Suicides soar among US middle-aged people

[xchrom]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22391293

The suicide rate among middle-aged Americans rose 28% in a decade, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has found.

Among adults 35-64, white people and American Indians saw the sharpest increases from 1999 to 2010.

The CDC did not investigate causes behind the trend, but noted many suicide prevention programmes were geared towards youths and the elderly.

The report found no significant change among other age groups.

[TDale313]

1. Incredibly sad, but not totally surprising...

Considering the economic trends of the last several decades.

[xchrom]

3. that was my first thought as well. nt

[LiberalEsto]

2. When people have no hope of things ever getting better...

Not so many years ago, America used to be a country with a lot of optimism. People figured it they worked hard, they could improve their economic situations, maybe buy a house some day, send kids to college.

Those dreams are all but dead.

[winter is coming]

4. +1. Every morning, I send my kid off to school and encourage her to do well.

And then I think, why? What is the point?

[Chemisse]

7. That is so true.

I am an incurable optimist, and even I am dubious about a happy financial future for myself, no matter how hard I work.

[skepticscott]

5. Sad that Native Americans

saw such a large increase...their suicide rate was already disproportionately high.

Haven't all those casinos made them happy??

[Warpy]

6. They don't all have casinos

The ones that do have seen an increase in tribal revenue and are doing better, but they're still very acutely aware that their cultures are slipping away.

[skepticscott]

8. Well, I was being sarcastic

Even the tribes that have done well financially as a result of "gaming" have only done so by being forced to embrace as a group something outside of their culture. That's a great shame, but not surprising..

[Warpy]

9. Around here, a lot of us have a great deal of admiration

for the way the Indians found a loophole in the law, built their casinos, and are now relieving dumb white folks (mostly) of their money.

They know this and are enjoying the increased respect.

[skepticscott]

10. Well, but how much of it was Native Americans finding a "loophole"

and exploiting it themselves, and how much was greedy white folk recognizing the loophole and doing the exploiting? And was this the sort of cultural direction they would have chosen for themselves? Or just the best they could do after having gone so far down a bad road?

[Warpy]

11. They've worked very hard around here to keep the weasels out.

Some of the proceeds are being turned back into the business, building resort areas and concert venues. Others have gone to big ticket items like improving their roads, clinics, and schools.

Their building projects circulate money into the surrounding community.

I can only speak to what's happening with the local tribes. It might be different elsewhere but it's mostly been a success here.

[bemildred]

13. +1. My attitude exactly.

But it is still nothing like civilized treatment of the original residents of the place, who were nice enough to welcome us and help us out when we first came here.

[bemildred]

12. Suicide is not a disease.

It can be a symptom of disease, but it is can be a symptom of a lot of things, and it can also be a perfectly rational response to being in an untenable situation for an intelligent being, for any number of reasons. If you are going to die anyway, it makes all kinds of sense to take control of how you die. I see it as a human rights issue. If you read in the classical authors, you see a completely different and much more sensible attitude about death.