Teenagers and couples struggling with debt most likely to have suicidal thoughts, experts say

Greater awareness is needed to spot the signs of depression so friends and family can seek help for a loved one in need.

Abhimanyu Sadasivan, 16, took his life in his Sharjah home on March 2, five days after writing a farewell note. Courtesy Sadasivan family

SHARJAH // Schoolchildren coping with academic or family pressure and middle-class couples struggling with debt are the most susceptible to suicidal thoughts – but a sustained effort could steer them away from depression, experts have said.

Monitoring, counselling and watching out for warning signs by family, friends and the community will help reach out to people in need of help, said doctors and parents.

“We should start with schools as a community because students are sometimes under stress if they know about their parents’ financial issues, due to stress in school or high expectations of parents,” said Dr Marina Joseph, clinical psychologist at Zulekha Hospital, Sharjah.

“Teenagers are difficult to diagnose because they may just be irritable or angry. With couples or businessmen it could start with depression because of financial losses or loss of a relative. Working as a community, we can restrict suicides by talking to people we know are in trouble.”

Indian 16-year-old Abhimanyu Sadasivan, who attended the Indian High School, Dubai, took his life in his Sharjah home on March 2, five days after writing a farewell note on a Chemistry exam paper. He also wrote about the pressures of the Indian Central Board of Secondary Education system.

Louis Smith, 15, a pupil at the British School Al Khubairat, in Abu Dhabi, took his own life on December 14 last year. His parents set up the Louis Smith Foundation to provide support to teenagers struggling with depression and are in the process of setting up a charity.

“A helpline that teenagers can call night or day if they are depressed or anxious, instead of harming themselves, is urgent, but it is equally important to raise awareness among communities and schools,” said Lisa Barfoot-Smith, Louis’s mother.

“Every single day of the year it needs to be brought to everyone’s attention so parents may see changes in children, teachers can look at students or for friends to look at friends. If people contact us, we can put them in touch with others who can help.”

A study in Dubai last year by Dr Sami Mana Ahmad bin Ahmad Ali, a community medicine specialist registrar with Dubai Health Authority, revealed that nearly one in five schoolchildren aged 14 to 18 showed elevated symptoms of depression. The study looked at 1,289 pupils in 20 Dubai schools.

Symptoms of depression include difficulty sleeping, inability to concentrate, feelings of helplessness, worthlessness and being rejected, said Dr Joseph, who counsels pupils and adults from Asia and Arab nations such as Lebanon, Syria and Egypt.

“Notes they have written are often messages asking for help,” she said. “They may write a poem about death or dying. If they have suicidal thoughts, these should be communicated to parents who must remove access to items that they could harm themselves with. These children need to be continuously monitored.”

Mapping out their concerns is a first step.

“A lot of times suicide comes from feeling like they are in a big, black hole – they have to be told that things can and will get better,” said Dr Lavina Ahuja, a personal development consultant at LifeWorks.

Awareness days such as World Suicide Prevention Day, which takes place on Wednesday, help erase the stigma.

“It helps making the word no longer taboo,” Dr Ahuja said. “The problem with the word suicide is that people think if you talk about it, you put ideas in people’s head. Instead, there should be more awareness so you can give more hope.”