AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
PANJIM: Why is a happy State the world comes to, plagued by a statistic that reveals a sad back story if some layers are peeled off, the idyll that Goa seems to be.
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One hundred and nine cases of death due to suicide were recorded by the Forensic Department of Goa Medical College (GMC) from the start of 2024 till October 31, according to figures available from the hospital.
Whilst the average is twelve cases per lakh population, Goa has an average of seventeen. From the one hundred and nine cases recorded at GMC, there have been seventy-four cases of asphyxia due to hanging and thirty-five due to drowning.
“Suicide is slightly higher in Goa because of societal pressures. The onus is not on the individual but on society. The tendency to die by suicide raises its head when expectations are high and this happens in Goa because our rate of education and standard of living is high,” thinks psychiatrist Dr Tanvi Pednekar, attached with the Directorate of Health Services (DHS).
“Because of the traditional gender role of our society, where the male is supposed to be strong in withholding his emotions in distress, he more often hesitates to seek help and that is one reason they are more prone,” suggests Dr Shilpa Pandya consultant psychiatrist at V M Salgaocar Hospital in Chicalim.
Goa is listed as one of the effluent States of the country and that is one reason attributed to the higher rate of death by suicide in Goa.
“It would help if our State created crisis centres which would offer more than just medical treatment but also a safe empathetic environment to recover,” thinks Dr Peter Castellino founder of Cause Of Our Joy (COOJ) Mental Health Foundation.
Lack of such centres, believes Dr Castellino, is one reason why the average of people dying of suicide in Goa is higher than other States.
“With education comes expectations and the inability to meet such expectations puts pressure on people. One needs to understand that when a suicide takes place it is not only the individual that is responsible but society at large. It is a collective problem,” thinks Dr Castellino.
That death by suicide is a societal problem can be elucidated by a death-by-suicide case of a Goan reported out of the State. In his note, he mentioned that by depriving him of his right to see his son, his wife who had a paramour, pushed him to the brink.
“My brother even went to the Women and Child Development (WCD) Department for help, hoping to get to see his son and when he could not, lost it,’ moaned the victim’s brother.
“When a person is under stress, it is best the individual first shares it with someone near to him or her. Goa now has two call centres – COOJ and Tele Manas which provide twenty-four-hour assistance. People should dial before thinking of the worst,” prompts Dr Pednekar.
Dr Castelino thinks, “The National Suicide Prevention Policy which came out in 2022 clearly highlights strategies which can be implemented, is meant to reduce suicides in India. Being a small State, implementation of the policy by the Government of Goa would be easier thereby making us a model State.”
“Counselling has started at most community health centres and people have begun visiting. Mental health is a taboo in Goa which is slowly shredding off,” admits Dr Pednekar.
“According to documented reports, students are a vulnerable group to stress and suicide. Measures like life skill training are important and should be made mandatory in educational institutes and there should be regulation to the sale of poisonous substances to young people,” advises Dr Castellino.
“Death by suicide cannot be only dealt with by the health system alone. A multi-sector collaboration backed by research-based evidence is needed and for this, we need to break the stigma and encourage research for prevention strategies,” believes Dr Pednekar.
