Depression needs curing, says Archana Dalmia

Robin Williams made people laugh so hard that a writer from the LA Times claims to have almost fallen off her sofa laughing so hard. That a man of such prodigious talent should die alone in his apartment, hanging from a belt, his wrists slashed (evidently he tried cutting his wrists first and when that failed he hung himself) is an indication of how lonely and depressed he was.

Whether it was as the outrageous yet loveable Mrs Doubtfire, the brilliant and comical doctor in Patch Adams or the fumbling gay father of a heterosexual boy in Birdcage, William's will be remembered as a versatile actor who could command a smile and a tear to his audiences. However behind the silver screen like many of his contemporaries he was a depressed and lonely soul who took solace in a drug habit that may have been part of the reason behind his finally coming undone?

Insanity

Is it a failing of our society that brilliant people like Williams, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and Heath Ledger find themselves utterly alone and their only recourse to end the loneliness and depression lie in death? Back home it is tortured starlets like Jiya Khan and Divya Bharati, Parveen Babi, who fall prey to the depression induced suicide syndrome. Some postulate that it is living in the glare of the limelight that takes its toll; fame is a demanding mistress and with it comes the fast paced life of the rich and famous sprinkled with a generous helping of designer drugs, often a key behind the exhilarating highs and abysmal lows common for most stars.

Is the flip side to genius, temporary insanity? It is lonely at the top and stars are often not able to trust people for liking them for their 'real' off-stage personas. Intimate relationships that are closely tracked by the tabloids often get sacrificed at the altar of gossip columns and in India it is often the women who are driven to take their lives for emotional reasons while for men it is economic. While many were of the opinion that Sunanda Pushkar 'died of a broken heart' most people are aware Silk Simta in fact did die of a broken heart; that and a helping of alcohol and depression.

Why do successful, famous people commit suicide? It's hard to come up with conclusive answers, given that it is not only famous people who commit suicide. On a more personal level I remember a friend's daughter who took her life suddenly after enjoying a great summer vacation with us. She was at university and would constantly crack witty jokes becoming the life of every social gathering. She was smart and good at her studies and well-loved by many of her friends. Yet she was found hanging from her fan by her roommate.

Illness

As a student of psychology I have studied that depression is the key cause behind suicide, mostly for people who appear not to suffer from any social conditions that may lead to such depression, like extreme poverty, debt or terminal illness. These are well off, successful, good looking people who seem to really have it 'together'. However many of them are fighting depression without even knowing it.

Clinical Depression is an illness, like any other. What is worse is that more often than not it goes undetected which is why when a good looking, successful young person like a friend's daughter commits suicide it appears sudden. If we had any inkling that she was depressed we may have been able to prevent her from taking her own life. But who could have guessed behind that ebullient smile lay a depressed young girl? In fact according to a 2012 study by the World Health Organization (WHO) suicide is the third highest causes of teen deaths (number one is road traffic injuries and number two is AIDS) while depression is the main reason behind illness and disability. It is said that currently one in two people in the US are fighting depression.

Expectation

According to the report depression is the cause of numerous illnesses and disabilities which can both harm and kill teenagers. Self-harm caused by mental health issues is the third cause of death among teenagers, having taken the lives of over 120,000 teens in 2012. The report was conducted on a review of health policies from 109 countries.

In India the concern is that most people do not seek help for their depression. Those who feel troubled, depressed or anxious will think ten times before accessing any kind of help or counselling. Going to the 'shrink' is reserved for crazy people and the general impression is that if someone is feeling sad and lonely, they just need to be around friends. However we have seen a rise in India's suicide rate, statistics released by the National Crime Records Bureau indicate 1,35,445 people committed suicide in the country last year. Of this 68 per cent of these were between the age of 15 and 29 surrounded by family and friends.

So clearly not all lonely people can be cheered up by being with other people, in fact feeling lonely in a crowd is a very common emotion experienced by most people. It is the inability to speak about these emotions that often lead people to commit suicide. As a state gets developed it leads to higher rate of expectations and also a higher propensity to be depressed. Also a lack of aggression, a highly sensitive nature and a high intellectual quotient often lead people towards suicide, which is why Southern and Eastern states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Bengal are leading the suicide rate statistically.

Setting up a suicide counselling helpline often provide people with the kind of anonymity that is require for sensitive people who might also be ashamed to be seen going to a counselor or being prescribed medication for their depression. Reaching out through ad campaigns like the one recently hosted by NACO that says "It's okay to go to a psychologist," need to remove the stigma that currently crops up in everyone's mind, when you mention 'therapy'. This will perhaps lead to a reduced suicide rate.

- The writer's twitter handle is @Archana Dalmia