Running her dry fingers through her hair, she pulled out a few strands in a fit of rage. Her hair was falling apart, and so was her heart. From behind, a chilling voice echoed,
“Maybe, you aren’t meant to be.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She walked out the door, politely closing it behind her. The visual was crystal clear in her mind. A few minutes ago, she was on her knees begging for help. Help that could have changed her decision. Nevertheless, she had made up her mind.
She walked like she never did. It was not anger or disappointment that reflected in her face. It was happiness that all her sufferings were coming to an end.
In a while, she found herself on the highest platform she could think of. All she had to do was reach the ground. She chose the simplest path. She jumped.
As she fell, she saw a flashing image of her vacation in Bali with her parents last summer. It reminded her of the funny conversations she’s had with her parents of teasing her younger sister. For a brief moment, she wanted to fly her way back up or magically press open a parachute. It was too late, the ground was approaching and after a booming thud, she lay there unconscious.
Being the second biggest cause of death among 15–29 year olds globally and with close to 800,000 people dying every year, each suicide is an urgent call towards mental health awareness.
Looking at the numbers and the cases, one cannot attribute the prevention and the cure to anything specific.
With suicide accounting for 1.4% of all deaths worldwide, understanding the reasons beneath and the maturity to accept things as they may be, are crucial before presenting a generalized outlook.
Youth suicides, in particular, are preceded by the common stresses of adolescence which aren’t commonly responded with violent behavior, yet fetch grave consequences.
Symptoms may seem to be part of a common routine which can be triggered by anything out of the ordinary. Suicidal people aren’t necessarily “sad” all the time as easily misunderstood.
Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade, Chester Bennington, to quote a few names from the recent past, aren’t people who were easily recognized to have had suicidal thoughts but their sudden deaths insist the understanding of the absence of a single-point cause.
Excessive thinking over reasons to live, influenced by circumstances in that environment, differs over age. The problem is that the circumstances are relative and what seems to be terrible tends to be ordinary. This thinking process happens within oneself, which, being intricately complex in itself becomes too much to handle with projections into the past and the future.
It becomes important to take control of choices, emotions, decisions and conclusively anything from imparting an internal sense of destructive delirium while holding on to what really matters.
When trying to comprehend the struggle yourself, reaching out for help is not wrong, in fact, it’s a better path. People who can help needn’t be friends and family, there are various helplines and support initiatives as well. Every step taken in a direction towards redirecting the mind helps in dealing with hardships in a different light.
Life is a gift that some are denied. A path filled with obstacles, a hurdle to be tackled with extreme prudence. Our choices and our decisions should both be a result of our civilization, maturity and our strong-mindedness to strive through stressful situations and also to lead a successful life. One must understand that death can never mean the end or a solution to a problem.
Nothing is more elegant than life itself. The choice lies in our stride, to embrace it or to end it. Don’t let obstacles enclose your thoughts and enjoy the little elements that embellish the journey of life.
This article was written in collaboration with Vedanjali Polaki and Kavya Muralidharan.
