Skip to main content

Let us talk: .More BSF personnel are dying of mental illnesses than in the line of duty,..

When celebrities such as Deepika Padukone speak openly about their struggles with depression and anxiety, it helps reduce the stigma associated with seeking help for mental health issues
Chanakya 
Hindustan Times

It is not a sight we see very often in the Indian context. I am referring to Deepika Padukone speaking openly about her battle with depression a while ago. “When I was in pain, suffering alone… I was going about my day, posing for cameras… signing autographs. What nobody saw was that I would break down for no reason …getting out of bed was a struggle,” she wrote in Hindustan Times earlier this week. What made a successful actor, the daughter of a badminton world champion, go out on a limb and discuss her struggle to overcome depression? When I was reading about Deepika Padukone’s encounters with mental problems, I was reminded of the virtually unknown RK Shukla.

Unlike Padukone, Shukla never got a chance to face up to his anxieties and survive to tell the tale. Driven to tipping point by workplace stress, the Madhya Pradesh police head constable committed suicide when he was asked to clean drains on Gandhi Jayanti. Two days later, BSF jawan Dharam Singh shot himself with his service rifle at Sukma in Chhattisgarh, a hotbed of Naxalite insurgency. A few months before this, in separate incidents, three other Central Reserve Police Force jawans killed themselves in a similar fashion at camps in Bijapur, Dhamtari and Sukma.

This spate of suicides in the ranks of India’s police and central armed forces reminded me of a statement that BSF director general KK Sharma made during a workshop on mental health a few months ago: More BSF personnel are dying of mental illnesses than in the line of duty, Sharma had said. What is driving this cycle of depression, melancholy and subsequent suicide? In a demanding profession that entails putting in inhumanly long hours along with the responsibility of safeguarding the nation’s frontiers, the added burden of mental illness could prove to be the proverbial last straw that breaks the soldiers’ back.
Read more 
http://www.hindustantimes.com/columns/on-the-minds-of-many-in-india-depression-and-anxiety/story-1YEF3XVeOTNfx9308g3HXO.html
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080111/bathinda.htm

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Bollywood Actor Challenges Liquor Legislation

Bollywood Actor Challenges Liquor Legislation NTDTV In an effort to discourage youngsters from consuming alcohol, the provincial government of India 's western Maharashtra state this June increased the legal age limit from 21 to 25. Khan calls this act of state government an infringement of individual ... < http://english.ntdtv.com/ntd t v_en/news_asia/2011-09-15/bol l ywood-actor-challenges-liquor - legislation.html >

Children are victims of alcohol use and worst sufferer

Dad throws kids into well after failing to buy booze   AsiaOne   INDIA - A man killed his six-year-old son when his wife refused to give him money to buy alcohol. The incident occurred at the Sambakulam village on the outskirts of Madurai in Tamil Nadu. P. Sundarajan threw his two children into a well after his wife ... < http://news.asiaone.com/News/ AsiaOne%2BNews/Crime/Story/ A1S tory20120507-344222.html > Read more  Children are victims of alcohol use and worst sufferer 

Exploring the Streets of Bengaluru: Face Reading and Shared Risks

Sometimes, the most profound lessons come from stepping out into the world, engaging with people from all walks of life, and embracing the shared risks that come with unconventional learning experiences... Suneel My recent stay in Bengaluru took an unexpected turn when I decided to explore the back lanes of MG Road. Little did I know that a chance encounter with a psychology student would open up a fascinating experience of face reading right there on the bustling streets. As I strolled down MG Road, absorbing the energy and chaos of the city, my attention was drawn to a student of psychology standing just after the Metro station. What caught my eye was a playful cardboard sign that boldly declared, "Myth: Psychologists can read faces. Fun Fact: Psychologists can actually read faces!" Intrigued and amused, I approached him, struck by the audacity of his endeavor. Leaning against an electric pole, he invited people from the street to get their faces read. It took courage to st