Watch out for the signs: Learn how suicides can be averted

On July 20, it was declared that Chester Bennington, frontman of the popular band Linkin Park, committed suicide. On July 31, 14-year-old Mumbaiite Manpreet Singh committed suicide as part of an online game. In both cases — like most suicides — no one saw it coming. However, experts are of the opinion that raising awareness about depression, which leads to suicidal tendencies, can go a long way in preventing such cases. “Bennington was 41 and the teenager was only 14. These examples prove that the tendency to commit suicide can…

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Mental health drives at grassroots can prevent suicides, says report

Grassroots community mental health programmes to address risk factors such as depressionand alcohol use disorders can significantly address treatment gaps and reduce incidence of suicide, a new study published in The Lancet Psychiatry shows. The prevalence of depression, one of the most common mental disorders, fell from 14.6% to 11.3% following community mental health interventions implemented by two NGOs -Prakriti and Sangath. The population-based programme -Vishram (Vidarbha Stress and Health Program) was implemented over 18 months in Vidarbha, which reported a high prevalence of suicides in agricultural com munities. The…

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