Why A Tryst With Ker?
Why not a tryst with Venus, the love goddess- why a tryst with Ker, the female demon of death? But the data show that globally every year almost 800000 people commit suicide. Everyone has to enter the valley of death, death, the leveler is irrevocable still it seems unbelievable that anyone would discard the bustle of life and choose the dark loneliness of death willingly. But better people have ended their lives by their own hands. People from all times, from all fields and from all ages.
The 6th century BC prolific Greek poetess, the composer of around 10,000 lines, Sappho according to a tradition jumped off Leucadian cliffs and drowned herself, Socrates preferred the cup of hemlock, Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt sipped a cocktail of poisons, the famous Russian poet Vladimir Mayakovsky killed himself, the celebrated American writer Ernest Hemingway shot himself in the mouth, the prodigy of Japanese literature Yukio Mishima committed hara-kiri and the list goes on with Marilyn Monroe, Virginia Wolfe, Vincent Van Gogh, Guru Dutt, Sara Shagufta, Shakib Jalali and many more. And even Nero stabbing himself with a dagger and Hitler bit a cyanide capsule. Not only the shining and the illustrious but the poor farmers and the petty shopkeepers also.
Leading A Life Not Worth Living
Not that all of them were leading a life not worth living. Or all of them were paranoid or schizophrenic. Doing unpredictable behavior every moment. Still, a history replete with innumerable cases of suicides to date compels psychologists and other experts in the field to delve deeper and come up with its reasons. To take one’s own life is not a cool and calculated affair.
The thought may be brewing up in the mind for a longer period but the decision taken and the act implemented is mostly based on the impulse of the moment. It can be avoided. But what are the reasons behind creating the strong urge to suddenly say adieu to the desire of being present and alive?
Depression As One Of The Causes
Researchers find depression as one of the causes in most cases of suicide -almost half the cases. The extreme of negativity, the flicker of hope extinguished one feels impossible to trudge even a single step on the road of life. Nothing interests him and the only hope resides in despair, in closing the book of life in the middle and to be lost in oblivion forever.
When the depression is severe and the suicidal impulse enhanced, an overdose of sleeping pills, a rope dangling from the ceiling, a gun in the drawer, or even a blade are the tools for a final goodbye. Schizophrenia may be another reason though all schizophrenics do not necessarily commit suicide.
We Are Hankering After One Thing
All through our lives, we are hankering after one thing or the other- wealth, power, prestige, and security on the material side and love, friendship, and relations on the platonic plane and we cling to them. Their loss or a lurking fear of loss makes us aghast and some of us end our lives, either from the fear of facing the loss or if the loss is already done from the fear of facing the shame and the emotional void. The financial crisis, going behind bars, failure, humiliation, death of loved ones. And many other factors scatter those who are not faint-hearted and may opt for a retreat. For a complete wipe-out of one’s existence.
Then the American Journal of Preventive Medicine has indicated certain diseases. The higher risk zone for suicide- the diseases that torture you to such an extreme that goes beyond resistance. The only relief to the chronic pain and illness seems to end one’s life. Diseases like cancer, asthma, back pain, Parkinson’s disease, HIV/AIDS, and a few more.
Important Factor Is A Traumatic Past
One more important factor is a traumatic past. The trauma of the abuses follows for a much longer period and makes one vulnerable to post-traumatic stress disorder then takes one to the high-risk zone of suicide. More than 20 percent of rape victims and those of physical assault attempt suicide at one point or the other in their lives.
Although there are so many psycho-social reasons behind this human invention- suicide. As animals do not have the refined brain to invent this beautiful excuse to ward off all pain. By catching these reasons one cannot predict impending suicide. Those who have better reasoning and psycho-emotional resilience can withstand the storms of suicidal tendencies. But those, who row their boats in the river of sentiments. Despite all their talents and goodness may lose the battle.
So, let’s follow the American novelist Edward Dahlberg’s opinion. “When one realizes that his life is worthless he either commits suicide or travels” and rejecting the former. We should pack our bags for the nearest hill station. (written by sanjay kumar kundan)