Suicides forgotten

yellowled24

Australian statistics show that the yearly total of suicides in our country outnumber the total of road deaths, which in itself is extremely alarming.

However, we rarely hear of these suicide deaths, only to be subjected to nightly reports of yet another road death.
Why is this??? Why are these deaths not reported on?

yellowled24

*sigh* another thread ignored...i rest my case :(

lazymoon13

what kind of response are you looking for?

angelica

I read in a psychology book that when they used to report suicides, there would be a rash of copycat suicides directly following. And therefore, it's become general policy to not report suicides.

A risk factor for committing suicide is knowing someone who committed suicide, according to crisis intervention training.

yellowled24

angelica wrote:

I read in a psychology book that when they used to report suicides, there would be a rash of copycat suicides directly following. And therefore, it's become general policy to not report suicides.

A risk factor for committing suicide is knowing someone who committed suicide, according to crisis intervention training.

shit really?
I just thought that there wasnt enough publicity out there to highlight this alarming stat.
Theres so much funding for roads to be fixed etc but i cant see anyone in the public eye (i.e. pollies) that are putting this out there!

yellowled24

lazymoon13 wrote:

what kind of response are you looking for?

opinions. personal stories. ideas?

lazymoon13

yellowled24 wrote:

opinions. personal stories. ideas?

I think suicide is a dark taboo subject that people don't really like to talk about. I suggest researching studies that have been done as to why this happens so often and do your part in preventing them.

yellowled24

lazymoon13 wrote:

I think suicide is a dark taboo subject that people don't really like to talk about. I suggest researching studies that have been done as to why this happens so often and do your part in preventing them.

dont we all know why this happens?
drug abuse, homlessness, family abuse/neglect,
We gotta start at these key points!
Do you know that there are half a million homeless people in Australia, half of which are under 25, and the government have decided they will build 600 new houses over 8 years. Wow. Thats really going to help :rolleyes:

Abookamongstthemany

I've read that generally people who commit suicide are extremely logical people with leanings towards mathematics/probability because these people have logically weighed the probability of the rest of their life involving happiness and all the good stuff against the possibility it will only get worse or stay the same. And they came to the conclusion that it was more likely for the rest of their life to be filled with more sadness and despair than any possible positive outcomes.

lazymoon13

yellowled24 wrote:

dont we all know why this happens?
drug abuse, homlessness, family abuse/neglect,
We gotta start at these key points!

ok, so do something about it.

yellowled24 wrote:

Do you know that there are half a million homeless people in Australia, half of which are under 25, and the government have decided they will build 600 new houses over 8 years. Wow. Thats really going to help :rolleyes:

write your congressman (or whatever they are down under) and tell them you want more funding to go to programs that help such people. or instead of depending on the government to do it, donate your time and money to such causes.

Byrnzie

lazymoon13 wrote:

ok, so do something about it.

In other words, don't bother discussing the subject on this message board because it's an unproductive waste of time?

yellowled24

Byrnzie wrote:

In other words, don't bother discussing the subject on this message board because it's an unproductive waste of time?

i just thought it was an interesting subject.
I can take a point, not many are posting on this so i will rest my case.

yellowled24

Abookamongstthemany wrote:

I've read that generally people who commit suicide are extremely logical people with leanings towards mathematics/probability because these people have logically weighed the probability of the rest of their life involving happiness and all the good stuff against the possibility it will only get worse or stay the same. And they came to the conclusion that it was more likely for the rest of their life to be filled with more sadness and despair than any possible positive outcomes.

I can definitely see the point and merit in this statement. It makes sense in some respects, but I also think that alot of suicides are commited due to the utter desperation the victim feels. In my experience others who have commited suicide werent particularly smart, mathematical persons...just people (mainly youths) that were trying to deal with a bad breakup or a death of a friend...the cycle continues.

Anon

angelica wrote:

I read in a psychology book that when they used to report suicides, there would be a rash of copycat suicides directly following. And therefore, it's become general policy to not report suicides.

A risk factor for committing suicide is knowing someone who committed suicide, according to crisis intervention training.

This is absolutely true angelica. There was a story that someone posted a little while ago (i think it was Helen from Ireland), where there were something like 20 odd suicides in the one small town amongst young people recently. One would suicide, everyone would post about it on their myspace account and then someone would copy them. They saw it as a way to get attention. Damn that was so awful to read.

Anon

yellowled24 wrote:

shit really?
I just thought that there wasnt enough publicity out there to highlight this alarming stat.
Theres so much funding for roads to be fixed etc but i cant see anyone in the public eye (i.e. pollies) that are putting this out there!

Mental Health issues in Australia are at crisis levels. It's widely reported in the media and it's only going to get worse. Mental Health resources are not adequate to cover needs and the other huge problem that no one wants to know about is the aging population, and the problems that is going to bring.

Lobby your Politicians. Relentlessly.

yellowled24

Pj_Gurl wrote:

This is absolutely true angelica. There was a story that someone posted a little while ago (i think it was Helen from Ireland), where there were something like 20 odd suicides in the one small town amongst young people recently. One would suicide, everyone would post about it on their myspace account and then someone would copy them. They saw it as a way to get attention. Damn that was so awful to read.

yeah, i read that article the other day in my magazine...they were all really young and the town was really small.
Thats f**ked up.
Im regretting starting this thread now :(

Anon

yellowled24 wrote:

yeah, i read that article the other day in my magazine...they were all really young and the town was really small.
Thats f**ked up.
Im regretting starting this thread now :(

No you should not regret it. If it's something you want to talk about you should open it up for conversation and if people want to contribute then they will.

I worked in Australia before moving here. I know exactly what you're talking about. We'd go to work and there'd be ex amount of suicides a week in our statistics. Never reported in the media though. Unless you are directly affected by it or know someone who has been, it's like the silent killer. It happens, all the time, you just never hear about it.

I am against it being reported for the reasons i stated in my earlier posts.

yellowled24

Pj_Gurl wrote:

No you should not regret it. If it's something you want to talk about you should open it up for conversation and if people want to contribute then they will.

I worked in Australia before moving here. I know exactly what you're talking about. We'd go to work and there'd be ex amount of suicides a week in our statistics. Never reported in the media though. Unless you are directly affected by it or know someone who has been, it's like the silent killer. It happens, all the time, you just never hear about it.

I am against it being reported for the reasons i stated in my earlier posts.

yes i agree.
I wasnt aware that there was a report saying the rate increases if its reported on publically.
It makes sense now, i wouldnt want it to be reported if it causes more deaths.

catefrances

yellowled24 wrote:

yes i agree.
I wasnt aware that there was a report saying the rate increases if its reported on publically.
It makes sense now, i wouldnt want it to be reported if it causes more deaths.

i disagree. i think suicides should be reported, just as other causes of death are reported. it should be as open as possible so that hopefully one day the taboo will be lifted. to think that youre alone and feel you have no other way out, that no one will understand, that people will pass judgement on you if you say you've been having thoughts of suicide is a real fucking bitch.

Pj_Gurl said the suicide rate goes up when one is reported publically but conversely, i just wonder how many suicides are prevented when one is reported publically. how many suicidal people see the damage done and change their minds?

Anon

catefrances wrote:

i disagree. i think suicides should be reported, just as other causes of death are reported. it should be as open as possible so that hopefully one day the taboo will be lifted. to think that youre alone and feel you have no other way out, that no one will understand, that people will pass judgement on you if you say you've been having thoughts of suicide is a real fucking bitch.

Pj_Gurl said the suicide rate goes up when one is reported publically but conversely, i just wonder how many suicides are prevented when one is reported publically. how many suicidal people see the damage done and change their minds?

I don't know the answer to that Cate. I agree the taboo somehow must be lifted. Perhaps if suicide were not such a taboo, people in need of help would be able to speak to someone without the fear of any consequences.

lazymoon13

Byrnzie wrote:

In other words, don't bother discussing the subject on this message board because it's an unproductive waste of time?

as opposed to donating your time and money? um yes.

catefrances

lazymoon13 wrote:

as opposed to donating your time and money? um yes.

well you know, from where i stand, until the stigma of suicide as a selfish act is eradicated you can spend all the time and all the money you like and it still won't make a lick of difference. unless yove been there you dont understand. you can nod in all the right places, commiserate with the person but the bottom line is unless youve been there, youve really got no clue. from my experience people look at you like youve just told them youve screwed the dog. it's not generally something others care to know about. they dont want it touching them. and who can blame them, cause it sucks.

lazymoon13

catefrances wrote:

well you know, from where i stand, until the stigma of suicide as a selfish act is eradicated you can spend all the time and all the money you like and it still won't make a lick of difference.

you must be joking. yellowred said (and I agree) that drug abuse, homlessness, family abuse/neglect, are possible causes for suicide. would you agree? you do not believe if this guy donated his time and money to say a counseling center that listens/helps drug addicticed teens, that he might not save a person from suicide?

chime

I don't know about the ones Helen posted about but we have recently had some in the UK that they think are linked http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7261506.stm

... of course now it is a news story so each one in or near that town is a news story ...

catefrances

lazymoon13 wrote:

you must be joking. yellowred said (and I agree) that drug abuse, homlessness, family abuse/neglect, are possible causes for suicide. would you agree? you do not believe if this guy donated his time and money to say a counseling center that listens/helps drug addicticed teens, that he might not save a person from suicide?

no youre right i agree with you, health issues need to be taken seriously. but what if one is not homeless/ a drug addict/ or has not been molested? what about those people who go through their lives almost on auto pilot hiding their deepest fears and feelings from those around them because they are too afraid of being judged for something they cant control? thats what im talking about.

lazymoon13

catefrances wrote:

no youre right i agree with you, health issues need to be taken seriously. but what if one is not homeless/ a drug addict/ or has not been molested? what about those people who go through their lives almost on auto pilot hiding their deepest fears and feelings from those around them because they are too afraid of being judged for something they cant control? thats what im talking about.

I'm no expert on this subject but most of the time aren't warning signs there?

catefrances

lazymoon13 wrote:

I'm no expert on this subject but most of the time aren't warning signs there?

sometimes they're not seen until it's too late. hindsight is a wonderful thing isnt it?

lazymoon13

yellowled24 wrote:

*sigh* another thread ignored...i rest my case :(

make a difference..

http://www.suicidepreventionaust.org/Home.aspx

http://www.save.org/


for american's

http://www.afsp.org/

IAmMyself

My cousin, the only boy in our immediate family to carry on our last name committed suicide. He was bi-polar and stuck a shot gun in his mouth (remind you of anyone else?) the moment his father walked out of his home. They were arguing and trying to help him but couldn't.
I can tell you that the reason people who are closest to it, don't talk about it, is mainly because of guilt.
Just writing this post, brings so much back to the surface and it was so long ago.
I'm not saying my cousin killed himself because Kurt killed himself, but I am saying that their desperation level was the same. They both had a disease that even Dr.'s have an extremely hard time treating and getting people on the right meds and when they do get them on the right meds you still have to constantly make sure the person is taking their meds.
It's been so long now but he was like a brother to me, and I have a hard time going to the family dinners that we have many times a year, just because no one will speak of him, it just hurts way too much for all of us. We all failed him, miserably.

I am against guns, maybe for the wrong reason, but whatever. I feel that if he didn't have the gun, MAYBE he wouldn't have done it. The gun made it quick and easy for him. He may have found another way but this is how I feel, and I don't give a shit if you disagree with me-this is something I wear with me on a daily basis.
My best friends cousin killed himself as well, one reason we are so close. He was sick just like my cousin and used a gun.

I'm not sure if a sane, physically and mentally healthy person is really meant to understand why people kill themselves.

All I know, is that I have been ill since October of last year. Physically not mentally. I have been to soooooooooooo many Dr.'s and paid for a lot of it out of my own pocket. I have not been diagnosed with anything, even though it's hard to just get through the day. The people who love me the most, I'm sure are sick as hell to even have to listen to it anymore, that's just how I feel. For the first time in my life, I could understand why someone wouldn't want to go on this way. You get to a point where you just feel hopeless, and that no one can help you anyway.
Believe me, I'm not going to kill myself. I'm just saying that I can understand the desperation, even when you have people around you who love you and want to help, sometimes there is just nothing they can do, and you can convince yourself that it would just be better for everyone around you if you were not here.

So to go back to your original question, why is suicide not reported and why don't you ever hear of those deaths vs all the road deaths that you hear about on a nightly basis. My opinion is, you can prevent road deaths; better roads, better cars, more trained drivers. You aren't going to be able to do a damn thing if someone wants to check out of this life early. There is nothing you can say or do for someone who is convinced that is their only option. So why discuss it, when no one seems to have the answers.

TrixieCat

Abookamongstthemany wrote:

I've read that generally people who commit suicide are extremely logical people with leanings towards mathematics/probability because these people have logically weighed the probability of the rest of their life involving happiness and all the good stuff against the possibility it will only get worse or stay the same. And they came to the conclusion that it was more likely for the rest of their life to be filled with more sadness and despair than any possible positive outcomes.

This is eerie...so true I imagine.
I don't think publicizing suicides is going to prevent them. If anything, like a couple people said, it will only glorify it. Yes, many, many people suffer as the result of a suicide, but at least someone finally cares, yes? In a perverted way, I think this is true.
Thank you to the person that posted the links for helping the cause.

catefrances

irieinindy wrote:

I'm not sure if a sane, physically and mentally healthy person is really meant to understand why people kill themselves.

firstly i am sorry for your loss.


it is an overwhelming feeling and i doubt if the person involved is having a difficult time holding on then other people would have a clue. thoughts of suicide are scary things to deal with and you dont know where they come from.. not really. you feel so out of place...as if this is the weirdest thing ever. you dont want to kill yourself, but you don't want to stay and you feel
as if you could just end it then things would be okay. death seems like the answer. and for many people it is.