Why all the suicides if everything is going so well in Murica?

[liv2ski]

I have felt the overall economy for many Americans has gone to shit in the last 10 years, while the "Official Numbers" are massaged to send a very different message. So if things are so great and never better, than why does it seem like so many people are killing themselves?



The rate of suicide deaths has been rising across the U.S. since at least 1999, according to new data released Thursday. But in some states, the increases are staggering.

In North Dakota, the suicide rate increased by almost 58 percent from 1999 to 2016, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 25 states where the suicide rate increase by more than 30 percent, the most noticeable rises occurred in western states. Montana, Idaho, the Dakotas and Wyoming all saw increases from 38 to 58 percent. In the east, Vermont, New Hampshire and South Carolina saw dramatic spikes as well.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ine&yptr=yahoo

[HankScorpio]

I was just having this conversation with a co-worker. Americans are stressed over money, debt, competing to get ahead. We're the largest consumers of drugs on Earth, so many people popping pills to get through the day, easy access to firearms, lack of access/high cost of mental health care, the stigma of seeking help for mental health struggles, treating stress by self medicating. The list goes on.

[Mazderati]

Looks like the best medicine is a hooker sandwich in Las Vegas.

[SumJongGuy]

That Kate lady did it while her husband was there right? Some of the others I'm not so sure about. CNN Food guy was making enemies in high places by advocating for food worker unions and raising the minimum wage. Not quite to Randy Quaid's level, but some of it could be nefarious..

[Meadow Skipper]

I have felt the overall economy for many Americans has gone to shit in the last 10 years, while the "Official Numbers" are massaged to send a very different message. So if things are so great and never better, than why does it seem like so many people are killing themselves?

This is a trick question, isn't it?

[mall walker]

[SumJongGuy]

I have felt the overall economy for many Americans has gone to shit in the last 10 years, while the "Official Numbers" are massaged to send a very different message. So if things are so great and never better, than why does it seem like so many people are killing themselves?



The rate of suicide deaths has been rising across the U.S. since at least 1999, according to new data released Thursday. But in some states, the increases are staggering.

In North Dakota, the suicide rate increased by almost 58 percent from 1999 to 2016, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 25 states where the suicide rate increase by more than 30 percent, the most noticeable rises occurred in western states. Montana, Idaho, the Dakotas and Wyoming all saw increases from 38 to 58 percent. In the east, Vermont, New Hampshire and South Carolina saw dramatic spikes as well.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ine&yptr=yahoo

Economy yes, downfall of unions and middle class growth. There is also a correlation between the decline of organized religion among the more highly educated and these suicide rates increasing.. More cynical, less hopeful people in tougher economic times is a bad combination for mental stability.

[Meadow Skipper]

...There is also a correlation between the decline of organized religion among the more highly educated and these suicide rates increasing..

Just a reminder that correlation is not causation.

[SumJongGuy]

Just a reminder that correlation is not causation.

Right, fewer people believing that a higher power or other factors beyond their control might somehow inexplicably/magically remedy their horrible life situation seems more plausible in explaining the causal relationship to higher suicide rates..

[highangle]

Economy yes, downfall of unions and middle class growth. There is also a correlation between the decline of organized religion among the more highly educated and these suicide rates increasing.. More cynical, less hopeful people in tougher economic times is a bad combination for mental stability.

Did you learn to prattle in church?

People who kill themselves to get out of debt got some bad priorities, I'll grant you that. But if people who would otherwise kill themselves don't because they don't want to screw their chances to get rewarded in the next life, what's the gain?

[hutash]

Some people just can't handle success, maybe America is too great again

[Buster Highmen]

The "Official Numbers" are bullshit for people living in rural areas.
In the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for example:
" People not included in the report are non-metro or rural populations, farm families, armed forces, people serving in prison and those in mental hospitals. "

In January 2012, the Federal Reserve declared it would rather use the PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) index than CPI since PCE provided inflation trends that are less affected by short-term price changes. The PCE does include housing prices:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DHUTRC1Q027SBEA .


But the PCE does not include gasoline or food:
The "core" PCE price index is defined as personal consumption expenditures (PCE) prices excluding food and energy prices.

Wage growth is far behind inflation and has been for some time, even in urban areas:
https://www.glassdoor.com/research/a...ith-inflation/

Rural areas are feeling the financial crunch more than ever. I don't know what the suicide rate breakdown is across urban versus rural areas, but at least in the above charts, those states with the highest suicide rates have few multimillion population urban areas.



While the CPI does include food and energy costs, the other "official number", Core Inflation does not.

[SumJongGuy]

Did you learn to prattle in church?

I haven't set foot in a church service in probably 5 years. Only went occasionally before that. Too many people using divine inspiration to justify irrational hate and fear. Not what any true God would want. There may still be some good churches that don't judge or denigrate marginalized groups but they are definitely fewer and farther between in these dumbed down times..

If I did find the time to start going again I'd go Episcopal. That's the church I was raised in and they seem most progressive with regard to today's social context.

[highangle]

But you still believe in magic though, right?

[SumJongGuy]

But you still believe in magic though, right?

I believe we're all connected spiritually, all living beings, in ways science has yet to explain..

[GhostofSeasonsPast]

I have felt the overall economy for many Americans has gone to shit in the last 10 years, while the "Official Numbers" are massaged to send a very different message. So if things are so great and never better, than why does it seem like so many people are killing themselves?



The rate of suicide deaths has been rising across the U.S. since at least 1999, according to new data released Thursday. But in some states, the increases are staggering.

In North Dakota, the suicide rate increased by almost 58 percent from 1999 to 2016, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of the 25 states where the suicide rate increase by more than 30 percent, the most noticeable rises occurred in western states. Montana, Idaho, the Dakotas and Wyoming all saw increases from 38 to 58 percent. In the east, Vermont, New Hampshire and South Carolina saw dramatic spikes as well.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...ine&yptr=yahoo

The official numbers are massaged.

SSRIs and social media also probably are elements.

[ill-advised strategy]

So those are some of the dynamics of why people are struggling.

Also: everyone gets sick and getting sick in the US means financial ruin.

Also: We're bombarded by a subtle, comprehensive message that you are your finances, and your finances reflect the quality of your self overall.

Also: we have an aging population who saw their elders live in awful conditions in nursing homes.

Also: guns everywhere.

I think there are plenty of people who don't think any of this through....but they just know they're miserable and alone and there's no reason to believe it's going to improve. I think that sensation relates to tons of cultural and economic mistakes.

If you grow up expecting to be poor and for life to be very hard, and you value survival under difficult conditions....you can achieve survival and feel good about that. If you grow up expecting to prosper and being told good people do well and lazy people don't....bare survival can feel excruciating.
That's why that narrative about how white people can't lose is actually beyond just being annoying bullshit, it's actually dangerous.

[mall walker]

I believe we're all connected spiritually, all living beings, in ways science has yet to explain..

cool, thanks for sharing

[GhostofSeasonsPast]

the fact is, a tourniquet didn’t help.

French gun control didn't keep him from...never mind.

[GiBo]

If you grow up expecting to be poor and for life to be very hard, and you value survival under difficult conditions....you can achieve survival and feel good about that. If you grow up expecting to prosper and being told good people do well and lazy people don't....bare survival can feel excruciating. That's why that narrative about how white people can't lose is actually beyond just being annoying bullshit, it's actually dangerous.

This is such a under appreciated fact. Kind of the curse of "white privilege".

[highangle]

I believe we're all connected spiritually, all living beings, in ways science has yet to explain..

Ahem..."Set Theory"?

[MontuckyFried]

If you grow up expecting to prosper and being told good people do well and lazy people don't....bare survival can feel excruciating.

Hmmm. I think this a point that most people don't want to ever mention and I believe holds a LOT of weight. As we've pushed self esteem above all else to children since the 80s, with it only becoming worse, that ALL kids get a trophy, and pushing the notion to children that they can be whatever they want to be AND be rich and successful in their adult lives, I do think it sets them up for depression on a massive scale when reality hits and they end up trying to cope in an adult world.

Everybody's points above are also valid, but I do think there's something to be said for society placing so much importance on ones "happiness" (whatever that means), and that anything less than pure bliss can lead to depression for many. Too many people simply chasing the wrong things and totally misplacing their own self worth. I always found it interesting how clinical depression and suicides can be so prevalent within affluent communities.

Also, see:

[Meadow Skipper]

I blame tourniquet tech

Okay, I went and looked up that tourniquet thing for TRG. It's one of the weirdest memes here ever.

[SumJongGuy]

Ahem..."Set Theory"?

Maybe at a very non linear level. Talking spiritual energy AKA the soul both during the current life and afterlife when the host body dies.. Re incarnation is just a small set of many possibilities.. All our energy ends up pushed through black holes at some point but there is still a lot left for science to explain with regard to paranormal activity..

[k2skier112]

I believe we're all connected spiritually, all living beings, in ways science has yet to explain..

Uuhhh, yes it can. Because we are all physically connected, and easily brainwashed by Gods, our minds take over and fill in the blanks. Correct or not, it's all in your mind.

Here's an amazing fact for your next cocktail party: Every single atom in your body—the calcium in your bones, the carbon in your genes, the iron in your blood, the gold in your filling—was created in a star billions of years ago. All except atoms of hydrogen and one or two of the next lightest elements. They were formed even earlier, shortly after the Big Bang began 13.7 billion years ago.
It's true, according to astrophysicists. You and everything around you, every single natural and man-made thing you can see, every rock, tree, butterfly, and building, comprises atoms that originally arose during the Big Bang or, for all but the lightest two or three elements, from millions of burning and exploding stars far back in the history of the universe. You live because stars died; it's that simple.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/space/star-in-you.html