When someone that you know makes a suicide attempt, it’s normal to feel a surge in tough emotions like grief, guilt, anger or even a sense of numbness. However, it’s vitally important to talk through these feelings, both for you to be able to hold yourself afloat and to support your friend through their moment of need. Listen without judgement, keep the conversation open and try to ask questions that allows you to see their perspective. Here are a few things to keep in mind.
Talk Through It
The first thing to remember when engaging in this kind of conversation is that the tough reality it’s not always about finding solutions. Sometimes our role, as a friend, is simply to offer a safe space for them to be able to express their feelings. One of the most damaging sentiments in the modern day is that we don’t have the right to our emotions or to feel the way that we do, which can lead to negative spirals or ruminations.
Why Support Systems Are Crucial
The second thing to bear in mind are support systems: for you and your friend. If you're close to the person, ensure you also have a support system to help you navigate this challenging time. The person in recovery may still be experiencing suicidal distress, so having a network of people who can provide emotional support, practical help, and actual professional resources is crucial. This network might include friends, family, mental health professionals, and community support groups.
What To Do Immediately After An Attempt
In the immediate aftermath of a suicide attempt, it's important to ensure the person's safety. Either escort them to the emergency department of your nearest hospital or call a mental health crisis helpline that is equipped to handle these kinds of crises. In that time, remove any triggers or means of suicide that might exacerbate the situation and try to keep them talking. Staying calm and simply letting them know you care can be crucially important.
Reach Out To Local Mental Health NGOs And Foundations
These organizations tend to have a pool of resources to help suicide attempt survivors and those caring for them. hey also provide resources such as personal safety plans, advice for supporting someone online, and helplines for immediate support. Remember, it's not about fixing the person but about showing them empathy, care, and understanding as they navigate their path to recovery
Lastly, just remember that supporting a suicide attempt survivor is a journey, one that requires patience, empathy, and resilience. However, do remember that with the right support, recovery is possible.
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Bollywood actor Varun Dhawan recently opened up about the diagnosis of his 2-year-old daughter with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip.
Varun, who welcomed his daughter Lara in 2024 along with his wife, Natasha Dalal, shared that the condition affected her ability to walk and run normally.
In a recent episode of Be A Man, Yaar!, Varun noted that the toddler’s condition was diagnosed when she was around one-and-a-half years old.
"My daughter was diagnosed with DDH, in which the hip slips out of the hip socket. Ek pair lamba chota hojaata hai jiski wajah se walk tedi hojaati hai (One leg becomes shorter than the other, which causes an uneven limp while walking). You can't walk or run properly," he said.
The Badrinath Ki Dulhania actor noted that Lara did not need surgery, but underwent a procedure that put her hip back.
“But she had to be in a spica cast. That means she had to be in a cast for 2.5 months. Which is extremely difficult. To put her under anesthesia, and then she woke up in a cast. Now the cast is out,” he said, adding that the baby is now in recovery.
The Border 2 actor said he chose to speak about Lara’s diagnosis to raise awareness among parents. He urged them to closely observe their children’s movements and consult a paediatrician if they notice anything unusual.
Also read: US FDA Approves Drug To Treat Rare Childhood Syndrome
The UK NHS explains that Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a condition where the "ball and socket" joint of the hip does not properly form in babies and young children.
The congenital multifactoral disease has about a 30 per cent increased risk if a family member is affected.
The hip joint typically connects the thigh bone (femur) to the pelvis. Its upper end, called the femoral head, is shaped like a ball and fits into a cup-like socket in the hip.
However, in children born with DDH, this socket is not deep enough to securely hold the femoral head, resulting in an unstable joint.
Also read: Child Deaths Fall In India Since 2000 But Progress Slows, Says UN Report
In more severe cases, the ball can slip out of the socket completely, leading to dislocation.
DDH may affect 1 or both hips, and is more common in:
While some babies born with a dislocated hip will show no outward signs, common signs to look includes:
Early detection is helpful and boosts treatment. When detected at birth, DDH can usually be corrected with the use of a harness or brace.
In cases where the hip is not dislocated at birth, the condition may not be noticed until the child begins walking. In such cases, treatment may be more complicated, with less predictable results.
Even during pregnancy, extreme discomfort must not be normalised. (Photo credit: iStock)
Many women silently accept certain health issues as a normal part of life. However, many of these symptoms, such as painful menses and fatigue, can indicate underlying medical conditions that need attention. So, women shouldn’t neglect their health and seek timely help. Dr Payal Narang, Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist, Motherhood Hospital, Pune, in an interview with Health and Me, spoke about the health problems that women often normalise, but that can become catastrophic in the long run.
Read more: Three Health Checks Every Woman Should Do Each Month, According To Experts
Women often juggle multiple responsibilities that include work, family, and household duties and neglect their own health. They are busy due to professional and personal life commitments and often fail to go for regular health check-ups. Moreover, they also experience menstrual problems and ignore symptoms such as painful periods, constant fatigue, heavy menstrual bleeding, and urinary leakage after childbirth. Women should consult a doctor instead of normalising these symptoms, which can delay diagnosis and treatment of important health issues. Paying attention to these signs and seeking medical advice can help women maintain better health and quality of life.

Women, listening to the body, don’t just Google and try any remedies on your own. It is necessary to follow expert-recommended guidelines for tackling these problems.
Credit: iStock
Long considered a standard tool for assessing body weight, Body Mass Index (BMI) may not be as reliable as once believed. A new study shows that relying on BMI can incorrectly classify people as overweight or obese.
When a team of Italian researchers used the gold standard technique of dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to measure body fat in the general population, they found that the traditional WHO-approved BMI classification system misidentified a significant number of people as having overweight or obesity.
A total of 1,351 adults of mixed gender aged between 18 and 98 years were checked for their body weight using the DXA system.
The results, published in the journal Nutrients, revealed that more than one-third (34 percent) of those with obesity defined by BMI had been misclassified and should be in the overweight category.
For those with an overweight BMI, DXA showed that more than half – 53 percent – had been misclassified – three quarters of those misclassified fall into the normal weight category, while the other quarter should have been classified as having obesity.
The DXA analysis found that the prevalence of overweight and obesity across the cohort was around 37 percent overall (23.4 percent overweight, and 13.2 percent obesity, compared to 26.2 percent and 14.1 percent with BMI).
“In the past few years, there has been a lot of criticism of the BMI system due to its inability to accurately capture body fat percentage or distribution, to correctly categorise weight status based on adiposity,” said Professor Marwan El Ghoch, of the Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Also read: Your BMI Does Not Reflect Your Health: New Study Warns How It Misses A Key Health Aspect
Despite these concerns, BMI as a weight classification system continues to be used in the general population in primary healthcare (i.e., general practitioners) and non-clinical (i.e., policy and health insurance) settings, he added.
The researchers urged revising public health guidelines to consider combining direct body composition or their surrogate measures, such as skinfold measurement or body circumference, with the waist-to-height ratio, with BMI, while assessing weight status in the general population.
In January 2025, India revamped its obesity guidelines, and the new approach focused on abdominal obesity and comorbid diseases, rather than just BMI.
According to the redefining team, it was essential to move beyond BMI-only approaches to tackle the ever-growing number of people related to other major health risks. They stated that while BMI can be a screening tool, obesity must be defined by body fat.
“BMI should be used for screening purposes, but obesity should be confirmed ideally by a measure of body fat wherever feasible, or another measure such as waist circumference, WHR, or Waist-to-height ratio,” Dr. Naval Vikram, Professor of Medicine, at AIIMS, New Delhi, was quoted as saying to IANS at the time.
Also read: 41 million children aged 5-19 living with high BMI in India: Study
It recognizes abdominal fat — closely linked to insulin resistance — as a key factor in the diagnosis. It integrates the presence of comorbidities — such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease — into the diagnostic process.
The revised guidelines also introduce a two-stage classification system, addressing both generalized and abdominal obesity.
Stage 1 Obesity: Increased adiposity (BMI > 23 kg/m²) without apparent effects on organ functions or routine daily activities.
Stage 2 Obesity: Advanced state of obesity with increased BMI more than 23 kg/2, and abdominal adiposity; excess Waist Circumference or Waist-to-Height Ratio.
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