Ending own lives

KARACHI: The country was shocked when a media worker in Karachi took his own life in the last week of November. Fahim Mughal, an assistant at the production department of a news outlet, was sacked a few months back. Since his dismissal, he had been driving a rented rickshaw to feed his family.

He committed suicide on November 26 by hanging himself from a fan. His wife, who was not at home at the time of the tragedy, later told some reporters that they were facing financial difficulties and that Fahim, a father of six, was extremely tense due to his unemployment.

Newspapers and online publications were still publishing articles on Fahim when the tragic suicide of another citizen of Karachi, Zuhairul Hassan Abidi, took the social media by storm.

Abidi, 28, was critically injured after he jumped from the third floor of a mall in Karachi. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.

The young man, who had three children, was jobless and depressed, according to his mother. Video footages of his tragic death were widely circulated on the social media as the suicides sparked a debate among both commoners and experts about the possible causes of these tragedies.

Dr Nabeel Zubairi, a professor at the Sociology Department of the University of Karachi, concurred with the popular opinion that the growing economic crisis resulted in these deaths. Quoting the theory of Emile Durkheim – the father of sociology – he described these deaths as “anomic suicides”.

“Anomic suicides take place when society faces sudden, unexpected and abrupt social and economic changes as we are witnessing today. These changes cause high levels of stress and frustration.

“An economic crisis emerged due Covid-19 pandemic. It was later exacerbated by the government’s incapacity to control prices of food and other necessary items as well as inflation and joblessness. These changes resulted in a severe disappointment,” he said.

Dr Nabeel Zubari said what the people are experiencing today is a breakdown of social order.

“The social institutions seem helpless in rescuing people who are becoming a victim of the rapid changes. People are trying to cope with these problems but on the other hand, such conditions around us are bruising and severely damaging our social and mental fitness.”

Dr Naima Saeed, an assistant professor at the University of Karachi’s Department of Criminology, insisted that suicide is social phenomenon that may result from social isolation and an inability to adapt oneself to changing social and economic situations.

“Pakistani society is a complex society. Here social behavior is generally imbalanced and intolerance is rampant. The society is also plagued with inequitable distribution of wealth, lack of proper education and divergent interpretation of religion.

“All these issues quickly turn our intolerance into violent behavior. Suicide is also like subjecting oneself to violence after declaring oneself responsible for a failure.” She said the people who lose the ability to solve a problem may take their own lives in a bid to escape the problem.

“Unfortunately, Pakistan is becoming unstable in terms of economy and social structures. The changing social values are also a source of despair. People feel that there is nobody to hear their voice. The institution of family is disintegrating and policymakers are not serious in resolving the social issues.”

Dr Farhan Kamrani, who serves as an assistant professor at the Psychology Department of the University of Karachi, disagreed with the theory that suicides as a phenomenon had anything to do with worsening economic situation or rising poverty.

“If people commit suicide due to poverty than why did Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, famous politician Umar Asghar Khan, renowned designer Kate Spade, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain and other rich and famous people took their own lives?” he asked.

According to the WHO, he said, the greatest disease is not tuberculosis, AIDS or cancer.  “It is clinical depression, which consumes people from within,” he added

Sharing some statistics, Dr Farhan said 15 to 35 people commit suicide in Pakistan every day.

“On an average, one person takes his own life in Pakistan every hour. Four-year data – from 2016 to 2019 – shows that 8.09% of the total recorded deaths have been due to suicide. Some 13,000 suicides were reported only in the year 2012,” he added.

“This data is not representing the actual number of suicides as due to the stigma attached to such deaths, the families often hide suicides.” He said in 2014 alone 45,000 people committed suicide just in the United States.

“The people suffering from clinical depression often appear normal, even happy. They sometimes try to communicate their pain to their friends and family members but people these days generally don’t have much time to listen to such confessions.

“They usually start telling such depressed people that ‘this too shall pass’ or ‘take courage’ or ‘strengthen your will power’. However, such suggestions hardly help and the depressed people are ultimately left alone to fend for themselves.”

Dr Farhan also attributed the phenomenon to a modern materialistic lifestyle.

“Despite our apparent and superficial religiosity, we now live in a spiritual vacuum. This vacuum can neither be filled through liquor, drugs and debauchery nor anti-depressant pills.

“What is the purpose of money, power and fame when someone has no real relation with God or fellow human beings? You are in a vacuum if there is no one to rejoice over your achievements. This situation is enough to make a person loathe his very existence,” he said.

When asked if psychotherapy can help such depressed people cope with hard times, Dr Farhan said it is possible if the patients could find qualified and trained psychotherapists.

“However, unfortunately, there is a dearth of such qualified psychotherapists in Pakistan and most of the people who are running such clinics are unqualified people.”

However, Dr Fazeela Moghal, another practicing clinical psychologist stationed in Sydney, said it is difficult to pinpoint one major cause of suicidal behavior or suicide.

“There is always a combination of several factors. Among the most common causes identified by researchers are traumatic childhood experiences especially physical and sexual abuse, chaotic family environment where the child never learns healthy ways of dealing with setbacks and stressors.

“Other reasons include chronic ailments, mental illness, substance abuse, social isolation and poor living conditions. People who commit suicide may or may not be depressed but they are highly vulnerable with extreme sense of hopelessness and meaninglessness. They also perceive themselves as burdens,” Dr Fazeela added.