‘Millions of Americans consider suicide, make a suicide plan, or attempt suicide every year’
By Tannistha Ganguly
Almost 800,000 people die every year due to suicide, or one every 40 seconds worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). With over 40,000 taking their own lives in America alone, Indian American physicians are at the forefront of a campaign to prevent suicides.
American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) held a webinar recently as part of an annual campaign to educate and inform the general public in the US about suicide prevention and the warning signs of suicide
The webinar on “Precision Medicine for Mental Health: How to Save and Improve Lives” was organized in collaboration with MindX Sciences Inc. as part of the National Suicide Prevention Week (Sept. 5-11).
Read: AAPI launches ‘Adopt a Village’ rural health initiative in India (September 3, 2021)
“Mental health issues like depression are known to be the leading cause for attempting suicide,” said Dr. Ravi Kolli, President-Elect of AAPI, who moderated the session.
“Suicide often occurs in a moment of unbearable pain or deep despair,” he said noting, “Millions of Americans consider suicide, make a suicide plan, or attempt suicide every year — especially young Americans for whom suicide is the second leading cause of death.”
By drawing attention to the problem of suicide in the United States, the campaign also strives to reduce the stigma surrounding the topic, as well as encourage the pursuit of mental health assistance, Dr. Kolli, a certified psychiatrist said.
“In 2019, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States, and the second leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 34,” Dr. Jerome Adams, US Surgeon General under former President Donald Trump pointed out.
“Suicide is preventable and it continues to remain a growing public health issue,” he said calling for the implementation of the National Strategy for Suicide Prevention, first released in 2001.
“As many as 43,000 died of suicide in 2019 in the United States. While the suicide rate decreased in 2020, overdose attempt increased by 30%. Suicide is a burden on the nation, costing $93 billion annually,” Dr. Admas said.
“Early detection is cheap. They are preventable. Precision medicine needs to be embraced by assessing the symptoms which will help in decreasing uncertainty, he said.
National Suicide Prevention Week “aims to reduce the stigma surrounding suicide and encourage the pursuit of mental health assistance because going to therapy should be as normalized as going to the gym,” said AAPI President Dr. Anupama Gotimukula.
Read: Commemorating National Suicide Prevention Week, AAPI’s Webinar Offers Effective Ways To Prevent Suicide (September 15, 2021)
Dr. Alexander Niculescu, co-founder of Mindx Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Neuroscience at Indiana University School of Medicine said over 10 million people in US have suicidal thoughts.
“How do you know among these 10 million, who will attempt and how many will die of suicide?” he asked. “We need better tools to identify risk factors and how to decrease the risks and effectively intervene and of the ways to prevent suicide.”
The Life x Mind App by MindX Sciences is meant to be a dashboard for your Life and Mind, a way to track how you feel and what you do, and see how they impact each other, Niculescu said.
Sunil Hazaray, CEO of MindX Sciences said MindX Dashboard by MindX Sciences is an optional product that helps doctors and health organizations track and integrate de-identified test information from other MindX products.”
Gotimukula also urged all “AAPI members, community organizations, the state and families to work together to work together in creating hope through action and committing to preventing suicide across America and around the world.”