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World Suicide Prevention Day: 9 Instagram Posts To Learn From

If you’re trying to learn more about mental health concerns, especially about suicide, you don’t need to look too far.
Panuwat Dangsungnoen via Getty Images

If you or someone you know needs help, call 1800-599-0019 to reach KIRAN, a 24/7 national helpline set by the ministry of social justice. You can also mail icall@tiss.edu or dial 022-25521111 (Monday-Saturday, 8am to 10pm) to reach iCall, a psychosocial helpline set up by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

Trigger warning: This article talks about suicide.

Mental health still remains a taboo topic in many Indian homes and other spaces. So it’s unsurprising that admitting to having suicidal ideation or to have attempted suicide is still looked at with contempt and disdain.

The recent conversation around Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s death has unfortunately done a disservice to those facing mental health concerns and especially suicide ideation as well.

Often, those who have suicidal thoughts are misunderstood. And that comes from a collective ignorance, as a society, on what makes people die by suicide.

According to the World Health Organisation, 8,00,000 people die by suicide every year.

“Furthermore, for each suicide, there are more than 20 suicide attempts. Suicides and suicide attempts have a ripple effect that impacts on families, friends, colleagues, communities and societies. Suicides are preventable. Much can be done to prevent suicide at individual, community and national levels,” the WHO said on Thursday, 10 September, which is also World Suicide Prevention Day.

While some of us understand and are allies for those experience suicidal ideation, many people fail to understand what leads them to do so. So if you’re someone who is trying to understand more about mental health concerns, especially about suicide, you don’t have to look too far.

There are several mental health professionals, groups and collectives trying to spread awareness through social media. So we went through the ones that were posted to mark World Suicide Prevention Day to add to our knowledge on how we can make this better.

Of course, the best kind of awareness is to seek help, for yourself and for your loved ones. But this is a very easy place to begin.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.