidal to realise that their depressing thoughts are not permanent. Instead of focusing on the bigger issues that could arise from what one is dealing with, for instance, a job loss that can affect income and in turn other aspects of life, concentrate on doing daily tasks—take one moment at a time. “This will help the person find ways out of a seemingly depressing reality,” she says.
Donna Noronha, coordinator, suicide prevention programme, COOJ, suggests that those dealing with something negative in their lives identify what stage they are at. Known technically as the Kubler Ross Model, a person’s ability to deal with a negative issue, irrespective of its magnitude, is broken into five stages—denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. “The effort is to get to acceptance as soon as possible,” says Noronha.
“Acceptance is not about being okay with what’s going on, it’s about understanding that this is what’s going on and you can start to take positive actions to deal with it… Don’t close the book, turn the page,” suggests a video on WhatsApp by WisdomShots with regards to dealing with the new Covid-19 reality.
