SRINAGAR: Sexual abuse in childhood haunted a 21-year-old man to the extent that he tried to end his life. Flashback of the horror was repeatedly playing in his mind. Neither he could sleep nor concentrate.
“It was a tough call. He was sexually abused in his childhood and the trauma was haunting him ever since. He was feeling embarrassed. He attempted to end his life twice. He developed anger issues and was not able to cope with the trauma,” said a counselor at `Zindagi’, a suicide prevention helpline.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Muslim-dominated Kashmir is witnessing an upheaval. Stress, depression, career, and other family issues are making people vulnerable. Suicidal tendencies are increasing among all age groups irrespective of financial security and societal status.
“We receive 10 calls per day on our helpline. Of them, five are in the high-risk bracket. We try to counsel them. The basic philosophy behind suicide prevention is that you have to convince people to take a pause and stop them from taking the extreme step. Once we achieve this pause, we start other interventions like psychiatric consultation and all,” said Mohammad Afaaq Sayeed, Director, SRO Kashmir.
Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, (IMHANS) in collaboration with a Non-Government Organization, SRO, Kashmir set up `Zindagi’, last year. The helpline – 18002701008– offers suicide prevention counseling, first aid, psychological support, distress management, mental well-being, promoting positive behavior, and psychological crisis management.
“It is a myth that only younger people have suicidal tendencies. We receive calls even from 60-year-old people. Even some of them are financially sound. Different people have different problems. Some are working in top positions in the corporate world but they are worried about targets. Some are stressed out because of the academic competition. Some have family issues,” said Sayeed.
Sample this: A failed marriage and subsequent taunts made young woman a mental wreck. Even though she was not responsible for her failed marriage, her family members were thinking otherwise. One fine evening, she decided to end her life. Luckily she made the last call to `Zindagi’ to inform them about her trauma.
“She was on the verge of ending her life. I was holding the phone and trying to pull her back remotely. After a lot of persuasion, she finally backed off much to my relief. She was blamed for failed marriage when she was not at fault. This was killing her from inside,” said a counselor.
Dr. Zoya Mir, a clinical psychologist at Zindagi, said the suicide rate is increasing in Kashmir. “Because of being a Muslim-dominated society, suicide was not in our wildest of dreams. We were taught harming oneself or suicide is Haraam. Those who attempt suicide do not want to die but they want an end to their pain. When they are not able to control their pain, and trauma, they think suicide is a last resort,” she said.To make people feel better, Zindagi has put 12 clinical psychologists on the job who listen to calls every day from 6 pm to 11 pm. “Six psychiatrists are also available, We are expanding slowly. There is a paucity of clinical psychologists in Kashmir. We tend to make it a 24×7 helpline. Besides, providing counseling, we also do medical interventions wherever necessary,” said Sayeed
