Suicide among the middle-aged rises sharply

[Purplos]

Bad economy

Their kids having to move back home due to bad economy at the same time their parents need specialized care and near their death.

Youth culture - the rammed-down-the-throat more that says old people are ugly, worthless, used up etc. No respect for elders anymore. Maybe even a bit of feeling like they're past-it when it comes to understanding technology and all. I see this with my 52 year old bro-in-law.

Plus all the usual stuff.

[Frank Merton]

I think depression, a medical condition, causes suicides, and depression when it is there can be generated by all sorts of crises, including financial ones. The thing is, people know if they have depressive personalities or not because they have thought about suicide in the past, and such people really should be on medication on a full-time basis, just as people with high blood pressure are. It is a lethal disease not to be taken lightly with cliches like, "buck it up."

[J. K.]

Just more proof that the Baby Boomer Generation is the most selfish and self-centered group of individuals ever to have lived...

What proof are you referring to? Is it selfish to want to know that you are more than one paycheck away from being homeless and hungry?

[BiffSplitkins]

I'm thinking if some of these people were behind on bills and had creditor's after them it could of pushed them over the edge.

Not to mention that some of these creditors can be extremely brutal when talking to someone who happens to be financially struggling.

My father in law passed away over a year ago from cancer and my wife and I still receive phone calls from his creditors (there are a ton of them too, he racked up his bills pretty good). Even after months of telling them that he is deceased, sending them certified copies of the death certificates etc., they are still extremely rude on the phone.

If they can make me feel like I'm a horrible person for debts that aren't even mine, then I can't imagine how destitute some of the other people they call feel.

[Myles]

I think depression, a medical condition, causes suicides, and depression when it is there can be generated by all sorts of crises, including financial ones. The thing is, people know if they have depressive personalities or not because they have thought about suicide in the past, and such people really should be on medication on a full-time basis, just as people with high blood pressure are. It is a lethal disease not to be taken lightly with cliches like, "buck it up."

Not sure on this. I think many times learning to "buck it up" is a better way than a lifetime of head medications. I have no faith in the doctors who prescribe these drugs.

[Frank Merton]

Well I'm sure you can understand that I would take a licensed doctor's word in preference to your faith. Just remember that suicide kills just as completely as does a heart attack.

[Myles]

Well I'm sure you can understand that I would take a licensed doctor's word in preference to your faith. Just remember that suicide kills just as completely as does a heart attack.

I can understand that. It's just that I think today's society as a whole is over-medicated. About 1 in 4 elementary kids is on a head drug. This is from my wife's info from the school she works at. Many parents refuse to parent and rely on the drugs to keep their kids in line. A misbehaving child can be mis-diagnosed with ADD. Not saying most are, just that I think some are. Wasn't the Newtown shooter on head drugs? I think it is best to talk to someone and see if you can work through your issues before becoming another who is forever dependant on the drugs.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Myles

[Ashotep]

Not to mention that some of these creditors can be extremely brutal when talking to someone who happens to be financially struggling.

My father in law passed away over a year ago from cancer and my wife and I still receive phone calls from his creditors (there are a ton of them too, he racked up his bills pretty good). Even after months of telling them that he is deceased, sending them certified copies of the death certificates etc., they are still extremely rude on the phone.

If they can make me feel like I'm a horrible person for debts that aren't even mine, then I can't imagine how destitute some of the other people they call feel.

Yes those people can be mean and they can go ballistic when you laugh at them for getting the wrong person. I got such a phone call over a hospital bill that wasn't mine. They tried to say I was responsible for it. I told them it wasn't my bill and I wasn't responsible for it and hung up on them.

[Collateral Damage]

If you look back to when America was flourishing many were happy with their lives. Sure, there were some unhappy with their life and suicides committed, but not nearly as many as today. I feel living in todays day and age is a struggle for just about everyone. We live in a society where drugs are more easily custom to helping one with their struggles, where children are growing up motherless and fatherless, and just about everyone lives their life through a screen. There is so much more wrong with our society it's sickening... The music industry has corrupted the mind of its viewers, but without their recognition, and actually believe the "gangsta" life is something to be proud of. I'd just love to know when the madness will end — When we can once again consider our nation the equivalent to that of a utopia.

Edited May 6, 2013 by Collateral Damage

[Sakari]

If you look back to when America was flourishing many were happy with their lives. Sure, there were some unhappy with their life and suicides committed, but not nearly as many as today. I feel living in todays day and age is a struggle for just about everyone. We live in a society where drugs are more easily custom to helping one with their struggles, where children are growing up motherless and fatherless, and just about everyone lives their life through a screen. There is so much more wrong with our society it's sickening... The music industry has corrupted the mind of its viewers, but without their recognition, and actually believe the "gangsta" life is something to be proud of. I'd just love to know when the madness will end — When we can once again consider our nation the equivalent to that of a utopia.

After a plague my friend.....Or, a revolution.

[No Censorship]

Just more proof that the Baby Boomer Generation is the most selfish and self-centered group of individuals ever to have lived...

That's not really fair. There are all kinds of men and women who comprise that age group, and they're products of their times. I'm in Generation X, but I don't think that defines me in all ways, although I'm also a product of my era. There are so many factors independent of that phenomenon, though.

As a thirty-something person, I can somewhat relate to the subject of this thread. I went through my share of trials and tribulations during what should have been the best years of my life. I try not to dwell on this because we all have problems, but I sometimes sink into despair when I think about how that time set me back for a while, making it hard to get on track. Forgive me if this sounds like a cliche, but acknowledging the tiny things that make life worth living often relieves feelings of despondency. They won't solve your problems. They might mitigate some of the psychological pain and suffering, though. For instance, look up some cartoons, comics, games, toys, movies, music, TV shows, etc. from your childhood. Get lost in the waves of nostalgia that envelop you as you take a trip back to a happier time in your life.

[libstaK]

I saw something once, either here or in a doco on the tube. It was about suicide survivors.

There was one poignant story about a man who jumped off a bridge, he survived and was retrieved without drowning. What he had to say always stays with me when times get tough. He was absolutely sure when he committed to jump that there was no hope, no way out of the problems he had, he was sure killing himself was his only way out. Yet after he made the leap in the seconds it took for him to hit the water he realised, too late that he wanted to live and the problems he had were completely surmountable and absolutely easy to solve.

There is no resolution in death, nothing is solved and the potential for absolutely anything to be solved is gone utterly and completely - it simply makes no sense to give up on life, give up on your way of viewing your problems and what matters in life instead, the solution is in a different way of being and there are so many to choose from, more I'm sure than have been explored by all the peoples of the earth from the beginning until now - expand your choices and you will expand your horizons but first choose life, that's my feeling on this anyway.

Edited May 7, 2013 by libstaK

[Sakari]

I saw something once, either here or in a doco on the tube. It was about suicide survivors.

There was one poignant story about a man who jumped off a bridge, he survived and was retrieved without drowning. What he had to say always stays with me when times get tough. He was absolutely sure when he committed to jump that there was no hope, no way out of the problems he had, he was sure killing himself was his only way out. Yet after he made the leap in the seconds it took for him to hit the water he realised, too late that he wanted to live and the problems he had were completely surmountable and absolutely easy to solve.

There is no resolution in death, nothing is solved and the potential for absolutely anything to be solved is gone utterly and completely - it simply makes no sense to give up on life, give up on your way of viewing your problems and what matters in life instead, the solution is in a different way of being and there are so many to choose from, more I'm sure than have been explored by all the peoples of the earth from the beginning until now - expand your choices and you will expand your horizons but first choose life, that's my feeling on this anyway.

So, maybe base jumping off of a bridge is the answer?

[Mantis914]

I'd imagine there are a myriad of reasons why the suicide rate is spiking among 50 year olds right now, of course the economy, also just the shift in the number of people heading toward retirement in a culture that "seems" to only appreciate young people and their interests. This was predicted by a lot of sociologists based on the number of Baby Boomers and the following generation reaching the age of 50 plus in a large wave. There are people now that I know who are actually shifting their employment from certain professions into caregiving related jobs because it's a growing industry. I think this generation that is in their 50's are dealing with a lot, including one thing which hasn't been addressed, early onset Alzheimers. Early onset diagnosis are on the rise because of better diagnostic tests. I'd imagine between health issues, financial issues, plus a lot of older folks with out extended families, isolation and depression can be for some unbearable. I think it's sad, just because you reach the age of 50 doesn't mean you're no longer relevant but with the unemployment as high as it is now those that are older sometimes think that they aren't desirable employees.It is sort of ironic because they usually have a larger skill set and some businesses want older people.

I think you're on to something there. I'm still in my 30's and places that are hiring are passing me up like I had the plague. I am well qualified for the jobs that I apply for but later after I get a rejection letter, I go back and more often than not, I see a young 20 something sitting there usually playing with their phone and not at all very helpful. Besides, with the way society is now, what is considered old now? 20's? That would make me a fossil then...

[No Censorship]

I think you're on to something there. I'm still in my 30's and places that are hiring are passing me up like I had the plague. I am well qualified for the jobs that I apply for but later after I get a rejection letter, I go back and more often than not, I see a young 20 something sitting there usually playing with their phone and not at all very helpful. Besides, with the way society is now, what is considered old now? 20's? That would make me a fossil then...

It's a weird time in American society. Older people feel and look better than ever, but our culture worships adolescence. Real adolescents are treated like children unless they join the military. They can kill the enemy, but they can't legally drink a beer.

[theSOURCE]

I can understand why some people commit suicide. I do not agree with them nor do I condone suicide in the least, but I do understand.

[Frank Merton]

I don't think a healthy person commits suicide, even under terrible stress. Suicidal people are depressed, and this is probably entirely, certainly largely a medical and treatable condition. It is another of those areas of societal misinformation that lead to a steady flow of unnecessary deaths.

[Myles]

I don't think a healthy person commits suicide,

Depends on the situation. Health reasons is one. Getting caught committing criminal acts is another.

[Frank Merton]

Millions get caught committing criminal acts and don't kill themselves. There has to be an underlying depression before something like that will trigger it. When we become aware of underlying depression (especially suicidal thoughts), medical attention is just as important as when we become aware of a heart defect or a tumor somewhere.

[J. K.]

It's difficult to describe depression to those who've not had it. Some people don't even think it exists. However, it is very real and can have devastating influence on all areas of life. When everything seems to become hopeless, with no possibility of improvement, suicidal thoughts are "logical."

[Frank Merton]

It seems there is no escape; nothing you can possibly do will make it better. I have learned that it is a matter of perspective -- the depressed person, for chemical or some reason, just cannot see anything but the negative side of things. Usually this passes and the brain, especially if there is a chance for a good night's sleep, can awaken with a somewhat different perspective. The technique is as one deal with physical pain -- the pain will pass -- this too will pass.

I think in the long run there is no solution but medical help, and this usually involves some medication, at least for awhile, and sometimes all one's life. It is better than dying. Once treated, the attempted suicide is always grateful that the intervention happened.

I can conceive of situations of an incurable illness, but even here medical intervention on the accompanying depression may cause the suicidal patient to rethink it.

One thing I cannot tolerate, and that is those so-called Christians who condemn suicide as a sin. The person died of a deadly illness.

[Myles]

It's difficult to describe depression to those who've not had it. Some people don't even think it exists. However, it is very real and can have devastating influence on all areas of life. When everything seems to become hopeless, with no possibility of improvement, suicidal thoughts are "logical."

I agree. I would recommend seeing a therapist before medication though.