Suicide is perhaps the most dramatic and tragic consequence of psychological illness and social problems. Studies have shown that more than 90 per cent of those who end their lives have a psychiatric illness and that the majority have shared these feelings with relatives or friends.

Yet, many never get adequate help. Suicide statistics obtained from police departments in various states are recognised to be notoriously inaccurate, almost always being a considerable underestimate of the true suicide rates.

 Determining whether a death is suicidal is difficult, since this implies knowing the frame of mind the person was in at the time of death. For example, when a body is washed ashore or found burnt, it can be near impossible to determine whether the death was accidental, suicidal, or indeed homicidal.

Plus, the stigma associated with suicide renders many families to pressure police to declare deaths as accidental. Suicide statistics also do not take into account attempted suicides, which far outnumber 'successful' suicides.

Nevertheless, suicide statistics remain the only measure we have of the level of suicide. In 1995, a total of 245 suicide cases were recorded by police stations in Goa.

The commonest methods of suicide were hanging [37 per cent]; drowning, often by jumping into a well [29 per cent]; burning [16 per cent] and poisoning [14 per cent].

 Males accounted for just over half of the cases. In seven cases, two persons committed suicide together, an event which is sometimes referred to as a "suicide pact". In many such cases it is often two lovers who end their lives due to family problems such as rejection of their relationship.

Seventeen children (under 18 years) committed suicide, the youngest being a 14-year-old girl. At the other end of the age spectrum, 21 persons over the age of 60 ended their lives, a ratio greater than the proportion of elderly persons to Goa's total population. Thus, in 1995, suicides accounted for more than five times the number of deaths caused by malaria in the same year and yet, unlike malaria, attracted little or no attention from public health planners or the community.

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