Mental illness has led people to commit actions that would make one’s senses to shatter,
it would make our hearts bleed. In recent times, the growing epidemic of suicide rates has
reached out for serious concerns. There has been an abnormally substantial increase in suicide
rates globally. On the other hand, we cannot ignore that mental illness prevails on an all-time
high in our society as well. We as individuals have become oblivious to this serious concern that
has been existing in our society in manifolds. The World Health Organization estimates that
approximately 1 million people die each year from suicide. What drives an individual to take his
own life? How people perceive suicide? Are they empathetic or apathetic with the deceased
family? Thereby, I created this narrative of this conscience human who felt the responsibility of
not being there to help the victim who has committed suicide few hours back.
“It was heart wrenching last night that my entire body jolted inside out. Boom! Ms. X
committed suicide. All the naysayers began to accuse her of her erratically weakened beliefs in
reference to religion. People felt sorry for her by adding this sardonically charged comment,
“there should be some other way out to resolve her inner battles”. I stood aside and kept listening
these floating comments all around in an enclosed room. I whispered to myself that how they can
be so blind that they can’t even make the difference between a murder and a suicide. It’s a
murder by us; it is an incessant oppression that took her soul from her body. My body got
jammed and my face got paled with this pain that I was also responsible for this death. Why
didn’t I ask her that if she’s doing well. I took that rosy picture of her in which she was overtly
presenting her life as beautiful and blessed as possible. I become deaf ear in the crowd as if no
other voice seemed to impact me anymore. I began daydreaming that I would have asked her
once that I can help her in this pain. I can feel her. It’s okay not to be okay at times. It’s humanly
to be broken as hell and I know it feels like, no life is needed but still we both can sort it out
together what possibly can be done. I imagined myself listening to her stories based upon fears,
insecurities, hurt, loss, trauma, pain and despair. I would have seen her collapsed and then
collecting herself little by little and this is what we call as collateral beauty. You know the
saddest part is that it is just the figment of my imagination. She was no more; nothing can be
changed and we all were empty handed confronting her dead body with a thought that might we
would have done something long before to make her feel that she was not alone. But now,
nothing was left except an exuded regret of changing things. So in real, there is no time travel. If
you respect humanity then do a little initiative of helping them to see a brighter version of
themselves where humans are made for other humans rather than oppressing or belittling their
existence.”
It’s a high time: You must think about it for once before hurting or criticizing others’
because you never know what sort of an inner turmoil they are into and your one word would
tumble their entire piece of existence. We all have to work together on the principle of empathy
and compassion in order to understand others’ around us. A suicidal person may not ask for help,
but that doesn’t mean that help isn’t wanted. People who take their lives don’t want to die—they
just want to stop hurting. If you think a friend or family member is considering suicide, you
might be afraid to bring up the subject. But talking openly about suicidal thoughts and feelings
can save a life.
The author Zainab Shabbir is a survivor herself and a passionate mental health advocate. She wishes to start support groups in Pakistan where sufferers can open up and seek peer support.