Telangana ranks second in male suicide

The recent NCRB data reveals that Telangana has become second among states in the country with a total of 6,669 men ending their lives and 2,954 women committing suicide in 2014. Also, the largest number of educated men committed suicide in Telangana. As many as 312 highly qualified men have ended their lives while 65 highly educated women have committed suicide in Telangana last year. Career stress, family problems and financial problems are the main reasons. Suicide among married men, are also very high in the state compared to other states. Tamil Nadu topped the list with as many as 590 well educated men killing themselves last year.

Compared to Telangana, in Andhra Pradesh the suicide rate is less with only 190 well educated men ending their lives, while only 43 educated women committed suicide in AP in 2014. Experts say that the ‘conventional gender role’ of men, especially who are educated, make them reluctant to seek help for suicidal feelings and depression and this makes men more prone to suicides. The men aged between 25 to 45 years are usually ambitious, want to amass wealth and when their expectations do not get realised they tend to get depressed.

“We have a strong patriarchal society here, which demands men to take up much more responsibilities than females. When educated men do not achieve their career goals and expected income they get depressed. Most of the luxuries of the past are now a necessity in our lives and men, who cannot achieve them despite high qualifications develop stress and commit suicide,” said prominent consultant psychiatrist Dr Purnima Nagaraja. Psychologists added that relationship insecurities are higher among educated men compared to women in the state, which is another cause for the increasing suicide rate.

According to NCRB statistics, as many as 154 men have committed suicide due to career stress alone in the state last year, while six men had ended their lives due to fall in their social status.