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Distressed Mumbaikars make beeline for psychiatric help

The well-publicised suicides by two Mumbai homemakers — that took place about a month apart — has triggered a rise in calls to city helplines by people contemplating copycat suicides.

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The well-publicised suicides by two Mumbai homemakers — that took place about a month apart — has triggered a rise in calls to city helplines by people contemplating copycat suicides. Some helplines are answering 25 calls a day following reports of Dahisar resident Deepti Chauhan’s suicide on Saturday.

Chauhan killed herself by jumping off a seven-storey building after flinging her son, 5, down. Last month, Nidhi Gupta flung her two children from the 19th floor of a Malad building before jumping to her death.

Dr Rajiv Anand, senior psychiatrist and director of Rahat counselling centre, told that the copycat suicide syndrome is not new to Mumbai. “There are a large number of depressed people in the city. Each time a suicide case becomes breaking news, we start getting calls from such people. At present, I am getting 6-7 calls by people who want to discuss the Gupta’s suicide and how much pain it must have caused,” he said.

“I have received at least 10 cases so far. All of them want to jump to their death after following Gupta’s story. A relative’s call saved a businessman, who went to Virar to jump into a creek. The relative kept talking to the man, reached the spot and brought him to my clinic. He felt like jumping after watching news of Gupta’s suicide,” well known-city psychiatrist Dr Harish Shetty said.

Doctors call for restraint by the media in reporting such suicides. “The media should not justify the suicides like some channels did. This leads to copycat suicides. It happens to people who are on the threshold of an emotional breakdown. There is no logic; it is impulsive,” explained Dr Shubhangi Parker, head of psychiatry, KEM hospital.

“Research has shown that depression is the second biggest problem in India after heart disease. In teenagers, it is the second cause of death after accidents. Family physicians should refer patients to a psychiatrist the moment they notice any sign of depression,” Dr Anjali Chhabria  said.

“With tolerance levels decreasing, people take the extreme step with the slightest provocation,” said Dr Shetty.

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