Written By: Nirmalya Dutta | Updated : June 4, 2013 12:28 PM IST
In a shocking incident, 25-year-old actress Jiah Khan also known as Nafisa committed suicide at her Juhu residence on Monday night. According to reports, she hung herself at around 11 PM but didn't leave any suicide notes. The 25-year-old had worked with Amitabh Bachchan in Ram Gopal Varma's Nishabd which was inspired by the Hollywood film American Beauty. Born and raised in London, the actress had shifted to India to pursue a career in acting and had appeared in Aamir Khan's Ghajni and Akshay Kumar's Housefull.
The police said the actress didn't leave behind any suicide note explaining her actions. The actress had last tweeted on May 24, 'So sorry I have been off twitter! Took a bit of a break from twitter verse.. sometimes u need a sabbatical to recollect ur thoughts (sic).'
Her colleagues from the film fraternity were understandably devastated by the news. Veteran actor Amitabh Bachachan wrote on Twitter, 'WHAT ...!!! Jiah Khan ??? what has happened ? is this correct ? unbelievable !!! (sic).' Others like Shahid Kapur, Arshad Warsi, Bipasha Basu, Aditi Rao Hydari, Neha Dhupia and Kunal Kapoor also expressed their shock and dismay.
Over a million take their lives every year
According to the WHO, over one million people commit suicide every year and it's the 13th leading cause of death the world over. It's the most commonly seen amongst teens and adults below the age of 35 and there are an estimated 10-20 million non-fatal attempted suicides every year worldwide.
The situation is equally bad in India with a Lancet study claiming that over 1.8 lakh people commit suicide every year in India meaning that it takes twice as many lives as HIV/AIDS. Most experts believe that those who commit suicide are suffering from either deep depression or other forms of mental health issues and our society is not geared to help those in need. Even today, seeking therapy is taboo.
What causes people to take their lives?
While in urban India it's mostly linked to spurned love, academic results, financial difficulties, substance-related cases and coercion, in rural India it's mostly due to high debts, or the inability to provide for the family. On the other hand in rural India, official stats suggest that 17,000 farmers committed suicide in 2009 while NGOs and other bodies say that it could be as high as a quarter of a million.
Experts say that people commit suicide when they feel they don't have a way out. Their sense of grief or despair overpowers all other ailments. They often believe they're isolated, that they can't share their feelings with anybody, further worsening the situation. Sometimes it's also caused due to abuse (physical, emotional or sexual).
People who are suffering from a mental illness such as schizophrenia or clinical depression do have significantly higher suicide rates than average, although they are still in the minority of attempters. For these people, having their illness correctly diagnosed can mean that an appropriate treatment can begin. The only solution is to increase awareness, recognising the symptoms and helping suicidal people.
Update: Film director Ram Gopal Verma claimed that the actress was depressed and worried about her career.
What is depression?
As an illness, depression is as debilitating as a heart disease or HIV/AIDS. Those who suffer from the condition often describe the feeling as having a black cloud over their heads, which prevents them from enjoying anything or even functioning normally. One out of 20 people in the world suffer from depression but sadly many of them are forced to live in denial about the disease.
So how is depression different from sadness?
Sadness is part of the life without which happiness would have no meaning. To feel sad during major life crises like the death of a loved one, losing a job or the ending of a relationship is normal. Depression on the other hand is a condition where there is prolonged sadness and an individual's mood isn't tied to life events. While healthy individuals have moods related to life events, people suffering from depression suffer from disproportionate amount of sadness and guilt. It is a serious medical condition in which the symptoms make it difficult for the person to function in society, often leads to poor physical health and severe emotional pain. Read more...
