Fragile friendships can wreak havoc

When B. Anusha, a student of Villa Marie college, leapt to her death from her college building on Thursday, it left her friends and family shocked. The reason for her suicide, the cops claim, was ‘inferiority complex’ and seclusion by a group of her friends. Though Anusha complained about feeling left out, but her family downplayed it as they didn’t have an inkling that it bothered her to this extent.
“I’ll be there for you”, “All you have to do is call”, “Yeh dosti…” — these ‘friends forever’ clichés that drum up sentiment suddenly echo hollowly in the light of Thursday’s tragedy. Anusha’s death has once again drummed up the debate about the role of peers in a youngster’s life.
Harika Jain, a student at St. Francis College, says, “Friends are extremely important: they are often the only people you can share your feelings with.”
The inconvenient truth however, remains that amongst young adults, peer pressure and acceptance is always viewed suspiciously. The wisdom in that approach now looks questionable.
Sonal Dhiman, a student, believes parents often don’t appreciate the importance of friends in the lives of youngsters. “Most parents don’t get the equation that we have with friends. They fail to realise that friends become an extension of who you are.”
Experts agree that the gravitas given to friendship in a youngster’s life increases manifold in college. Psychologist Dr Savita Menon explains, “When a child goes to college, the peer group takes on a new significance. anything that challenges an individual’s position in the group can trigger extreme reactions.”
Another thing that rankles youngsters is the fact that parents often trivialise issues with friends. Parents cannot afford to brush depression, emotional outbursts and erratic behaviour aside. Dr Kalyan Chakravarty, psychiatrist, Rainbow Hospital, cautions, “With both parents working these days, teens tend to rely heavily on their friends for emotional support. And in some cases kids cannot handle anything challenging this support system.”