Suicide by teenagers growing alarmingly

JAIPUR: Suicide among youngsters is assuming epidemic proportions. It is time when education department should react and direct the institutes to
set-up counseling services for students and parents.
Consultant psychiatrist and associate professor at SMS Medical College, Lalit Batra said there has been sudden spurt in the number of depression, anxiety and exam phobia-related cases. At the time when parents bring their wards to him it is difficult to predict whether the patient, under extreme depression, might commit suicide. It is only with time that stress and anxiety increases and the victim fails to find any support and therefore takes the extreme step.
“The factors, responsible for depression or stress among young students are biological, social or personality-related. Parents and friends are equipped to spot biological changes in the person,” he said.
In case of stress, parents should identify the change in the attitude of their children so that timely counselling could be provided by psychiatrist and the cause of stress diagnosed, he added. At the same time, parents and friends should communicate with the persons so as to provide him opportunity to ‘open up’ and share his worries. If he would share his worries and find support or solution from the family and friends, he would feel comfortable, said Batra. Another thing which parents should keep in mind is that they should not impose their unrealistic dreams on their children but allow them freedom to choose their career.
Regarding academic stress, he said that there is a lot of pressure on the young students from the parents and society to perform due to which they remain under extreme stress. “If counseling services are set up in schools and colleges for the students and parents, there is a possibility that the cause of stress would be diagnosed at an early stage,” he said. If the cause is diagnosed and treated in time, there is less chance of suicide, he added.
Aditi Manohar, a local resident said that her son, studying at a coaching institute in Kota, was under stress due to academic pressure but his problem was detected by the family doctor on time.
“Fortunately he was treated on time and he changed his subject” she said. She also said that pressure has been created by social set-up in India. Here the reputation of family is decided by the performance of their children in academics.