The spate of recent suicides at Bandra Worli Sea Link (BWSL) can possibly be the copy cat syndrome where a person commits suicide at least partly due exposure to another suicide, say city psychiatrists. Special attention must be paid on people who are depressed to avoid copy cat situations, doctors warn.
Dr Shubhangi Parker, dean, KEM Hospital-Parel, who is a well-known psychiatrist, said: "The recent suicides at BWSL represent copycat syndrome. We urgently need to embrace preventive strategies to prevent more such suicides."
Dr Parker said the first preventive step should be increasing security at sea link. "The recent suicides should be a wake up call for authorities. Relatives also have to play a major role in preventing a depressed person from taking his/her life. They need to keep a close watch on them. In case these people complain of hopelessness, helplessness or have suicidal thoughts, a doctor should be consulted. Preventive counselling can help," said Dr Parker.
The series of suicides on BWSL saw many patients with depression confronting their doctors with the same desire. "I saw a patient with depression today. He expressed a desire to jump into the sea. We counselled him and started him on medication and asked him to stay in touch," said Dr Harish Shetty, psychiatrist, Dr LH Hiranandani Hospital-Powai.
Dr Shetty also blamed media reports on suicides at BWSL for the copycat syndrome. "It's been observed all over the world that when a suicide point frequently makes news, not publishing news of suicides at this point anymore helps bring down the copycat syndrome. Severely depressed patients tend to get inspired by stories of suicides and start getting identified by them. We need to, instead, spread awareness on helpline numbers and emphasise on helping people with suicidal thoughts/depression," added Dr Shetty.
Dr Rajiv Anand, senior psychiatrist and director of Rahat Counselling Centre, told DNA that copycat suicide syndrome was not new to Mumbai. "Whenever a suicide case has made big news, copycat syndrome has followed. There are a large number of depressed people in the city. Every time a suicide case becomes breaking news, we start getting calls from such people," said Dr Anand.
Mumbai witnessed nine suicides in a week in Jan 2010. All of them had committed suicide by hanging themselves. Hanging seems to be the most common way of committing suicide, especially after model Nafisa Joseph committed suicide that way in 2004, Dr Anjali Chhabria pointed out. That same year, TV channels showed a minute-by-minute account of the execution of rapist Dhananjoy Chatterjee in Kolkata.
Help yourself
Do not read or watch news with traumatic content.
As and when you start feeling depressed, visit a counsellor and/or talk to a friend and express yourself.
Maintain emotional hygiene. Have adequate sleep.
Do not get involved in politics.
If you are on medication, don't forget to take your pills.
Helpline numbers: 1860- 266234522- 2570600
BMC's Hitguj Helpline: 022 224131212
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