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+--- Thread: Article Why suicide rates are dropping around the world (/thread-14099.html)
Why suicide rates are dropping around the world - C C - May 14, 2023
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/suicide-prevention-falling-rates
EXCERPTS: In post-World War II Britain, national records began to reveal a concerning trend. Deaths by suicide were rising in the war-battered nation, an increase that would continue from the end of the war into the early 1960s. Then, in 1963, that trend mysteriously reversed...
[...] In the early 20th century, domestic gas that was used to warm British homes and cook people’s dinners was made almost entirely by heating coal, which created a gas mixture imbued with a hefty dose of carbon monoxide. Consequently, ingestion of carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas oven became the most common method of suicide. In the early 1950s, new and cheaper methods of gas production were brought in—with a carbon monoxide content hovering near zero.
Suicides by domestic gas poisoning in the UK began to fall rapidly, bringing down the national suicide rate. Between 1963 and 1970, deaths by suicide fell by a quarter. By 1975, suicides by gas poisoning had pretty much disappeared. The experts were not quite sure what to make of this; could it really be that simple? A 1976 paper on the topic pondered how “the removal of a single agent of self-destruction can have had such far-reaching consequences.”
This question gets to the heart of what’s called “means restriction”—reducing access to methods people use to take their lives. Across the world, means restriction has had a huge impact. Over the past three decades, suicide rates have slowly and steadily dropped; between 2000 and 2016, the global mortality rate from suicide dropped by about 33 percent...
[...] It’s worth noting that all suicide numbers should be taken with a hefty grain of salt. Many countries underreport suicide deaths—due to data lags, as well as reasons related to stigma and religion. In some countries, suicide is still illegal. Nevertheless, it’s worth looking at the downward trend to see what lessons it can impart.
A big chunk of that decrease can be attributed to suicide declines in the two most populous countries in the world. Between 1990 and 2016, suicide rates decreased by 15 percent in India and by over 60 percent in China. A fast-growing Chinese economy resulted in far more people moving from the countryside to more urban areas. This meant that, in addition to more economic stability, they had reduced access to pesticides, a common means of suicide in lower-income countries, especially among young women in rural areas... (MORE - missing details)
RE: Why suicide rates are dropping around the world - Magical Realist - May 14, 2023
Quote:Reducing access to means allows time for the impulse to pass, and the person may never want to try again.
Means restriction, as in making it harder for people with mental health histories to buy a gun, sounds like a good idea at least in the US. Having a gun would be a terrible temptation for a chronically depressed person. It's why I don't own one. Interesting that most suicides occur within 5 minutes of deciding to do it. Such an impulsive one time desire would likely pass if actually carrying it out is made harder.
RE: Why suicide rates are dropping around the world - Syne - May 14, 2023
It takes longer that 5 minutes to buy a gun. So the depressed would have to plan ahead of any such impulse.
But maybe those with mental health issues shouldn't be allowed to defend themselves (likely contributing to any agoraphobic/shut-in/paranoid tendencies).