Is Suicide really the answer ?

Reading the newspaper in India is somewhat of a daily adventure for me.  Most times you must have coffee in hand prior to starting just to believe the majority of what you're reading.  One thing that is very common is reading about suicides.  The number of suicides in Bangalore is huge. Recently there was an article outlining why the jobless and poor are resorting to suicide as the final answer to their problems. The number of suicides due to unemployment in Bangalore in 2013 has almost doubled compared to that of 2011, while suicides owing to poverty have quadrupled.

I would read about at least one suicide in Bangalore every day......... It seems that it is mostly men who are struggling with the poverty and the pressure to be successful, whereas, the women are more likely to commit suicide due to relationship or personal issues.  Resorting to suicide is not solving the problems in anyway, as the families are usually left with large debts to pay off or the guilt that they did not assist with their loved ones issues.  Many believe the western changes taking effect in India are one of the main reasons for the high depression rate.  Family's are no longer joint networks with a support network but are now separate units - people are feeling alone and unable to cope with the pressure to be financially stable.  Most of the domestic help you speak too have large debts that they or their spouse have taken to 'improve' their life but now cannot make the repayments.  When bonuses or small windfalls come their way, they do not have the forethought or desire to save or put it towards their debts - they usually spend it all on a big party or drink it away. Unfortunately education is not helping this matter and most people have debt that they will most likely never pay off.  

I often think 'is there a way for me to help' in these situations?  Unfortunately most of the time, the answer is no.  Where I can I give work or purchase goods from people who are working hard to just feed their families.  But for every person trying to do the right thing and improve there are a dozen rorting the system and taking adventure of good people.

One of the unusual things I find with the whole 'suicide' thing, is that the most common way to commit suicide here is hanging.  (closely followed by ingesting pesticide)  Yep, the most common form is to hang from a light or fan fitting in your house.  The reason I find this so strange is that the building codes in this country are non-existent, so I would not trust the light/fan fitting to hold me.  I would hate to know how many attempted suicides went wrong - 'cable broke and the victim fell and broke both legs, but is still alive and still depressed......' Maybe I should research failed suicide in Bangalore......

These are what ALL our fans look like (notice the gap), and we live in a very 'decent' house, so I can only imagine what the others look like !!