Thursday, May 2, 2019

How to prevent suicidal behavior?

Written by Dr. Omar Javaid

According to WHO “is the second leading cause of death among 15-29 year olds globally”[1], Will Storr[2] suggests that high use of anti-depressant drugs prevent many from committing suicides, if such drugs are not available than perhaps the rate of suicide would have been many times more. In Finland, the country declared happiest by UN, 6.93 times more people commit suicide than in Pakistan[3]! The rate is many times higher in other Nordic countries as well in comparison to countries like Pakistans[4]. Are people committing suicide out of happiness?

In Pakistan we also see a rising trend of suicide among teenagers or students[5].

Why this is happening, what is the cause, and how to fix it?

To understand the cause of suicide, cause of depression needs to be investigated, as depressed people are more likely to commit suicide.

Depression is caused or aggravated by many factors. Some of these factors are (a) lack of having a meaningful purpose in life[6], (b) loneliness[7], (c) lack of moral support[8], (d) constant comparison with others on social media[9], (e) personal standards too high or too unrealistic to achieve[10], (f) junk and unhealthy food[11], (g) side effects of some medicines[12] (h) genetic reasons[13] etc.

It is interesting to note that almost all of these factors are abundantly found in modern lifestyle[14]. The more you modernize the more you are perhaps at a risk of getting exposed with these … here is some more detail:

a)      Modern worldview has little acceptance of religious beliefs which are rather labeled as superstitious. Modern education, media, movies, literature etc. all directly or indirectly exposes us to modern world view. Religious beliefs which used to give meaning to our lives, are no longer able to do so. Even Yuval Noah Harari[15], an atheist, agrees and claims that people living in older times were happier because of their religious beliefs despite their lives were more difficult.

b)      Modern lifestyle encourages us and prepares us to become an instrument of the modern market, where we find ourselves competing for our survival on our own. Market relationships are conditional and often superficial. Furthermore, our life in the market becomes mechanical, leaving little time for ourselves and our family members[16].

c)       Parents who are too busy in their professional roles often spend lesser time with children, leaving them alone to handle the educational pressures and other emotional issues on their own[17].

d)      Materialistic[18] and consumerist[19] values, also brings people closer to products and away from each other, leaving a void behind, which feels even more hollow when they compare themselves with others. They unsuccessfully try to fill the void with more products and leisure, and act as if they are happy on social media[20]. Those who cannot afford to buy stuff are left behind, leaving them worse off psychologically, which is intensified when they compare themselves with others on social media.

e)      Advertisements, and show off culture in a modern society, encourages people to set standards too high for themselves, not in terms of what they own, but also how they should look and behave. Standards are often unrealistic, not possible genetically when it comes to looks and behavior, leaving a person feeling disappointed with him or herself all the time[21]. Women suffer more as compare to men in this context[22]. Performance standard in schools do the same with kids[23], particularly when their parents also become demanding.

f)       The junk and process food we eat in a modern society contains toxins which can adversely affect our physical[24] and mental health[25]. Lack of exercise is another cause[26]. A sick body and a weaker nervous system can eventually lead to depression. Teenagers unfortunately harm themselves more then their elders. Electromagnetic radiation emitting from all electronic (cellphones laptops etc.) and electrical devices is also acknowledged as cause of depression by WHO[27].

g)      Many pharma products also weaken our nervous systems, antibiotics which significantly harm our gut bacterial culture, has been found to cause depression as well. Many drugs has a direct adverse effect on our nervous system like Ibuprofen etc. in the form of side effects (see for list side effects for every drug available in the market on druginfosys.com).

h)      Scientists has discovered some genetic conditions which may also put us as risk of depression, and if we are at risk and indulge in all of the above, then we are more likely to mentally harm ourselves than others.

In the light of the above, to address the problem of depression, we simply have to flip our modern lives, looking at the causes just mentioned, the following can be done

a)      Adopt a meaningful worldview, give your life a meaning, and try to live by it.

b)      Spend more time with family and real friends, talk to them about problems you face in life, how you feel about stuff, but do this in real time, not through your phone apps.

c)       Parents should spend more time with kids, reconsider their career as more money is unlikely to make your kid happy, while your absence if highly likely to affect their mental health.

d)      Only purchase to fulfill necessities, avoid watching advertisement, unfollow people on social media who show off, do not get into competition over higher consumption, more time with friends and family, less or no time with products.

e)      Stop comparing yourself with others who are more well off materially, rather compare yourself with those are less well off

f)       Do no pressurize your kids for higher grades, encourage them on whatever they get, as long as they are passing the exams. Try home schooling if possible, or shift to a project-based experiential learning schooling environment.

g)      Accept yourself the way you are, lots of your personality traits like introversion are genetic, focus instead on your innate strengths, not the ones branded by social media

h)      Eat organic or home cooked food, avoid junk and processed food! Try to spend more time in nature, in the sun and less surrounded by electrical and electronic gadgets and gizmos

i)        Eating healthy will also make you less sick and thus keep you away from medicines. If needed, prefer herbal and natural medicines.

j)        Exercise is also acknowledged as an effective antidote of depression

Simply speaking, bringing ourselves closer to nature requirements of our body, mind and soul will eventually keep us mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually healthy, and eliminating the possibility of killing ourselves in despair.

References: 

[1] Source: https://www.who.int/mental_health/suicide-prevention/en/

[2] Page 6-7 of his book ‘Selfie: How the West Became Self-Obsessed’

[3] 20.8 suicides per 100,000 as per WHO database, versus 3 per 100,000 in Pakistan. Source: http://gamapserver.who.int/gho/interactive_charts/mental_health/suicide_rates/atlas.html

[4] Ibid

[5] Source: (a) https://www.dawn.com/news/1431413; (b) https://www.dawn.com/news/724902; (c) https://www.samaa.tv/opinion/2017/11/increasing-suicides-among-young-pakistanis/ (d) https://nation.com.pk/19-Aug-2018/student-suicides-in-pakistan-wake-up-call-for-parents-and-educational-administrators

[6] Sources: (a) https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF01537716, (b) https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1994-33873-001 (c) https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/twin-research-and-human-genetics/article/religion-and-depression-a-review-of-the-re/40DF8B156A139BAF85929E8DCAB1A76E# (d) https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1996.tb02311.x

[7] Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28767331

[8] Source: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/development-and-psychopathology/article/discrimination-crime-ethnic-identity-and-parenting-as-correlates-of-depressive-symptoms-among-african-american-children-a-multilevel-analysis/D786149CCD1E0561FD726F466B448503

[9] Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/da.22466

[10] Key theme in Will Storr book Selfie: How the West Become Self-Obsessed

[11] Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cch.12068

[12] Source: (a) https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/medicines-cause-depression#1; (b) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26580313

[13] Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6065213/

[14] Source: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165032711007993

[15] Page 438 of his book Sapiens

[16] Karl Polyani, The Great Transformation; Durkheim (source: http://durkheim.uchicago.edu/Summaries/suicide.html)

[17] See footnote # 8

[18] Source: https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/29/3/348/1800916

[19] Source: https://www.apa.org/monitor/jun04/discontents

[20] Will Storr’s book Selfie: How the West Become Self-Obsessed, particularly the last two chapters

[21] Ibid

[22] Killing us Softly, a Documentary by Jean Killbourn,

[23] Source: http://time.com/4547322/american-teens-anxious-depressed-overwhelmed/

[24] Source: (a) https://www.livescience.com/54431-phthalates-fast-food.html; (b) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05649-7; (c) https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/neuronarrative/201709/the-link-between-sugar-and-depression-what-you-should-know

[25] Source: (a) https://www.shape.com/healthy-eating/junk-food-making-you-depressed; (b) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-05649-7

[26] Source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/exercise-is-an-all-natural-treatment-to-fight-depression

[27] Source: https://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/WhatisEMF/en/index1.html

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