By Dr Shorouq Motwani, Consultant, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Narayana Health, SRCC Children’s Hospital, Mumbai
Sometimes the loudest cry for help is the one we never hear.
A person may sit across the dinner table, attend college, go to work, meet friends or scroll through media—and still feel a heavy loneliness, hopelessness or exhaustion. From the outside everything may look normal. Inside silence may fight a battle that cannot be put into words.
This is why suicide prevention cannot start when a crisis arrives. It must start with something simpler: learning to notice when silence is louder than words.
On World Suicide Prevention Day, which is observed on September 10, we must look beyond statistics and conversations that happen after a tragedy. Prevention is also about noticing the signs of distress and having the courage to ask, “Is silence really okay?”
A sudden withdrawal from family and friends, a loss of interest in things that once brought joy, changes in sleep or appetite, ongoing irritability, a drop in performance at school or work, or repeated expressions of hopelessness may show that a person is struggling. Statements like “I am a burden” or “Things would be better without me” should never be ignored.
Often emotional pain is misunderstood. A teenager who stops talking may be labelled difficult. A colleague who becomes withdrawn may simply be seen as distracted. A person who repeatedly says that they cannot cope, may be told to “be strong”.
What if instead of judging we listened to them?
Young people today face pressures that previous generations did not experience in quite the same way. Academic expectations, career uncertainty, relationship struggles, bullying, family pressures and relentless comparisons created by media can make a person feel as if it is falling behind in a world that seems to move ahead without it.
The answer is not always to have the words. Sometimes it is simply to stay.
Ask. Listen. Do not dismiss a person’s feelings. Do not immediately offer solutions. Don’t say that others have it worse. Give them the space to speak without fear of judgement.
Importantly, asking them directly whether they are thinking about suicide does not put the idea in its head. It can instead reassure the person that someone has noticed their pain and is willing to talk about it.
If a person expresses thoughts or appears to be at immediate risk, they should not be left alone. Professional mental health support and urgent emergency assistance should be sought.
Suicide prevention is not the responsibility of doctors or mental-health professionals. It belongs to families, schools, workplaces and communities.
We may not always recognise what burden a person is carrying. We can choose to pay attention. We can choose to ask one question. We can choose to listen a little.
Because sometimes saving a life may begin with nothing complicated, but just being aware.
“I’m here. Talk to me.”
Those four words can matter more than we realise.
