Over and Out

I recently lost a dear friend, in his mid-forties, to suicide. He was a talented, educated man who just didn’t see his own future. The recent economic collapse, seemingly never-ending, has taken so many tolls from so many people. Folks who have given up looking for work, literally dropping out of the unemployment statistic as a result, are statistics to government planners, but the underlying pain is a serious of individual sadness that often leads to “terminal depression.” We’ve always had suicide issues, but clearly, the changes in patterns of people facing new issues is both interesting and horrific.

The Centers for Disease Control maintain the relevant statistics (e.g., their May 3^rd Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), and they have addressed numbers up to 2010. Traditionally, suicide has been viewed as an affliction that primarily impacts teenagers and the elderly, but today, it is the failures of those in the middle that have undergone the greatest changes, a definition of a rather large segment of our population that has simply lost hope in their future.

“In 2010 there were 33,687 deaths from motor vehicle crashes and 38,364 suicides…  From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent, to 17.6 deaths per 100,000 population, up from 13.7. Although suicide rates are growing among both middle-age men and women, far more men take their own lives. The suicide rate for middle-age men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000.

“The most pronounced increases were seen among men in their 50s, a group in which suicide rates jumped by nearly 50 percent, to about 30 per 100,000. For women, the largest increase was seen in those ages 60 to 64, among whom rates increased by nearly 60 percent, to 7.0 per 100,000.” New York Times, May 2^nd.

Some experts see the current global economic circumstances as particularly stressful within the value system of the Baby Boom generation, because it was during their peak earning years that there was a seismic drop in economic potential, one that is or will already be part of the ethos in generations beyond. “‘It is the baby boomer group where we see the highest rates of suicide,’ said the C.D.C.'s deputy director, Ileana Arias. ‘There may be something about that group, and how they think about life issues and their life choices that may make a difference.’

“The rise in suicide may also stem from the economic downturn over the past decade. Historically, suicide rates rise during times of financial stress and economic setbacks. ‘The increase does coincide with a decrease in financial standing for a lot of families over the same time period,’ said Dr. Arias.

“Another factor may be the widespread availability of opioid drugs like OxyContin and oxycodone, which can be particularly deadly in large doses… Although most suicides are still by firearms, officials said there was a marked increase in poisoning deaths, which includes intentional overdoses of prescription drugs, and hangings. Poisoning deaths were up 24 percent overall during the 10-year period and hangings were up 81 percent.” NY Times. Gruesome and profoundly sad.

When I think of my friend, I wonder if I missed a clue, didn’t hear a cry for help when I should have and wonder what I should have been listening to. Perhaps, we all need to look around us at the people in our lives who really matter, particularly those facing some kind of difficulty (that they may even try to hide from us). If nothing else, these startling numbers are a reminder of what we simply cannot take for granted.

I’m Peter Dekom, and I really wish I had been a bit more aware and that perhaps I could have prevented this tragedy.