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Why the increase in teenage suicides?
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
While I don't have any stats to hand, the media and the psychiatric profession both speak about the increasing numbers of teenage suicides. I'm intrigued to opinions - anyone have any ideas?
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Erea V (long-time lurker)
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Erea V (long-time lurker)
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are they less and less equipped emotionaly to deal with reality?
Kids are stupid.
Also, some suggest that the western society of today is more detached, the family is more disjointed, traditional communities are becoming less frequent especially in cities, going to church is decline, and I read in the Guardian a few weeks back that in something like 20 years about 1/4 of people will live alone, it also says although we are prospering, most are dissatified with life. Maybe this detachment is leading to a rise in suicide in general?
With education for an example it seems that if you do well, the press start screaming your exams are too easy but anything less than ten A's and your a failure.
Another factor seems be the use of certain anti-depressants i.e seroxat, prozac etc
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3675878.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3656110.stm
reckoned to be worse than tobbacco smoke. apparently our chemical perfumes and stuff are triggering not only asthma but migraines and serious depression.
if you want your living space to smell fresh ...the advice is to open a window.
see if i can find the link.
People never used to have to do examinations repeatedly throughout their school years, aged 4-18 and then onto higher education. I mean you've got 3 sets of SATs, mock GCSES, GCSEs, ASs, As plus all the CATs and silly little tests the schools give you. I also think the economy has something to do with. Linking it with social classes and all, bullying rates are going up aswell. Well in my experience.
Why would people be more unhappy now, in a more accepting and open society, than at any time in history?
But please think
Which a kind of friend do you love more-
Sensitive guys and girls with strong emotions and deep feelings who just can’t tolerate bullying, insults, any kind of injustice, who suffer more, whose nerves are on their skin, for whom life is a minefield with this all stupidity, cruelty, intolerance, all kinds of shit we go through every day… and who - yes! - tend to fall into depression and even commit suicide
Or
Rhino-skinned, emotionally stupid, always-optimistic idiots for whom a spit on their face is like a raindrop?
The scary thing is...he has a point.
In primitive societies one doesn't have the time to be depressed, because oen is always looking for the next meal or fighting the next battle.
Depression and mental illness isn't a new thing, but people have the time and the understanding to admit to it now. They never used to.
Though when you think of something as complex as the brain, it's hardly surprising that the slightest thing can fuck it up royally.
not in the slightest. There's a series on Channel 4 (I think) about the worlds worst century, which is actually the 1400s. Not this century, or the 1900s. It's fast but easy, I think Kermit was basically spot on that these mental illnesses only exist now because we have the time for them. It's only recently that people can afford to have time off, to have hobbies. It used to be eat, sleep, shit, work. That was it. At least for the overwhelming majority.
I think you're over simplifying reality. It may be easy to live in the 21st century in terms of not having to hunt for food or work until dying just to make ends meet, but that doesn't explain increased incidences of suicide and mental illness in general. Increased diagnosis (and classification of personality traits into 'disorders') is one obvious explanation, but other posters have picked out media influences and outside pressures which perhaps make certain vulnerable people feel inadequate and hence get depressed.
Though increases in recognition is probably the way forward.
It's probably helps that suicides were often not covered by life insurance and that it used to be illegal.
people didn't fitted carpets or anything of real value ...if they did ...they were in a locked cabinet ...in the front room ...out of bounds.
kids were in and out of each others houses day and night ...as were the mums ...all the dads being at work night and day.
grannies and aunts and cousins etc all lived nearby.
that was real comunity where if a man fell ill ...the whole street knew about it and the kids were taken in by various families to give the bloke a rest.
babies were born at home and delivered by the midwife who lived localy or one of the nieghbours.
that kind of comunity doesn't exist anymore.
no i'm not saying it was somwe kind of golden age ...
there were polio epidemics and other such shit to deal with but ...everyone was mostly in the same boat financialy and every other way.
it meant kids always had someone to turn to ...somewhere to go ...divorce was none existant for the working classes.
the very best of support networks existed but no one thought of them as such at the time.
then came mass slum clearance and tower blocks ...huge roads slicing comunities in half ...populations of generations scattered far and wide ...the car ...enabling people to move ...travel further to work.
then came books about how to be happy ...how to be a good parent ...how to enjoy sex ...all totaly unescessary but turned into essential reading.
then came the telly etc etc ...the world of old was litteraly swept aside in the 60's.
this new world we now inhabit is not geared toward human needs ...it's geared toward money and appearances etc.
for all our cleverness i don't think we are designed to live like this.
Personally I think we're evolving too slow and society is evolving too fast for us to cope.