Self-Destruction

Dipika Saxena

Self is Lovable. Self is Beautiful. Self is a masterpiece. Self has a purpose in life. Self is the Best Creation of God. Self is an instrument of the body. Self is the Seer, the Doer and the Enjoyer. And In this Self resides a Beautiful Soul.
Soul is considered as the presence of God within Human Heart.
God Loves us. He is with us every time. Our Soul lives in harmony when it is showered with Self-love. We should love ourselves. Self-love is the Beautiful Gift that we can give to Our God.
Self-Love has many forms like Self-respect, Self-care, Self-belief, Self-confidence, Self-discipline, and Self-worth .

But sometimes these forms of Self-love are ruined by Self-harm, Drug and alcohol abuse, unhealthy eating, Self-pity, Self-sabotage, social isolation and so on. These problems within an individual may lead to Self-Destructive Behaviour. This behaviour may lead to Self-Destruction.
Self-Destructive Behaviour is shown by many people around us. This behaviour sometimes may cause people to do Suicide.
Self-destructive behaviour may be intentional or subconscious, impulsive or planned. This behaviour can occur in people either in the form of action, series of actions or a way of life that causes psychological or physical harm to the person engaging in the behavior.
Self-destructive behaviour can extend into every facet of life- friends, family, romantic, chemical, professional, food and so many more. This behaviour may lead people to start doing drugs or drinking to be able to feel good for a little while. This will cause a negative impact on an individual's mind and body.
Self-Destruction may also occur when people are in depression or pessimism. Depression begins from teenage age due to education, exams, peer pressure of gaining 90 percent marks in academics. 12 percent of Indian students between the age of 4 and 16 suffer from psychiatric disorders. 20 percent shows signs of mental disorders, out of which 2-5 percent have serious concerns like autism or bi-polar disorder.
Education is perhaps society’s most critical responsibility. Educational Institutions impart knowledge to students, lay emphasis on their physical well-being and prepare them for social challenges. But they do not focus on the mental health issues of students.
Every one hour a student commits a suicide in India.
Right from an early age, we are recruiting our children into believing that there is one right way to live their life. They are being sold the idea that the higher they go, the better they will be. Suicide rates of IIT aspirants in kota coaching centres are increasing day by day. They have internalised the propaganda that the only way they are worth something is if they get into a good college, “be productive” and get into a financially stable career.
Young people are the canaries of our present times. We have created the toxic society in which they are struggling to survive.

Maybe, this pandemic is an opportunity for us to let go of social expectations of success and carve out something new collaboratively.
To prevent students from self-destruction educational institutions must have psychological counselling programs in place to help students deal with their issues in confidentiality.
Society must sincerely endeavour to bridge the gap in the education sector facing mental well being.
To heal and recover from self-destructive behaviours, the process of self-improvement is required. This process is long and sometimes difficult. For self-improvement, an individual has to dig through the shadows of their past to unearth things that have caused great pain or suffering. To help someone find their peace of mind an effective guide is needed such as a therapist or a counselor.
We need to reflect on how to help each other overcome mental-health problems. Mental health is not an individual problem, it is a collective responsibility. We have lost too many lives and too much time.
Nobody is going to come and sort this out for us. We have to do it ourselves.