Suicide rate in Kerala dips

Kozhikode: Kerala has dropped to fifth from first in the list of states with most number of suicides as the rate of death has marginally dipped. However, the statistics released by Crime Detachment Bureau suggests that suicide rate among the youth is increasing alarmingly.

In 2003, 28.9 out of one lakh people had committed suicide in the state. The number came down to 22.5 in 2017.

Thiruvananthapuram tops the list of districts in the state with most number of suicide deaths.

According to statistics of 2017, 1252 persons committed suicide in the capital district. Kollam stands second with 824 cases and Thrissur follows with 794 cases.

Kollam stands fifth in the list of districts with most cases of suicide deaths in the country. Chennai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Mumbai  take the ranks from first to four respectively.

The Crime Detachment Bureau infers  that family related problems were the cause behind most of the suicides -60 percent.  20 percent of the suicides were for psychological reasons.

The data suggest that rate of suicide among people between the age group of 20-30 has increased by 20 percent. Increased doping of drugs is the main reason for the rise in the percentage of suicide among the age group.

Dr. P N Suresh Kumar,  specialist in mental health told Madhyamam that collective efforts have proved effective in bringing down the rate of suicides in the state.

The activities of Crisis, Thanal, Mythri, Sajjivani and other agencies under Medical Education, from religious institutions and public collectives like Kudumbashree and Ayalpakkavedi have helped to bring down the rate.

The awareness programmes by the media also helped.

Dr. Suresh also said that early identification and treatment of psychological issues helped to boost the mental health of the people and that also helped to bring down the rate.