印度著手處理令人擔憂的青年自殺問題

Mikhail Furtado was extremely worried about his 12th-grade exams.

A few days before he was due to get his results， his father walked in and found him dead.

\"I opened the cottage door， put the light on and I found him hanging. He was hanging，\" Anthony Furtado says.

When the results came out， his father learned that Mikhail had sailed through with good grades.

He says he still can't bring himself to go and collect the results.

But Furtado is trying to use his devastating experience to benefit others. He provides counseling and is a regular at suicide prevention workshops.

\"Sometimes， at the end， I do break down，\" he says.

Highest rate in the world among young

The scale of the problem among India's young people is huge.

According to a recent World Health Organization report， India has the highest suicide rate in the world for the 15-to-29 age group. It stands at 35.5 per 100，000 people for 2012， the last year for which numbers are available.

Across all age groups， nearly 260，000 people in India killed themselves that year.

Bobby Zachariah， who runs a suicide prevention group， says he blames a breakdown in India's traditional family structure.

\"There were big families， there was a lot of support available，\" he says.

\"Nowadays， there is one child in the family，\" Zachariah says. \"And the kind of parenting styles that were applied to them when they were kids doesn't apply to their children any more.\"

Reducing stigma

Some experts say a key problem is that families brush mental health issues under the carpet rather than facing them head on.

\"Mental illness is like any other illness and is treatable，\" says Dr. Arun John of the Vandrevala Foundation， which aims to help people with mental health issues and other problems.

This can only be tackled once greater awareness is created， he says， calling for the establishment of helplines.

The Indian government took a step toward reducing some of the stigma around suicide this week， making it no longer a crime to attempt it.

Officials were acting on a recommendation of a law commission report that said the desire to commit suicide should be seen as a condition needing treatment， not punishment.

But in a rapidly developing India， pressures remain high to get good grades and high-paying jobs.

\"Parents and schools do not make a child mentally and psychologically strong enough to handle pressure，\" John says. This leads to a \"feeling of worthlessness，\" he adds.

\"I'm so much better now\"

One 20-year-old man in the city of Pune， near Mumbai， talked about reasons behind his brush with death.

The man， who declined to be identified， said he never fared well in school and had few friends.

He had problems with his girlfriend and felt his parents didn't understand him.

In his depression and desperation， he would cut himself， he said， showing the scars.

He attempted suicide but was saved by a timely medical intervention.

Nowadays， he gets counseling and enjoys playing the guitar.

He also counsels others.

\"It helps them to know I've been there，\" he says. \"And that I'm so much better now.\"

Mikhail Furtado很擔心他的12年級考試。在出成績的幾天前，他的父親發現了他的尸體。考試結果顯示Mikhail以好成績通過了全部考試，但他的父親說他仍舊沒有勇氣去領取他的成績單。事后這位父親自愿在一個阻止自殺的小組擔任咨詢員，用他的悲慘經歷警戒他人。他說：“有時候，我也會崩潰。”印度的青年自殺數量居世界首位。一個阻止自殺小組的負責人Bobby Zachariah認為這都是印度傳統家庭結構被打破的后果。“過去都是大家庭，每個家庭都可以提供很多支持，現在每個家庭只有一個孩子，過去適用于家長一輩的教育方式已不再適用于他們的孩子。”還有的專家認為家庭往往把孩子的心理問題深藏起來，而并不直接處理。“家長和學校并沒有使孩子的精神和心理強壯到足以面對壓力。”一位來自蒲那市的年輕人曾經因為各種壓力想過自殺，幸好一次及時的醫療介入拯救了他，而他現在也開始為其他人提供咨詢服務。他說：“告訴他們我也曾經有同樣的經歷可以幫助他們。我現在感覺好多了。”

[By Mallika Kapur and Jethro Mullen， CNN]