Suicide is the leading cause of death among young people aged 15 to 29 in India. The reasons for this are complex, ranging from academic pressure to discrimination, and lack of access to youth-centric services. However, there are effective ways to prevent it. One of the most crucial steps is to ensure that young people in distress have access to safe, non-judgmental spaces. But what if the biggest barrier to seeking help is the fear of judgment or the belief that no one truly understands their struggles? This is where peer support becomes vital — it not only offers a listening space but also provides a connection with someone who truly understands.
The Silent Struggle: Why Traditional Help Isn't Always Enough
Imagine Riya, a 20-year-old university student in Delhi. She has recently migrated for her studies, leaving behind her family and familiar support systems. Between adjusting to a new city, keeping up with rising academic demands, navigating intense competition, and coping with the isolation that often comes with these changes, she finds herself carrying a weight that feels heavier each day. Thoughts of self-harm and suicide begin to surface, yet the immense stigma around mental health makes seeking help feel impossible. The effort to explain everything to a therapist or even her parents feels like an insurmountable hurdle. She fears judgment, and the idea of opening up to someone who might not truly "get it" is disheartening.
Riya's hypothetical situation highlights a common reality: for many young people, the very act of seeking help can be overwhelming. This is precisely the gap that peer support aims to fill, by providing an accessible and empathetic alternative where the shared experience fosters genuine understanding.
Outlive: Support Through Peer Connection
Understanding this critical need, the Centre for Mental Health Law & Policy, Indian Law Society (CMHLP, ILS), in collaboration with partners Sangath and Quicksand Design Studio, launched Outlive in 2020. This pioneering youth suicide prevention program specifically addresses urban youth suicides in India, engaging young people aged 18 to 24 who have experiences of suicide/self-harm, distress, or other mental health problems.
At the heart of Outlive's intervention is Outlive chat https://chat.outlive.in, an anonymous, chat-based platform where trained young people offer support to youth navigating distress, difficult life circumstances or thoughts of suicide.
What makes Outlive's peer support so impactful? What makes Outlive Chat so meaningful is the connection it builds between young people who’ve been through similar experiences. Outlive trains youth volunteers to offer emotional support through anonymous chats. Outlive Chat is developed based on evidence that in crisis situations young people prefer reaching out to peers for support.
One peer supporter's training feedback noted, “The Outlive experience came to me at a time in my life where I was myself going through a long and arduous journey of healing and growing. What I wanted was to be able to provide support to those who really needed it, especially because I had none when I needed it. I am happy to have been of some help, no matter how small the capacity. Furthermore, I feel like the training sessions prior to beginning our role as a peer supporter was also very enlightening, cementing some already known facts and providing a new and improved perspective in other ways. I walk away from this having the skills to better help my peers and friends as and when they need it.” This deep understanding allows peer supporters to genuinely connect, helping individuals "look past the preconceived notions and misinformation regarding suicide prevention".
For support seekers like Riya, the impact is profound. After her anonymous chat, she felt hopeful, a feeling she hadn't experienced in months. As one support seeker explicitly stated: “I shared a few things that I never ever spoke about. I'm feeling a little better. She validated me, and I needed someone to do that!”
This direct testament underscores how talking to someone who truly understands can be a crucial first step toward recovery and suicide prevention.
Beyond the Chat: A Multi-Pronged Approach to Youth Suicide Prevention
Outlive’s commitment to youth mental health goes beyond peer support. The program takes a multi-pronged approach—tackling stigma around suicide, building peer-led prevention support, and driving systemic change through youth advocacy at the policy level.
Youth Action for Suicide Prevention (YASP) Fellowship
Empowering youth leaders to engage with local communities and policy makers to enable systemic change for suicide prevention.
Workshops and resources for suicide prevention– enabling youth with multi-lingual suicide prevention resources to tackle stigma, inspire hope and encourage help-seeking.
Through these interventions, Outlive enables a wider dialogue and creates a supportive environment where talking about suicide is seen as the first step to preventing it.
A Step Toward a Hopeful Tomorrow
Preventing youth suicides requires a multi-fold intervention that can address the risk factors at multiple levels, including the individual, family, community, and societal levels.
Research shows that young people are more likely to confide in their peers than in adults when experiencing distress. Well-designed peer support programs can help reduce feelings of isolation, encourage early help-seeking, and challenge the stigma around mental health. Recognising its importance, Outlive’s peer support model offers an opportunity to young people to connect anonymously with someone they can trust — a person who comes from a lived experience of mental distress and therefore can truly empathise with their peers. This connection validates their feelings, reduces their sense of isolation, and, most importantly, offers a clear path toward hope and recovery.
If you or someone you know is struggling, remember that talking to someone who understands can make all the difference. Visit https://chat.outlive.in for free, anonymous, chat-based peer support.
