Who doesn't fears death? Everybody does. That's a different thing whether you accept it or not. Now that's not going to be my axis of discussion. Here, I will like to talk about the less-talked, deliberate, hidden and sensitive aspect of death. Just that very impopular thing known as 'Suicide'. Now, before pivoting any discussion relegated to that, I want to tour my readers first in the foundations of this happening.

What is Suicide?

According to Wikipedia, Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. To put it simply, putting an end to your own life. People do it to either escape the hard realities of world or to escape pain and suffering of this world. Now 'died by suicide' stands to be distinguished by 'suicide attempt. The former is an act of successful attempt to end life by themselves while the latter means that someone tried to end their life but the person didn't die.

The feeling itself is scary. Escaping is not always the solutions rather the enjoyment of life comes out of the fruits obtained after long periods of struggle. It's normal to feel low. Everybody has low phases in their life. It's not that you are going insane. Humans are not cyborgs and hence they are not programmed for things that are thrown their way. We should always remember that we are not alone in this journey. Counselling or chatting with a dear one shall help you in preventing suicidal thoughts. Participate in various events to gather social income. People are either not aware about mental health or if aware about it are not ready to actually understand it's problems and solutions.

Myths Associated:

It's not always to discern about people who harbour suicidal thoughts in themselves as people keep it a secret largely while some openly talk about it. Generally, it has been seen that such people become visionless, have anger issues, magnifying problems with no prospects of a solution, moodiness, a person gets scared or worried in the slightest of things. Such people are also found to be consuming too much of narcotic substances such as drugs or alcohol. They want to be isolated from the world in all possible scenarios. We should help such people as most of the time if we listen to such people, they feel relieved. Emergency numbers and emergency members are always there to deal with suicide crises.

It's wrong to think that suicide is not so common. Someone dies by suicide every day and each moment. Suicidal thoughts are very common, everybody once feels like that. People who commit suicide don't just want to end their life but want to actually get out of those nasty things or thoughts. It's said that people who commit suicide do it so to gather attention but they actually need help. Only people who suffer from mental illness don't only commit suicide while any normal person with overwhelming thoughts can possibly think of doing it.

Link between suicides and mental illness is being witnessed in high-income countries where a sudden strike in business or in events of crisis which happen impulsively or breakdown in the ability in dealing with any kind of stress. It's also associated with chronic illness and pain. Experiencing conflict, disaster and a sense of abuse or loss are correlated with suicidal thoughts. Suicide rates are also highest among vulnerable groups who have to face discrimination on various variables.

It's a shame for us that a degree of social stigma is present around suicide and it's a taboo still in our societies. Breaking down the taboo in many societies shall cause us to head towards progress. Improved surveillance and monitoring of suicide is required for the prevention of suicides. After getting a fair idea about the basic facets of suicide, let's move ahead to take a disciplinary view of the factor:-

The Psychology of Suicide

Suicide is seen both as a tragedy and a mystery. Suicide primarily stems from thoughts of depression. Psychiatric disorders also account for attempts of suicide. It's said that we should not talk about suicide with a person who is like feeling for it but that's totally a myth as the presence of conversation somewhere releases the pain.

Chiefly, attention bias, impulsivity, problem-solving and decision-making deficits account for suicide. Being a severe human behaviour, it's origin is not always easily traceable. Although, a number of models have been proposed which emphasize the interaction between predisposing and precipitating factors. Psychache is a facilitating factor of suicide behaviour. Getting entrapped in dysfunctions and dysregulation also seem to be into interplay and are responsible for things such as suicide. Inter-personal factors also play an essential role in suicides. Joiner's interpersonal theory recognized two interpersonal structures- perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongings as critical features of suicide occurrence. Communication difficulties also account for suicidal behaviour. People who suffer from obsessive-compulsive and avoidance personality traits were particularly associated with suicide. People who are not able to adapt with the changes that surround them also can be found ending their lives. Anxiety and depressive symptoms, cognitive deficits in psychiatric patients are also seen.

Bar-Zomer and Brunstein-Klomek examined associations between sibling bullying, attachment to mother and father, depression as ideations for suicide. Over-dependency and self-criticism are also maladaptive personality dimension causing suicide. It was examined that prisoners of war were prone to it as they were like experiencing loneliness and gloomy thoughts etc. Emotional intelligence shall serve as a protective factor of suicide ideation. Degraded quality of life makes people lose interest in it and they see death only as the final escape. It should be noted that suicide particularly happens at times when the possibility of getting an immediate health service gets delayed. 'To-be-ignored' perpetually develops a sense of alienation in the being. Neurological markers when get asynchronous in the symmetry of body-mind resonance can also be a factor. These were factors of suicide relegated with the individual psyche.

The Sociology of Suicide:

The sociological analysis of Suicide is grounded in the work of a Classical Sociologist from France, Emile Durkheim in his book 'Suicide' which got published in 1897. After reviewing the existing literature on suicide, collecting geo-spatial records of mortality associated with suicide and proved that suicide cannot be always defined in the psychological frontiers of the mind. Instead, argued to find sociological causes of suicide. Using concomitant and multivariate analysis, he concluded that a certain rate of suicide is common in every society. We should note that he doesn't finds suicide pathological for the society as he is a functionalist and gives greater relevance to functions present in the society. He rather supports the status-quo of society. Suicide doesn't become 'normlessness' unless it crosses extreme death rates.

Durkheim defines suicide as, 'the term suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting from directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim.'

Neo-functionalists like Robert King Merton associate the process with irregular linkage of means and ends particular to an individual.

Anyway, back to Durkheim's analysis. He inferred from his study that a pattern of suicide is common in every society which manifests in a certain manner such as,

• Males have greater chances of committing suicide over females.
• Unmarried people commit it more than committed people.
• Developing countries has lesser rates of suicide than developed countries.
• Protestants commit more suicide than Catholics.
• The probability of suicide occurrences is greater in summers than in winters.

The forces that are present in the society which precipitate in suicide are as follows:-

Forces of Integration:

a) Altruistic Suicide: It is the result of over-integration of an individual. Widow who self-immolated themselves (Sati) did because they are over-driven by norms of society.

b) Egoistic Suicide: It is the result of low integration of individuals in society. Suicides resulting from failures in an endeavour.

Forces of Regulation:

c) Anomic Suicide: Period of 'normlessness' where an individual loses his integrity and self. Cases of economic boom or failure, deadlock in a love relationship.

d) Fatalistic Suicide: Results of excessive control of society over an individual. A slave committing suicide out of hopelessness.

After briefing suicide in general or abstract contexts or in psychological and sociological disciplinary formats, let's move ahead to discuss about 'painless death'. Of course, dying is not an easy process. It is painful. But what if I say that this pain shall either lessen or end in all?

Yes, you read it right. Switzerland has come up with an 'artificial suicide machine' to facilitate the process of suicide and make it less painful for those who actually want to end their life on grounds of multiple factors. This 'Sarco-Pod' is running as a controversial thing on various new outlets. Before developing any pre-judgment on the same, let's take out some time to know more about this artificial suicide machine.

According to some reports, we get to know that Switzerland has given approval to a 3-D printed suicide capsules that could be used by those wanting to end their lives. It turns out that no such suicide pod has been approved by any agencies in Switzerland.

Through investigation by various media organisations, Switzerland's medical board had approved the use of 3-D printed suicide capsules known as 'Sarco Suicide Pods' that can be legally used for assisted suicide.

What is the Sarco Suicide Pod?

This device has been created by a non-profit organisation called Exit International which advocates voluntary euthanasia and assisted suicide. The 3D-printed pod, when activated by the user becomes flooded with nitrogen until it drastically reduces oxygen levels. We also get to know that the pod can be operated by the user from inside the pod. Obviously, candidates would first have to take a survey and confirm that the decision to take their lives was their own. The person would then require to answer some pre-determined questions and press some buttons to initiate the process. News of the pod becoming legal has spread on various news platforms.

Did Switzerland really approve such a pod?

Assisted suicide is legalized in Switzerland since 1942 under certain conditions. However, the Sarco Suicide Pods have not been approved for use in the country. The Swiss Medic, the government agency of Switzerland confirmed that it didn't approve any such Sarco capsule.

The pod's creator Nitshke also confirmed that no such approval for a suicide pod had been sought for the SARCO Pod. A legal consultation carried out by Exit International determined that the Sarco Pod didn't need any licensing for usage. It is being claimed that Nitschke is into talks with several organisations in Switzerland to launch the pods. Roughly 1,300 people used the services of euthanasia organisations Dignitas and Exit last year.

Prototyped in the Netherlands and developed by an Australia-based international non-profit organization called 'Exit International', the pod resembles a coffin and will be ready for operation in the country by 2022. Voluntary euthanasia through the ingestion of liquid sodium pentobarbital due to it there is a rapid onset of coma and perception of a peaceful death.

The Sarco Pod intended to suggest a sense of occasion or of travel to a new destination. The Sarco Pod which carries the tagline 'Go with style' can be towed with a location preferred by a person who wishes to die and can be activated from the inside. Decrease in oxygen levels in the box diminishes the consciousness of an individual and they die without panicking or choking. The entire process takes about a minute occurring through hypoxia and hypocapnia.

There are currently two prototypes of the product which are not being offered for sales purposes. It has not been examined though.

How did the confusion erupt that Switzerland approved the Sarco Pods?

The confusion holds it's genesis with a news headline of a broadcasting division in Switzerland which said, 'Sarco suicide capsule passes legal review in Switzerland. Later, the deadline story was changed to 'Sarco Suicide capsule hopes to enter Switzerland.' The change was further explained. Use of sarco-pods in Switzerland was thus found to be untrue. But by the time the connection was made, it was already too late as the news had already been circulated on various news platforms.

Will Sarco Pods be used in Switzerland?

People are still skeptical about this machine. Assisted suicide is legal when means of suicide are being offered by another person to the one seeking death without any selfish motive. The person seeking for suicide should be in a condition to make decisions. Assisted suicide is mostly carried out with assistance from a physician and is called 'PAS' (Physician-Assisted Suicide). The Sarco Pod, however, if approved will reduce the role of the physician even further by the introduction of AI. It is being said that it would unlikely meet 'much acceptance'.

Legal Debate

The current method ingests a series of liquids first which shall end the life of a person. By contrast, the pod which can be placed anywhere is flooded with nitrogen, reducing oxygen levels rapidly. The suicide pod is activated from the inside and also has an emergency button to exit. This pod doesn't constitute a medical device which means that the pod is not covered by the Swiss Therapeutic Products Act. In the light of this established, safe, and professionally conducted practice, we would not imagine that a technological capsule for a self-determined end of life would not be so much accepted by people. Some people argue that when people have the right to life, so similarly they have the right for a peaceful death. In situations of incurable diseases, chronic disorders and bleak hopes of continuing life, this device can serve as a good option. Although, before taking a decision the scales of pros and cons and legal standards all should be taken into centrality.

View of Dr. Death:

If the machine gets the green flag in Switzerland, the pod will not be offered for sale in the same conventional manner. The capsule's creator Dr. Philip Nitschke said he planned to make blueprints available so that everyone could download the design for free. His aim is to 'de-medicalise the dying process'. Also, it's an attempt to remove any kind of psychiatric review and allow the individual to control the method themselves.

Criticism of the Model:

This model has been criticised on the ground that it glamourises suicide. Some have even said that it's just a glorified gas chamber. Gas may never be an acceptable method for assisted suicide in Europe due to the negative connotations of the Holocaust.

Way Forward:

Suicide is a serious health problem that can have it's long-lasting effect on many individuals, families, and communities. Preventing suicide requires strategies at all levels of the society. Stabilising housing and financial security can help. Reducing any possible access to lethal means of committing suicide and planning an organised healthy framework along with reducing substance use. Mental health issues should be properly addressed. Promoted healthy peer norms and community behaviour to develop an exalted feeling of shared experience. Supporting platforms and learnings of social-emotional programs. Education about such things should also be there to avoid any social stigma and taboo around it. Responding to crises, planning for safety, and providing therapeutic purposes to avoid the risk. Remember, life shall show you multiple spectrums of life so here's a quote to sum it all,

'Rainbows introduce us to reflections of different beautiful possibilities so we never forget that pain and grief are not the final options in life.' - Aterjhani

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Reference:

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• www.cdc.gov