International Journal of Emergency Mental Health and Human Resilience
Open Access

Bangladesh is overly populated and its economy is continuously growing than most other countries in South Asia. It is recently discovered that the South Asian suicide rate is almost close to the global average (Ferdous & Alam, 2021). Developing countries reported for nearly 73% of the global suicides, Asia alone accounts for nearly 60% of global suicides (Shah et al., 2017). Almost one million people die each year by suicide over the globe with a global mortality rate of 16 per 100,000 and 39.6 per 100,000 in Bangladesh (Shah et al., 2017). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that almost 10,000 persons are taking their life per year in the country (Yasir Arafat, 2018). As the suicide rate growing it is firmly noticed that a good number of our students are also in the range of suicide risk and as if that wasn’t enough the rate of student’s suicide is daily increasing. Various factors trigger students to commit suicide including academic stress, relationship issues, family troubles, hopelessness, financial stress, social isolation, work problems, alcohol and drug use, and other mental health problems (Mussoni & Donati, 1988). Even though the exact age range is yet to come but it’s mainly between 20-30, it is also seen that females commit suicide more than males (Arafat, 2019). That’s why the author aims to find does this pandemic (COVID-19) situation ignite the rate of students’ suicide rate? And if it does then what precautions we should take to prevent it

The participants were volunteered by mostly engineering universities including the 4 major engineering universities in Bangladesh. We run a public survey and 43 people volunteer us among them, 35 male and 39 female. Where the age range is between 18 to 25.

Among the entire participants majority think that the main reason for suicide among students is depression (70.3%) (Figure 1, 2 and 3). Even though many reasons might trigger this depression but their depression is mainly triggered by extreme pressure (70.3%), then there are individual family problems (68.9%) this survey shows that this is also a huge point. For internal family affairs which affect the mental health of the students that they are following this path.

Figure 1: Percentage tendency of suicide among students
93.2 % students think that the tendency of suicide among student is increasing during Covid period.
They claim as a reason of suicide is

Figure 2: Reason for suicide.
The reason of depression they think- (They can choose one more reason)

Figure 3: Reason for depression

Parents should make friendship with their children. Parents shouldn’t judge them. Spend time with your children and try to solve their problems through patience. Parents shouldn’t judge them. As most of the educational institutes are closed in lockdown which is creating a huge mental trauma for the students. They should try to make real friends instead of making tons of virtual friends. Offline- based communication; field-based sports can solve these problems. Interact with close ones; share the disturbance with the right person. Their family should be more cooperative and supportive. Encouraging family with productive discussion may come forward to solve this problem.

Talking about mental issues should be generalized. The people have to be made aware that it’s very common and temporary and they aren’t alone. Some consultation centers can be established in many easily accessible places or through an online platform to support those who require it very badly. Spreading positive ads and videos can also be proven to be highly effective as almost everybody spending their time on social media due to lockdown. When it comes to the students usually family or parents don’t try to understand their issue because of their lack of knowledge and concern. If they are helpful and put themselves in their children’s shoes, they might catch the point. They need counseling first. In this case, no one will be as effective as the teachers or educational institutions, or doctors. If the environment of the house becomes helpful and cheerful then students may not feel that they are alone in this world.

Depression is causing undergraduates to commit suicide. Depression is triggered by various topics such as uncertainty of jobs, uninterested subject\ work-field, family problems. As they start their undergraduate life it was just some stress in the beginning but as time goes the stress becomes depression, which creates a heavy impact on their mental health. As most undergraduates live away from their homes they even hardly find anyone to consoling. That’s why grownups (parents and institutions) should be more careful about their child’s mental health.

Arafat, SMY. (2019). Females are dying more than males by suicide in Bangladesh. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 40, 124-125.

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Mussoni, L, Donati, MB. (1988). Expression of plasminogen activator as a marker of stimulation in tumor- associated macrophages. Haemostasis, 18(1), 66-71.

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Shah, Md. MA, Ahmed, S., Arafat, SMY. (2017). Demography and Risk Factors of Suicide in Bangladesh: A Six-Month Paper Content Analysis. Psychiatry Journal, 2017, 1-5.

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Yasir Arafat, SM. (2018). Current challenges of suicide and future directions of management in Bangladesh: A systematic review. Global Psychiatry, 2(1), 9-20.

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