One question that lingers on almost everyone’s mind is simply: Why? Why did an individual, a friend, a parent, a spouse, or a sibling take his or her own life?

Even when a letter or a note explaining the reasons is discovered, unanswered questions generally remain: Yes, they felt enough anguish to kill themselves, but why did they feel that? Mostly people are left perplexed when they are told that their dear one has committed suicide, which only accentuates their guilt for failing to see that coming. According to studies, people who’ve survived suicide attempts have reported wanting not so much to die as to stop living, which is an eerie dichotomy yet a thought-provoking one.

Aman Karim, a consultant clinical psychologist based in Lahore, believes that somebody who is contemplating suicide would need a lot of signs.

"In most cases I have seen that an individual would ask for help, he/she would try to communicate in subtle tone whereby they are looking for mere attention," she says.

Over the years, numerous researches have been carried out in order to divulge possible reasons behind people killing themselves. One person in the world dies by suicide every 40 seconds, according to the first ever comprehensive report on suicide prevention by World Health Organisation (WHO). However, some studies suggest that they’re not as intuitive as most of us think them to be.

"Nobody is going to impulsively commit suicide. I see patients who have been planning their suicide for four or five years," according to Karim.

David Emile Durkheim, the famous French sociologist, social psychologist and philosopher, identified three different types of suicide that are found in the society.

Egoistic suicide: results from lack of integration of the individual into society.

Altruistic suicide: results from the individual taking his own life because of higher commandments.

Anomic suicide: results from lack of regulation of the individual by society.

Now, Durkheim’s theory is very much in line with Pakistan’s social structure and religious beliefs. Increasing disparity between the rich and poor is one of the major reasons that is escalating the feeling of inadequacy within society. Then there is religious extremism that causes altruistic suicides in our society, whereby people take their lives because they believe that it’s a commandment from a higher divine authority, such as religious martyrs or suicide bombers.

Recent research indicates that there is a very strong co-relation between mental illnesses and suicides. According to the American Foundation for Suicide prevention, over 90 per cent of people who die by suicide have a mental illness at the time of their death, most commonly untreated depression.

Though, research and public debate regarding suicide has been limited in Pakistan due to social stigmas, religious beliefs and possible legal consequences, the limited research carried out to date indicates the leading causes of suicide in Pakistan to be  mental illnesses, unemployment, poverty, homelessness and family disputes.

"In lower class poverty leads to everything -- poverty leads to depression, mental dissatisfaction, conflicts. The root cause will always be poverty especially in the lower classes," says Karim.

Conventionally, suicide numbers were low in Pakistan but in recent years, they have risen substantially, and suicide has become a major public health concern in Pakistan. However, there are no official statistics; one major reason for this is that when someone attempts suicide his or her family usually try to cover the act.

Unless serious efforts are undertaken, Pakistan’s rapidly increasing population, ever-increasing disparity of income, poorly-established primary and mental health services and weak political processes are likely to contribute to suicide becoming more prevalent in the country.

It is, therefore, important that both government and non-government organisations work with public and mental health professionals to root out the scourge.

"Suicide is still not considered an issue in Pakistan and serious efforts are required on the part of the government and private organisations to make this a serious issue," says Karim.

Even when there are no resource constraints, most people with a mental illness do not tend to seek assistance. Nevertheless, the weight of evidence suggests that even when there are no major financial barriers to worry about, many people minimise their contact with services or do not seek help to avoid being labelled as mentally ill or submitting to treatments that they see as nontherapeutic.

Now, why do we think like that? Why are we stuck in old clichés when it comes to suicides? Perhaps, it’s lack of education or lack of awareness or just a naïve reporting of suicides by Pakistan’s news media.

Pakistan’s news media has an uncanny sense of what the public wants to hear and, in my opinion reports regarding suicides have been dealt unintelligently -- in fact rather inanely. They tend to sensationalise the suicide news without investigating the causes and the context.

However, the silver lining is that the media can play a significant role concerning suicides prevention. In the last decade or so, we have witnessed that the news organisations and journalists played a very critical role in educating the people of Pakistan and media on the whole has made a momentous difference in people’s mindsets.

"Media can play a significant role by reiterating the suicide warning signs and symptoms," says Karim.

Reports regarding suicide should inform the public about likely causes, common warnings signs and risk factors, trends in suicide rates, and "successful prevention efforts". At times, reporting on a suicide can prove harmful, spreading misinformation or unintentionally contributing to suicide contagion.

More than 50 research studies worldwide have presented recommendations regarding how the media should report suicide. The studies found that certain types of news coverage can increase the probability of suicide among vulnerable individuals.

According to study, "the magnitude of the increase is related to the amount, duration and prominence of coverage". Moreover, the study suggest that the risk of additional suicides increases when the story explicitly describes the suicide method.

Also, when the media uses "dramatic/graphic headlines or images," and gives "repeated/extensive coverage and sensationalises or glamorises a death," the probability of rise in the suicide rate increases.

Hence, covering suicide cautiously, even briefly, can change public misperceptions and correct myths, which can surely encourage those who are vulnerable or at risk to seek help.