U.S. Suicide Rate Surges to a 30-Year High

[Teacher Terry]

I think for some people religion does play a role. My Mom was Lutheran and believed it is a sin to kill yourself.

[catherine]

I think for some people religion does play a role. My Mom was Lutheran and believed it is a sin to kill yourself.

Something to think about:

The five most Catholic states in the U.S., according to a recent Gallup survey, are all on the East Coast: Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.

States with the lowest suicide rates in the country (starting with the lowest): New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island.

[LDAHL]

I think for some people religion does play a role. My Mom was Lutheran and believed it is a sin to kill yourself.

I think it's a combination of things. There is doctrine, of course: "Or that the Everlasting not fixed his cannon 'gainst self-slaughter". It may also be that having a sense of oneself as a spark of divinity in an ordered universe provides some measure of resilience in the face of suffering.

On a more practical level, churches often incorporate a support system that mitigates against suicide. Mine provides ministries for people dealing with grief, addiction, divorce, unemployment, serious illness and old age. As a guy who mainly serves on the endowment committee and provides various forms of unskilled labor, I'm in frequent awe of the decency of some of my fellow parishioners.

[Zoe Girl]

On a more practical level, churches often incorporate a support system that mitigates against suicide. Mine provides ministries for people dealing with grief, addiction, divorce, unemployment, serious illness and old age. As a guy who mainly serves on the endowment committee and provides various forms of unskilled labor, I'm in frequent awe of the decency of some of my fellow parishioners.

That makes me think of going back to the UU church. I left over some friendship things, also I am not sure I am into the church service thing, They like John Lennon's Imagine too much however it is better than a patchwork of support systems and I deal with being alone a lot. The other option is to go the Insight Meditation group, pretty big group. However lots of baby boomers, I like them find individually however as a group I have some old crap that comes up.

[Ultralight]

haven't been able to get another job is basically it. I could move and have a bit less commute, I am lazy on that. I have seen no real evidence anything vastly better than life as largely a grind is likely to be possible (maybe likely is the key word, I suppose even winning the lottery is possible, just not very likely is all - it's kind of like that), wouldn't even know how really.

Life in this society as I experience it is confusing, incomprehensible to me, scary, both indifferent and brutal, solitary (I'm in a relationship btw - I don't mean that), without any signs or guideposts (or perhaps with signs that point in every random direction), arbitrary. But as they say bitterly I guess: such is life (at least in the here and now) and: it could be worse.

I agree with much of what you say.

I cope with these sentiments with a lot of dark humor. It helps get me through.

[Ultralight]

Something to think about:

The five most Catholic states in the U.S., according to a recent Gallup survey, are all on the East Coast: Rhode Island, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York.

States with the lowest suicide rates in the country (starting with the lowest): New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island.

My mom told me as a child that suicide was an unforgivable sin because after you cash in the chips you can't ask heavenly father for forgiveness. No more confession after finito. So BOOM! Straight to hell.

As a kid I thought, "That is rather harsh of Hey Zeus." And I thought about people really suffering who might want to mercy kill themselves. Again, I was just a wee lad thinking this stuff.

[LDAHL]

My mom told me as a child that suicide was an unforgivable sin because after you cash in the chips you can't ask heavenly father for forgiveness. No more confession after finito. So BOOM! Straight to hell.

As a kid I thought, "That is rather harsh of HeyZues." And I thought about people really suffering who might want to mercy kill themselves. Again, I was just a wee lad thinking this stuff.

With apologies to your mom, here's what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says on the subject:

"Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide. We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives."

[Ultralight]

With apologies to your mom, here's what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says on the subject:

"Grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide. We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives. By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance. The Church prays for persons who have taken their own lives."

No need to apologize. My mom is a total loony bird. I was at least somewhat aware of her lunacy when I was a kid. So I did not take it all that seriously.

[Cypress]

Usually the NYT articles are pretty thorough so the lack of reasons left me without the what portion, but that was mentioned in the article. Could be we missed that due to word count. Remember, reporters are restricted sometimes by word count and can't get that in however brief they try to be.

The 10 - 14 year old girls and middle aged women stood out as concerning. What is the problem! I always think of the family that are left behind. Somebody has to find that body and deal with the remains. The last impression you have of them is they killed themselves. What a burden to leave someone with. And, if it's a messy exit, it just feels unfair to the living.

One thing I did notice on a recent trip to Toronto is the high numbers of homeless young men in the city. I mean there were scores of them camping out and panhandling all day long. Apparently, this happens in most larger cities, I just don't often go to such places Why are so many young men displaced? There were some women as well. It was startling and I learned something I didn't know before.

I would guess like some others, if you get a bad diagnosis of some kind, do you want to suffer for the next five years or go out when you say so. I don't know. I keep remembering the message from the 1970s about overpopulation and the stress it creates on society. I don't hear this come up very often, just find new ways to feed everybody. The preteens I have no idea what is going on. We need to see the demographic, there are reasons and it sounds a bit like a public health crisis.

Oh, for middle aged white women, it could be lack of access to counseling. If you lose your job or had to make choices on healthcare versus weekly pay, maybe folks are taking the higher deductible and hoping to stay well. Counselors also tend to work 9-5 making it hard to get in for treatment for working folks. I wonder if the lack of a support system might also be a culprit here.

[Ultralight]

I keep remembering the message from the 1970s about overpopulation and the stress it creates on society. I don't hear this come up very often, just find new ways to feed everybody.

Yeah, controlling population is a non-starter issue here on this forum and everywhere in real life.

Oh, for middle aged white women, it could be lack of access to counseling.

I'd be more inclined to think their problem is not access to counseling but whatever things make them need counseling. Root problems and so forth.