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Abstract
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Suicide is one of the most common causes of death in young adults, across the world. Despite widespread public health efforts addressing suicide, incidence and prevalence rates appear to be on the rise. In India, in 2016, the age-standardized suicide rate was 14.7 per 100,000 women and 21.2 per 100,000 men. Suicide rates in the country appear to have fallen slightly, before the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, after a worrying rise between 2006 and 2015.1, 2 Despite this, India and China contribute to 40% of the 800,000 deaths due to suicide in across the world, every year. Data on the incidence of imitative suicide in India is lacking. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) Survey indicated that suicide was the leading cause of death in India in 2016 among those aged 15-39 years, the age group most vulnerable to the imitative effect. In total, 71.2% of the deaths by suicide among women and 57.7% among men were in this age group.
The novel coronavirus infection and subsequent lockdown seem to have further increased the mental health burden and risk of suicides. News reports indicate an increase in suicide rates in India, though formal statistical reports are awaited. A survey by The Mavericks India indicates that 61% of the respondents suffered from mental health concerns during the lockdown. The Jindal School of Law reported that suicide was the leading cause of all nonvirus deaths reported between March 26 and June 11, 2020.
Research from West Bengal during the lockdown indicated that 71.8% of respondents reported feeling more worried than usual, and 24.7% reported a worsening of depressive symptoms in the past two weeks. Strikingly, more respondents (69.6%) were worried about financial losses they were incurring due to the lockdown than about the risk of contracting COVID-19 (52.1%). In total, 34.7% of the respondents reported feeling more anxious, and 24.6% reported feeling more depressed, after reading news coverage of the pandemic.
A similar study conducted in Tamil Nadu reported that 23% of respondents were more stressed than usual due to COVID-19, and 8.01% avoided news coverage because this worsened their stress.
Community centers and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have reported a ten-fold increase in domestic violence, including child and elder abuse, in India, during the lockdown. More women filed domestic violence complaints during the lockdown than during a similar period in the preceding ten years. Helplines catering to older adults have also reported a ten-fold increase in calls reporting elder abuse. This is likely to worsen the mental health burden and risk of suicide in the country.
Imitative Suicide After the Death of a Celebrity
The unfortunate spike in suicides after a celebrity dies of suicide (amid widespread media coverage) is a well-known and recognized entity. This resurfaced with renewed seriousness after the death by suicide of a well-known and promising young Indian actor, Mr Sushant Singh Rajput, on June 14, 2020. Although the phenomenon of imitative suicides has been seen over the years, it has become much more relevant in recent years due to the erosion of boundaries through social media, over the top (OTT) streaming platforms, and unfiltered dissemination of information (and speculation). In Kolkata, on 17th June, seven people ended their life by hanging. The methods used and the circumstances of the deaths appeared disturbingly similar to those reported by the media in the death by suicide of Mr Rajput. At least one other person attempted death by similar means but was rescued. The deceased persons hailed from different strata and ranged in age from 10 years to 70 years. At least one, the youngest, was a fan of Mr Rajput and was clearly upset by his death and the aftermath, in the days before his own demise. A senior police officer noted that there was nothing connecting these demises expect that they were all fighting uncertainty and helplessness during the lockdown. It is worth noting that these deaths occurred against an established background of the rising incidence of suicide in the city of Kolkata during the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown. Kolkata has seen a 100% rise since March 2020 as per data from the police, with a three-fold rise in June 2020.14 Similar news reports of suicide by hanging in adolescents were available from the cities of Meerut and Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, and Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, on 22nd June, all of whom were reported to be fans of Mr Rajput and distressed similarly by his death, personal circumstances and other stressors notwithstanding...
... On the other hand, responsible media reporting plays a role in mitigating the incidence of suicide. This protective effect has been termed the Papageno Effect, after the character in Mozart's opera The Magic Flute. When Papageno fears that he has lost his love, Papagena, he prepares to hang himself. However, three child-spirits intervene and advise him to play his magic bells instead, summoning Papagena. He is thus rewarded by union with his love, perhaps as a tribute to resilience. Similarly, after the death of Kurt Cobain of suicide, responsible media reporting and discussion of mental health by his friends and family ensured that the imitative effect was kept to a minimum...
Language: en |