Dsuicide has become a topic of discussion in Kerala. The topic entered public discourse after several individuals, including police officers, ended their lives due to political and administrative pressures. There is no doubt that those responsible for the immediate causes of these tragedies must be held accountable. However, this debate cannot be limited to politics; we must recognize that the fragile mental health of the people of Kerala is the root cause of the rising suicide rate and take urgent corrective measures.
Kerala has one of the highest suicide rates in the country. According to the 2022 National Crime Records Bureau report, the national average suicide rate per million population was 12.4, while it was 28.5 in Kerala. Only Sikkim (43.1) ranked higher.
Studies on the state of mental health of the people of Kerala paint a disturbing picture. There has been a dramatic increase in mental health problems, from 272 per thousand in 2008 to 400 per thousand by 2018, according to a 2021 study, “The burden of mental health disease in Kerala: a secondary analysis of reported data from 2002 to 2018” by Jaison Joseph, D. Hari Nambiar and Devaki. This suggests that a large proportion of Kerala’s population faces serious mental health problems, with an estimated 12% suffering from serious mental illnesses requiring hospital treatment and care. The contrast with the national trend, where the number of individuals with mental illness either decreased or remained stable during the same period, is striking. This suggests that while the mental health sector has seen progress at the national level, the problem has intensified in Kerala. The National Mental Health Survey 2015-16 also shows that rates of depression, anxiety disorders and suicidal tendencies in the state are significantly higher than the national average. Moreover, the poor mental condition of Kerala is a primary contributing factor to the growing social evils like drug addiction, violence against women, alcoholism, aggression/violence and superstition.
Addressing this crisis requires implementing comprehensive mental health programs from childhood to old age. Health programs in educational institutions need to be redesigned to protect mental and physical health and provide students with the necessary health education. The functioning of existing counseling services at the level of schools and universities needs to be scientifically evaluated. Teachers and parents must undergo training and counselors must undergo refresher training appropriate for modern times. Operations of the Ministry of Health, Medical Colleges, Hospitals like Mental Health Center Thiruvananthapuram and Government Mental Health Center Kozhikode, Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences Kozhikode and State Mental Health Authority need coordination and strengthening. Also, services offered by the private sector and voluntary mental health organizations must be used strategically to expand the support network.
The severe shortage of mental health professionals requires attention. While the recommended global norm is three professionals for each per 10,000 people (psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, psychiatric social workers and rehabilitation workers), the actual numbers in Kerala are alarmingly low: 0.12, 0.06, 0.006 and 1, respectively. Urgent steps are required to bridge this shortage of trained manpower, such as increasing the number of seats in existing courses and launching new programs in other centres.
Kerala does not give the same priority to mental health issues as it does to communicable and non-communicable diseases of civilization, and the increase in suicides is a direct result of this neglect. As the rise in suicides has become a widespread topic of debate, society needs to recognize this problem as a major public health crisis. Government, Department of Health, health professionals and professional organizations need to develop comprehensive and long-term action plans to improve mental health.
B. Ekbal is an academic, neurosurgeon and public health expert. Email: ekbalb@gmail.com. People in distress or having suicidal thoughts can seek advice from Suicide Prevention Helpline Number: DISHA – 0471-2552056, 1056 or any of the numbers mentioned in this link.
Published – 03 Dec 2025 01:49 IST
