Suicide survivors share trauma of ingesting acid, poison, urge others not to give up hope

CHENNAI: Twenty-six-year-old Vinodhini consumed acid at her home following which she could neither eat or talk for two years. Several surgeries later, she regained her speech and is healthy. Sharing her experience, she stressed that no one should resort to such an extreme step. To mark suicide prevention day, St Isabel Hospital held a program to create awareness on suicide and honor these suicide survivors.
“We have been conducting this programme for nearly 15 years.We get around 250 cases a year and nearly 60 of them require surgery. So when WHO marked a special day, we decided to conduct this programme to ensure people get motivated and find other ways to solve their problems,” said Dr S M Chandramohan.
Among the survivors were teenagers who underwent a dozen surgeries and lost their speech. S Raghupathy, 60, had nearly half a dozen operations to regain his speech and to eat again. Jagadeeswari, a teen when she consumed poison, said she is a changed person. She is now a counsellor at the hospital that helped her.
The most common reasons for suicide was isolation which could be personal, professional or social, Dr Kanagavel said. “Friends and relatives should keep a close watch for changes in behaviour and lifestyle over a period of time. Inter-personal communication is very important.”
Six of the dozen survivors at the event said they had consumed poison by mistake. Ashok, a Class IX student, had taken poison by accident and expressed how glad he was to be alive. “It took me six years to recover,” he said. His mother, who was in tears explained how suicide affects not just the individual but also the whole family.
Police commissioner A K Viswanathan, who was present at the function, said 17% of suicides in the world take place in India. “It is Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Kerala that top the list. Most victims are between the ages of 17 to 30 years. And consuming poison is one of the most common ways people adopt to commit suicide,” he said.
Every Chennai police station offers counselling and personnel are equipped to handle any case, the commissioner said.