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.