Suicide rates alarmingly high among Indian women

Married women fall in the high-risk category                                         Representational Image

 New Delhi, September 14, 2018: A study in The Lancet has found that about 37% of global suicide deaths among women and 24% among men occur in India. Married women account for the highest proportion of suicide deaths in India, across lines of religion, geography, social class and age. Awareness needs to be raised that dangerous level of ignorance and stigmatization, family pressures, career, and financial worries and an increasing influence of social media are putting many Indians at risk.

Suicide is a public health crisis. Arranged and early marriage are thought to be behind high suicide rates among women in India.

Speaking about this, Padma Shri Awardee, Dr KK Aggarwal, President, HCFI, said, “Suicidal ideation is a medical emergency. Risk factors include psychiatric known disorders, medical illness, prior history of suicidal attempts, or family history of attempted suicide. The risk of suicide increases with increase in age; however, younger and adolescents attempt suicide more than the older. Females attempt suicide more frequently than males, but males are successful three times more often. The highest suicidal rate is amongst unmarried individuals followed by those who are widowed, separated, divorced, married without children and married with children in descending order. Living alone increases the risk of suicide.”

In people in whom the sympathetic nervous system is dominant, there is a feeling of nervousness, jitteriness or tension. When a person is depressed, there is a disconnect between his physical and mental health.

Adding further, Dr Aggarwal, who is also the Vice President of CMAAO, said, “Quantum physics explains that the mechanism of depression and anxiety can be an imbalance between understanding the wave particle duality function. Balancing this can further help in treating depression and other such mental disorders. The parasympathetic nervous system plays a vital role in maintaining both mental and physical health by helping the body to calm down from stress reactions that elevate blood pressure, dilate the pupils, and divert energy from other body processes to either fight or flee.”

Some tips from HCFI for a parasympathetic lifestyle

• Consume a diet based on whole foods. This includes green leafy vegetables, quality protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates.
• Staying hydrated will help the lymphatic system flush out toxins and remove the metabolic waste out of the body. This is essential to detoxify, nourish, and regenerate tissue.
• Exercise is positive physiological stress for the body. Yoga, for example, is known to accrue great benefits to both the mind and body.
• Practice mindfulness including a combination of practices, habits, thoughts, and behavior to help you get through your daily life. Mindfulness means intentionally and actively seeking to lower the body’s response to stress.