’I just wanT to die’

According to an NGO-run HIV/AIDS helpline, an increasing number of HIV positive Puneites are considering suicide as a way out

'I just wanT to die'

According to an NGO-run HIV/AIDS helpline, an increasing number of HIV positive Puneites are considering suicide as a way out

"Today, my test results said that I am HIV positive. I am shocked and I don't know how to live with this stigma. The only option for me right now is to end my life."

"I was told I am HIV positive. Now I cannot marry my fiancee. I don't know how to face my friends and family. My life is doomed."

These are two of the several calls that Mukta HIV/AIDS helpline run byu00a0u00a0 NGO Maitri gets each day. Volunteers of the NGO say that they have been getting an increasing number of calls from people who want to commit suicide because they have tested positive for HIV/AIDS.

According to Parag Bhinge, a volunteer at the helpline, which receives 80 calls per day on an average, the sufferers find it hard to come to terms with the social stigma attached to the disease.

"In the period between January and June 2008, 582 callers out of the total 14,483 said they wanted to commit suicide.

However, in the same period in 2009, 728 callers out of the total 14,560 were considering taking this extreme step," confirmed Bhinge.

"Percentage wise, suicidalu00a0 tendencies have risen from four per cent to five in the last one year," he said.

'They need support'
Bhinge said that most first time callers break down on the phone. While psychologist Dr Bharat Desai said that those suffering from HIV/AIDS need emotional support that is being provided by helplines and counseling centers.

"The person gradually reconsiders his suicidal intentions if he gets proper advice," Desai said.

It works
HIV specialist and counsellor Dr Madhu Oswal agreed that telephonic counselling does help boost confidence of the callers.

"Around 13.05 per cent of these callers subsequently change their minds about committing suicide," she said.