Dr. Muhammad Mahtab Hossain Mazed

Today Tuesday 10 September is World Suicide Prevention Day 2024. Since 2003, International Suicide Prevention Day has been observed on 10th September every year to prevent suicide in the world. The organization works together with the World Health Organization and the World Federation of Mental Health to raise public awareness to prevent suicide by observing the daySuicide is one of the leading causes of death in the world today.

Every 40 seconds someone commits suicide somewhere in the world. According to the World Health Organization report, about eight million people commit suicide every year. In particular, young people between the ages of 19 and 25 are reported to commit suicide more. Which is an irreparable loss for humanity.

According to various surveys, Bangladesh ranks 13th in terms of the highest number of suicides in the world. 10th in South Asia. Suicide cases are increasing every year and an average of 30 people commit suicide every day. According to experts, some of the reasons behind suicide are emotional depression and depression, marital discord or disunity in any relationship, poverty, unemployment, lack of awareness about mental health and non-cooperation from the environment. by doing According to the survey, 1 million people commit suicide in the world every year. One suicide occurs every 40 seconds. Another survey says that suicides have increased by 60 percent in the last 45 years. Suicide is one of the three main causes of death of people between the ages of 15 and 44 in the world. That's allAnd last year, this survey was conducted by collecting data on student suicide from 105 national, local newspapers and online news portals in the country. A total of 513 students committed suicide. Among them, 227 are school students (this rate is 44.2), 140 are college students (this is 27.2), 98 are university students (this is 19.1) and 48 are madrasa students (this is 9.4). Out of 513 students, there were 204 male students (this rate is 39.8). On the other hand, there were 309 female students (this rate is 60.2). Earlier in 2022 there were 532 students who committed suicide. A slight decrease in 2023 but not as expected.

The division with the highest number of suicides: Till December last year, the highest number of suicides occurred in Dhaka division. 149 students committed suicide in this department. After that 89 people committed suicide in Chittagong division, 77 in Rajshahi division, 64 in Khulna division, 12 in Sylhet, 43 in both Barisal and Rangpur divisions and 36 in Mymensingh.

Female Students Highest in Suicide Statistics: It is said that female students are the highest in suicides. Out of 513 students, 60.2 percent female students committed suicide in the last year. Considering the reasons for suicide of female students alone, it is seen that 28.8 percent of female students commit suicide due to pride, 16.5 percent due to love affair, 8.4 percent due to mental imbalance, 7.1 percent due to family disputes, 3.9 percent due to sexual harassment and 4 due to study pressure. Decimal 2 percent are womenThe student committed suicide.In addition, due to failure in the examination, students chose suicide at the same rate.

Reasons for suicide: The survey found that the biggest reason behind student suicide in 2023 was pride, which accounted for 165 students or 32.2 percent. After that, 14.8 percent committed suicide due to love. 9.9 percent students chose to commit suicide due to mental problems, 6.2 percent due to family disputes, 1.4 percent students committed suicide due to family violence.

It has also been seen that 4.5 percent of students committed suicide due to the pressure of studies last year, 3.5 percent failed in exams and 1.8 percent students blocked the way to survive by failing to achieve desired results in public exams. 2.5% committed suicide due to sexual harassment and 0.8% committed suicide due to humiliation.

1.6 percent due to domestic abuse, 0.6 percent due to humiliation and 2.9 percent female students committed suicide due to not getting desired results in public examinations.

Institution-wise review: Considering the education level of students who commit suicide, school-going students are the most likely to commit suicide. 227 of the total suicide students i.e. 44.2 percent were school goers. Besides, 140 college going students were among those who committed suicide, which is 27.3 percent. There were 98 university students which is 19.1 percent and 48 madrasa students among those who committed suicide (this rate is 9.5 percent).

Adolescents are more at risk: Adolescents tend to engage in various risky activities. Again, the tendency to show more anger can be observed during this period.

According to the age wise consideration of suicides, the highest number of 13-19 year old students have committed suicide which is 341 which is 66.5 percent. Among them 222 female students and on the contrary 119 male students. The suicide rate of students aged 20-25 years is 23.4 percent. The suicide rate of students aged 26-30 is 2.3. 1-12 year students were 7.8 percent.

University-based suicide: It has emerged that out of 513 students who committed suicide in 2023, 98 were university students, which is 19.1 percent of the total number. Among them, 26 from National University, 19 from General Public University, 1 from Agricultural University, 14 from Private University, 7 from Science and Technology University, 6 from Medical College, 5 from Nursing Institute, 2 from Polytechnic Institute, 3 from Engineering University, and others15 students chose to commit suicide.The analysis of university-based data showed that the highest number of suicides occurred in Dhaka University. In 2023, 5 students of Dhaka University, 5 students of Chittagong University, 3 students of Jahangirnagar University, 2 students of Rajshahi University and 1 student each of Jagannath University, Comilla University, Barisal University and Islami University chose suicide. The reason behind the high rate of suicide among university students is love, which is 16.5 percent, 22.7 percent of university students chose to commit suicide despite suffering from mental problems.

According to the calculations of the police headquarters, an average of 10,000 people commit suicide by hanging and consuming poison in Bangladesh every year. Currently, the trend of suicide has increased due to various reasons. This rate is 8.5 people per lakh. We have taken the challenge to bring it down to 3.5 in 2025 and 2.8 in 2030. But it is not possible for anyone alone, everyone in the society has to come forward. For this, emphasis should be placed on mental health. "Suicide is the greatest act of cowardice in life" - famous Napoleon Bonaparte quote. Fakir Lalan Sai, the great saint of India, saw life as a stage for a wonderful pursuit. Jibanananda Das poured surrealistic ideas into the lines of poetry due to the pull of that life. The philosophers despised death and glorified life. But why this suicide? Why this aversion to life? Medical science considers suicide attempts to be a serious symptom of depression. Many countries around the world criminalize suicide. However, according to the World Health Organization survey, suicide is the 13th leading cause of death in the world every year.

Older people are dying more from heart attacks, suicides are also on the rise: Heart attacks are the number one cause of death for people over the age of 60. Heart attacks accounted for 23.8 percent of all deaths. It is followed by brain stroke 11.5, respiratory disease 11, heart disease 6, asthma 5.2, high blood pressure 3.7, diabetes 3.3, kidney disease 2.9, liver cancer 2.8, paralysis 2.2. , blood cancer 1.9 percent, pneumonia 1.5 percent and stomach cancer 1 percentPeople die.Apart from these diseases, 2 percent of the country's people die due to other causes.

Other causes include suicide, murder, snakebite, road accidents and burns. BBS lists 100 causes of human death. One of them is suicide. In the future, the organization will publish a separate report on suicide through the Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics survey. BBS now collects information from the police and inputs suicide reports into the SDG tracker. The organization plans to work on this separately.

For this, emphasis should be placed on mental health. Mental health sector should be given importance in public health. BBS will publish suicide survey in future under Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics.

> Causes of suicide:
* Genetic: One of the reasons for the tendency to commit suicide is genetic (heredity). Genes are responsible for about 50 percent of all suicides. As a result, if one person commits suicide in a family, it affects other members as well.

* Impulsivity: Impulsivity is one of the causes of suicide. Many people suddenly commit suicide despite not having mental illness. Suicide after being raped, suicide due to marital discord, suicide after publishing test results, suicide after being rejected in love, suicide after news of the death of a loved one, etc. are some of them.
* Mental illness: One of the reasons for suicide is mental illness. These include depression, manic-depressive, schizophrenia, personality disorder and love obsession.

* Stress of expectations: Some have high expectations. There is also philanthropy. If one fails himself and someone close to him succeeds, he chooses the path of suicide out of that melancholy. Sometimes we put too much pressure on ourselves.

* Family conflict: Many times husband or wife commits suicide due to marital conflict. Many times the children step on this path not being able to bear the pain of their parents' daily quarrels.

* Poverty: Particularly, poverty is one of the leading causes of suicide in our subcontinent. Many are in debt most of the time. It creates extra pressure on his head. A person cannot be in a cheerful mood at will. Unable to pay the debt, he chose to commit suicide.

* Unplanned Women's Empowerment: Women are present today in many fields outside the home due to the combined efforts of the government and private NGOs and entrepreneurs in empowering women. From industries to education and even the military, women are victorious. But women's safety outside the home, a very important part of women's empowerment, has not been given enough importance. As a result, many were forced to commit suicide by being victims of eve teasing or molestation or sexual abuse on the way to work.

* Night waking habit: Suffering from mental illness and suicide, most of them suffer from not sleeping properly at night.

* Drug Addiction: Suicide rate is high among alcoholics. The suicide rate of heroin addicts is about 14 times higher than the general population. Yaba consumption also increases the risk of suicide.

* Gambling: Suicide is more common among gamblers. Many gamblers sell everything and get rich. After that he chose to commit suicide mainly due to debt. The suicide rate of their housewives is almost three times higher than that of the general population.

* Chronic Painful Illnesses: Suicidal tendencies are more common among patients with long-term, painful and expensive illnesses like chronic pain, cancer, kidney failure, insomnia, asthma etc. A person's risk of suicide nearly doubles when they are diagnosed with cancer.

* Love Obsession: Too much love leads to a mental illness called 'Love Obsession'. As a result, a person suffering from this disease cannot tolerate even the slightest neglect of loved ones. Failing in love, he became mentally ill, so he took the path of suicide to get back the person he loved or because of his grief.
> Signs of suicide
Feeling like a burden to others or not being able to express endless suffering is also one of the symptoms of suicideBesides, suddenly giving away all one's belongings to others, expressing various thoughts about death, collecting various information related to suicide, visible distractions such as getting excited at the slightest, talking about revenge, crying for no reason, withdrawing oneself, Abnormal calmness - theseThe symptoms should also be understood that the person may have planned suicide.> What to do to prevent suicide:-
1. Listen to what they have to say without making a judgment call. Don't disrespect their experiences or emotions.
2. Awareness should be raised widely at individual, family, society and state levels to prevent suicide.
3. Suicide rates are higher among drug addicts, the mentally ill, immigrants, the unemployed, and the culturally marginalized. For this reason, special support programs are necessary for them.
4. Suicides are happening in our country due to dowry, domestic violence and molestation. Women's education and women's empowerment are needed to eliminate these. Changing the attitude of men and women towards women can also be considered as one of the ways to prevent suicide.
Finally, to prevent suicide, the first step is to identify suicidal people. Then proper measures should be taken to keep them away from suicide. Especially those who suffer from various mental disorders, they should be ensured health care and social services. And firearms, pesticides or poisons, toxic substances etc. should be kept away from the person suffering from mental disorders. Apart from this, anti-suicide campaigns should be carried out in the media. Therefore, we all should strengthen our family and social ties. Keeping track of each other. Making everyone aware of the society. Then gradually the tendency of suicide will decrease. The word suicide will be deleted. So let's be aware of suicide prevention. Save the life of loved ones.

The writer is a organizer, columnist and researcher Founder Chairman,Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society.