Patel is one of the most influential people in the world, according to Time. He is enthusiastically engaged in the activity to improve the hygiene level of mental health. He is concerned about the unawareness of mental illness in India.
The Times of India: 'Suicide will soon become India's number 1 killer': Vikram Patel
A recent survey revealed that the suicide attributes 3% of all mortality in India. In youth, suicide is the second most common cause of death, following to transport accident.
Approximately a half of suicide cases occurs in youth. It leads to a great loss. He emphasized the importance of the prevention.
Lancet (2012) Suicide mortality in India: a nationally representative survey.
The suicide rate in India is 10.5 per 100,000 in a year, according to WHO. Actually, this rate is only the half of that in Japan. Nonetheless, Patel is worrying about the negative impact of poor mental health hygiene on the future in India.
My past entry: WHO publish report of suicide rate in 2012
It seems not difficult to reduce the prevalence of suicide in India, at least in a short term. About half of suicide were due to poisoning of pesticides. The government should regulate the selling of pesticides, or substitute them to less poisonous sorts. This idea may be too simple, but effective. Indeed, Hong Kong was successful to reduce the incidents with the restriction of charcoal. The adversity to agriculture for restricting pesticides should be dealt, of course.
My past entry: Suicide prevention and public regulation
However, the more crucial is the enlightenment of the citizens. More than 90% of the people with mental illness does not get touch with mental health professionals. This situation is similar in many developing countries, and even some developed countries. There are some reasons: lack of knowledge, stigma for mental illness, superstition and the influence of alternative therapies, the absence of professionals, and poverty.
By the way, it is interesting that higher education may be the risk for suicide shown in the survey of Patel. This enigmatic association is broadly known and also seen in developed countries. Does intelligence have no power to overcome the despair? Someone said that intelligence is an ability to suffer more deeply. You should also be cautious about the risk.
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