Imagine every day you wake up you
face the day with unbelievable pain. The
pain is so great it leaves a constant weight on your chest. Weight so heavy
that it causes you to constantly focus solely on breathing. Trying to make it
through your 9-to-5-day job feels impossible. At the end of your shift you come
home to a beautiful house full of people that feels empty. You feel hopeless,
unloved and worthless. Living has become unbearable, so you decide the pain you
face every day isn’t worth the rare fleeting moments of happiness. You need a
way out, but you believe the only way to make it stop is to end the life you’ve
been given.
Epidemics
run rampant throughout the world. One of the largest social epidemics is the suicide
epidemic. According to the Centers for disease control and prevention, “Suicide
is the leading cause of Death in the US” (“Suicide rising across the US” 1).
Most people believe they are not at risk of being affected by suicide because
they don’t suffer from any mental health conditions (1). Statistical studies
show that 54 percent of people who committed suicide did not have any mental
health conditions (1). This has left professionals to believe that there are
endless reasons why someone would commit suicide (1). Steadily growing in the
past 19 years, Suicide is wreaking havoc in the US (1). Even though suicide has
grown substantially in the last two decades there are ways to combat this
epidemic (1).
Suicide
has been present in human life since ancient civilizations, including Greece,
Rome and many others (“A Brief history of suicide” 1). In different ancient
civilizations the view of suicide varied but “most of the ancient city-states
criminalized self-killing” (Cholbi 1). “At English common law,
suicide was a felony punishable by burial in the public highway with a stake
driven through the body and forfeiture of all one's goods to the Crown” (Jay 1).
“In
many countries, such as Singapore, it is still considered a crime today” (Lee 1).
“Because of this, historical data on
this topic is not easily available” (1). Currently in the United States there
are no records of someone being penalized for committing suicide (Jay 1).
Although, up to the 1970s some states did penalize those who attempted suicide (1).
These laws were repealed because “One who is bent on self-destruction is not
likely to be deterred by the possibility of punishment if he fails” (1). “Thus,
the rationale for punishing attempted suicide is eliminated” (1).
Data
collected from 2000 to 2016 shows 45yrs-to-54yrs of age has had the largest
spike in suicides (“Suicide Statistics” 1). Suicides in this age range jumped
from a rate of 14.3 to a rate of 19.72 in only 16 years and it seems to keep
growing (1). Within this age range lies 2 different generations (“Generations
X, Y, Z and the Others” 1). The first is Generation X, they were born between
1966-1976 (1). In 2018 that would make the ages for Generation X 42-to-52 years old (1). The next generation is Baby Boomers 2,
not to be confused with Baby Boomers 1, were born between 1955-1965 which
currently makes the ages 53-to-63 years (1). This generation is called Baby Boomers
2 because they were the product of the significate rise in birth rates during
years 1955-1965 (1). There are several things causing the spike of suicides in
the Generation X and young Baby Boomers 2. One cause most commonly known is mental
health conditions. A study done by the Psychiatric Clinics of North America showed
that 54% of suicides in adults was caused by major depression (“Suicide in
Older Adults” 1). The older generations grew up with little to no knowledge of
what mental health conditions are. In comparison to the latest generations,
they have grown up being taught what they are and how to over come them. In
turn, an older adult may not even know they are suffering from mental health
problems. They have lived their whole lives thinking the way they are feeling
is normal when it’s not.
Another
cause involves early childhood abuse or household dysfunction (Felitti 1). House
hold dysfunction is any unhealthy environment for the children and family. According
to Felitti, the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study found:
a strong graded relationship between the
breadth of exposure to abuse or household dysfunction during childhood and
multiple risk factors for several of the leading causes of death in adults. Seven
categories of adverse childhood experiences were studied: psychological,
physical, or sexual abuse; violence against mother; or living with household
members who were substance abusers, mentally ill or suicidal, or ever
imprisoned. The number of categories of these adverse childhood experiences was
then compared to measures of adult risk behavior, health status, and disease. Persons
who had experienced four or more categories of childhood exposure, compared to
those who had experienced none, had 4-to 12-fold increased health risks for
alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, and suicide attempt. (1)
Experiencing traumatic
events in childhood shaped adults to develop higher risk factors for mental
health conditions that ultimately led to suicide (1).
One
more cause involves economic turmoil and increased unemployment (“Relationship
between the Economy, Unemployment and Suicide” 1). According to the Suicide
Prevention Recourses Center (SPRC), in the past two decades research has showed
that “a strong relationship exists between unemployment, the economy and
suicide” (1). “Unemployment causes financial strain and can lead to depression
and other problems as individuals perceive a loss of personal control” the SPRC
calls this the “chain of adversity” (1). One economic down turn can set off a
domino effect. With a sharp downturn in the economy there comes a greater risk
of suicide (2). “In times of economic instability, anxiety
over the possibility of losing a job, home or retirement nest egg may affect
the employed, as well” (2). The elderly and older adults are more at risk for
suicide because their retirement security is in danger during an economic
downturn leaving them more vulnerable (2).
Suicide
affects every area of society to different degrees. Society’s inner circles
such as friends and family are affected to the highest degree by suicide
because they are the ones closest to who committed suicide. An older adult who
commits suicide leaves behind an array of people that could include children,
siblings, spouse, elderly parents, and friends. “Surviving family members and
close friends are deeply impacted by each suicide and experience a range of
complex grief reactions, including, guilt, anger, abandonment, denial,
helplessness, and shock” (“Violence Prevention” 1). Those closest to who
committed suicide are so deeply impacted by the traumatizing event they become
high-risk factor for suicide (1).
Another
area of society affected by suicide is the economy. “Suicide has economic costs
for individuals, families, communities, states, and the nation as a whole.
These include medical costs for individuals and families, lost income for
families, and lost productivity for employers” (“Cost of Suicide” 1). “The
average cost of one suicide was 1,392,553” (1). Suicide not only causes
emotional turmoil but financial turmoil in families, the state and the nation
(1).
Looking
at the adult suicide epidemic from a child’s point, losing a parent to suicide
is traumatizing. When losing a parent, it is expected to be a painful
experience but losing them to suicide is worse than natural causes. When a
parent commits suicide it leaves the child feeling as if they did something to
cause their parent to want to leave them. The child begins to believe it is
there fault which causes a multitude of mental health problems. One of those
mental health problems includes high risk for committing suicide. An adult
committing suicide creates a chain effect of suicide risk in inner circles.
There
are many ways to lessen the suicide epidemic, but none are simple. According to
The Brief History of Suicide, the United States has been trying to prevent
suicide since 1958 (1). “In 1958, the first suicide prevention center in the
United States opened in Los Angeles, California, with funding from the U.S.
Public Health Service” (1). Since then the United States has been trying many
things to solve the suicide epidemic on a national level as well as locally.
Neither of these organizations provide long term solutions to suicide.
There
have been many steps taken on the national level in the past to reduce the
suicide epidemic. One of which being federal policy initiatives. According to
the National Millstones in Suicide Prevention, two federal law policies have
been put in place to help (Office of The Surgeon
General 1). The first policy was
enacted in 2004, called The Garret Lee Smith Memorial Act (1). This act was
passed after a college student committed suicide the prior year (1). “The
program provides grants to states, tribes, territories, and institutions of
higher education for the implementation of youth and college suicide prevention
efforts” (1). This program was the first of its kind, and since it was
implemented, it has given over 300 grants to prevent suicide (1). The second policy was enacted only 3 years
later in 2007. It was the Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act (1).
This policy was enacted to help veterans. “Components include staff education,
mental health assessments as part of overall health assessments, a suicide
prevention coordinator at each VA medical facility, research efforts, 24-hour
mental health care, a toll-free crisis line, and outreach to and education for
veterans and their families” (1).
Federal Policy incentives have been enacted to prevent suicide in the
youth and veterans, but what about the sudden spike in adults? Looking at how
youth suicide has been a slow incline between 2000 and 2016, a policy like one
of these could be effective in the sudden spike in adult suicide. If policy’s
like these were made for the generation X and Baby Boomers 2 the statistics
could be lowered.
According
to the Office of The Surgeon General, another national solution that has been
established is program initiatives (1). The top program is the National Suicide
Prevention Hotline which was established in 2001 (1). This hot line is set up
across the United States and is available to anyone at risk of suicide (1). The
national suicide prevention hot line has local crisis centers in each state (1)
This resource provides a 24/7 local call line in two languages (1). According
to Draper, “in 2014, our expanded network of 165-member centers answered about
1.5 million calls” (1). According to The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
and Texas, “in the first 6 months of 2018, there were 63,507 callers from Texas
to the Lifeline (“The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Texas”). Of
those 63,507 callers, 23% were able to receive help in Texas (1). Which means
that 48,746 callers from Texas, were unable to be answered by a local center in
Texas” (1). In total that would make 112,253 people to call the hotline in six
months. Seeing that 48,746 of 112,253 were not answered, more local crisis
centers should be placed in the states (1). If there are more crisis centers
more calls could be answered which would improve the 23% that got help.
Local
solutions to the suicide epidemic rage from the community to inner circles. One
of the local solutions researched by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s (CDC) article, “Promoting Individual, Family, and Community
Connectedness to Prevent Suicidal Behavior,” is how connected people are to
their community and others around them (3). The CDC research concludes that
“connectedness of individuals and their families to community organizations and
connectedness among community organizations and social institutions” can
improve suicidal behavior (3). “Connectedness was the main component of a post
crisis suicide prevention program for adults who presented in a hospital
emergency department for nonfatal, suicidal behaviors” (5). Adults suicide
risks could be lowered if their connectedness to people around them improved.
“Connectedness is a common thread that weaves together many of the influences of
suicidal behavior and has direct relevance for prevention” (3).
Another solution to adult suicide
proposed by the CDC includes developing “a surveillance system and necessary
infrastructure for monitoring nonfatal suicidal behavior among adults” (8). “We
currently lack routinely available data to monitor nonfatal suicidal behavior
among adults. These data would enhance our ability to monitor and prevent the
nonfatal suicidal behaviors that are often precursors to fatal suicides” (8).
Collecting data on suicide attempts in adults will give us a better
understanding of what is causing the spike in suicides and allow us to
determine a clearer solution.
According
to the video Camus: The Absurd Hero, Albert
Camus a philosopher, believes in the absurd which he defines as “man’s futile
search for meaning in a meaningless world” (1). In this absurd world people
choose one of three things; physical suicide, philosophical suicide or
acceptance (1). Camus believes, “dying voluntarily implies that you have
recognized the absence of any profound reason for living, the insane character
of that daily agitation, and the uselessness of suffering” (1). Camus beliefs
on physical suicide relate directly to the suicide epidemic. He would believe
that these adults committing suicide is their way of escaping the world of
absurdity, he says, “it’s merely an attempt to escape the absurd”
(1). Camus would think that the sudden spike in adult suicide is wrong, and the
adults attempting or committing suicide are refusing to except the reality of
life. In refusing to except the absurdity of life they are signing their own
death certificate. Also, Camus would think these adults should come to terms
with the uselessness of life and make their own meaning.
The next choice is to commit philosophical
suicide (1). This includes “people who find meaning in the concept of god or in
the concept of transcendence have taken a leap of faith and have committed
philosophical suicide. He also believes that this is an attempt to escape
instead of overcome it” (1). He would think that this choice is just as bad as
physical suicide.
The
final choice is acceptance of the absurd which is the only choice Camus
supports (1). “The absurd hero acknowledges the absurd and embraces the freedom
it bestows upon him. In a world devoid of absolutes man is free to create his
own meaning and purpose this process of creation is enough to make him happy.
The struggle its self to the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart” (1). Camus would rather have the adults accept life and
make there own meaning instead of killing themselves.
“Suicide
is the leading cause of Death in the US” (“Suicide rising across the US” 1).
Someone who doesn’t suffer from mental health conditions can still develop a
suicide risk. No one is truly safe from this epidemic. Therefore, it is
critical for this nation and the community’s in this nation to do what they can
to lessen the sudden rise in adult suicide. Not only adult suicide but all
suicide.
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socialmarketing.org/archives/generations-xy-z-and-the-others/.
“Relationship between the Economy, Unemployment and
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“Suicide Statistics.”
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