"For every single suicide death, there are 25 to 30 times the number of attempts."
"Our recent research has even shown us that less than half of people who attempt suicide will actually reach out for help, prior, meaning that if we are to reach them, we need to meet them where they are."
"For example, in one study, the investigators went up to these individuals who had recently attempted suicide and asked to see their anonymized search history. And in fact, these individuals had searched up keywords pertaining to suicide means and methodology as well as surrounding hopelessness and loneliness."
Today is twentieth World Suicide Prevention Day established by International Association for Suicide Prevention in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the global health body, it is estimated that there are currently more than 7,00,000 (approx,.0.01% of world population) suicides per year worldwide. Do we need to wait and watch this seemingly insignificant percentage rising day by day? Or do we need to Reach Out...?
Lives of people, right from known celebrities like Guru Dutta to Nitin Desai and hundreds of thousands of unknown commoners, could have been saved only if someone had decided to reach out to them in their dark times when they took that decision and executed it, hopelessly and painfully!
If we have AI at our disposal that can 'read your mind', why not put it to the best use of saving precious human lives rather than just checking on their life-style habits to market consumables. There are things no human wants to discuss or disclose with another living soul and AI supposedly being a non-living and emotionless thing, people can find counsel and solace by sharing any disturbing thing with it without the fear of being judged.
If the technology and its tiniest handheld tool is making humans more and more isolated, the same thing must be used to pull them out of that isolation. This ultimately can help the helplines to reach out to them and counsel them in those difficult desperate moments of 25 to 30 attempts; isn't it...?
Reach out... It's really a long way to go!
Some of the Suicide Helplines in India:
