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When it comes to suicide, the young and the old get most of the attention; traditionally, they’re regarded as the age groups most at risk, and preventing such tragedies has been the focus of a great deal of research and funding. After the suicide of Oregon senator Gordon Smith’s 21-year-old son in 2004, for instance, the state devoted $82 million to youth suicide prevention programs. Among the middle-aged, however, suicide is regarded with some bias, as if it were merely the refuge of down-on-their-luck losers with nowhere else to turn. But the facts clearly contradict this: according to the New York Times, “of the more than 32,000 people who committed suicide in 2004, 14,607 were 40 to 64 years old (6,906 of those were 45 to 54); 5,198 were over 65; 2,434 were under 21 years old.” Here’s another staggering fact: a recent CDC study shows that between 1999 and 2004, suicide among those aged 45-54 increased by nearly 20%, and in women it jumped 31%. (For comparison’s sake, the rate amongst teenagers rose only 2%.)
But it’s not just the US that’s struggling with this problem. In Japan, suicide among 30-somethings is higher than it’s ever been, making it one of the highest in the developed world. Random public stabbings are also a problem in Japan; researchers believe both are being exacerbated by extraordinarily stressful work environments, coupled with low pay, rigid corporate hierarchies and traditions and something perhaps uniquely Japanese: “We live in an uncomfortable and restrictive society where trivial matters are important,” said Professor Kiyohiko Ikeda, a veteran social commentator at Waseda University. “The young feel a sense of deadlock; society does not accept minor mistakes.”
The world’s highest suicide rates, regardless of age group, are in Russia and the former Soviet bloc; countries like Lithuania, Belarus and Kazakhstan. They suffered a huge spike in the early-to-mid-nineties, as democracy and the new world order changed life in that corner of the world dramatically (and not always for the better). Tragic — but not a huge surprise. Compared to middle-aged suicide in Japan and suicide in general in the former Soviet states, which seem to have a few clear (though tough-to-solve) causes, the recent dramatic spike in American middle-aged suicide is mysterious.
There are a few theories, however. One specifically identifies the American “Baby Boom” generation as unusually prone to depression, a conclusion reached by some researchers nearly twenty years ago. Theories about that usually cite the sharp differences between the way they were raised by their WWII-era parents and, thanks to the changing pressures of modern life, the way have raised their own children; I know several boomer parents who pine for the “family values” and tight family social network their parents provided, which they feel guilty about not being able to provide to their kids.
But that’s just one theory. Another holds that a sharp drop in hormone replacement therapy in women after 2002 contributed to an increase in depression in middle-aged women. Another cites an increasing suicide rate among veterans — not those recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan (that’s another story), but Vietnam vets. Or, some contend, the “spike” in middle-aged suicides could merely be a statistical fluke. But even if that were the case, the facts remain: most people who kill themselves are middle aged, and yet those are the tragic cases we least often hear about.
I found this article really interesting. My uncle was 54 when he commited suicide. It really isn’t a group you hear about. My sister and I just went to a suicide prevention overnight walk, and most of the material provided was about preventing suicide in teens and young adults.
Those are really scary statistics.
posted by Lara on 7-1-2008 at 8:25 am
My Uncle committed suicide at age 55 in 2007 as well as my cousin who was 16 I believe back in 1997. So sad…
posted by Cara on 7-1-2008 at 8:48 am
I’m not surprised. We just aren’t a very popular demographic for sympathy. As a group we’re not considered vulnerable. And we’re not regarded as full of untapped potential.
Some old guy offed himself. So what.
posted by Bassman on 7-1-2008 at 9:46 am
This is an interesting post, but I seem to be missing something…what do the numbers in the chart refer to? Are they percent increases over some other number? Are they the percentages of total suicides that fall within a certain age group? Where are the footnotes referred to in the South Korean row? Help! :)
posted by David on 7-1-2008 at 12:00 pm
My cousin committed suicide at age 52 and a friends dad at 46.
posted by Anna on 7-1-2008 at 12:03 pm
The father of one of my roommates in college committed suicide this past winter while they were away visiting relatives. He said he needed to stay behind and catch up on work and when they got home they found him. So sad and so completely unexpected. I met the guy many times and he was always so nice and seemed perfectly happy. Even his family didn’t suspect anything was wrong.
It really made me second guess the happiness of my own parents (even though they seem perfectly content) I even sat them down and asked them about their lives right after it happened just because it really had me worried. They assured me there was nothing to worry about and that they loved their lives, but it was really an event that affected me deeply, I just had to make sure.
posted by Laura on 7-1-2008 at 12:05 pm
“and in women it jumped 31%”
I think you ought to rethink the verb in this sentence.
Really interesting article though.
posted by pg on 7-1-2008 at 2:07 pm
I’m really curious, too, about the statistics. You wrote that the numbers of people committing suicide in the ‘boomer’ generation increased. I’d be interested to know if the percentage of people committing suicide within that age group increased, or if the numbers have simply increased because that generation has a larger number of people?
posted by Dawn on 7-1-2008 at 4:42 pm
Wow, if Baby Boomers are offing themselves because they are more prone to depression, then I don’t want to be around (no pun intended) when Gen Y hits middle age.
posted by Florida on 7-1-2008 at 4:49 pm
Has anyone ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, they’re done with it all? I’ve been there myself many a time. Never brought on by anything in particular, just a sense of, “I feel I’ve lived up to all I’m supposed to, so I guess, I’ll just stop taking up space and resources.” It hasn’t happened but I’ve often thought, how bad would it really be. If you’ve reached that point where you’re just DONE, no amount of support can change it, nor does your age affect it; it just is. Yes, depression and social standards (presumed or not) can account for some but maybe we focus too much on, “Oh, but you have a loving family, don’t do it” and not enough on, “What would make you feel complete or new again?” And if it comes down to the fact that no longer living is what a person is needing, maybe that should be an option. Maybe then, there wouldn’t be such staggering statistics. And who’s to say it’s something so tangible; you can’t whitewash the state of the world or so many of the other millions of things “wrong”.
Thank you for the article. It really did make for an excellent read.
posted by Josh on 7-1-2008 at 5:17 pm
Dick Cavett in the NY times wrote the other day (paraphrasing) that people who are clinically depressed can’t even find it in themselves to commit suicide. It’s after a moment of happiness or joy that they can then actually find the will to do it. (He was clinically depressed at one point.) That was fascinating to me. I had a friend who seemed on top of the world when did himself. Cavett’s take offers a glimmer of understanding.
posted by Pete on 7-1-2008 at 6:51 pm
Like Josh, I have considered suicide many a time, often due to family issues (as young as 9), or other relationship issues (in college). Clearly I never did commit suicide - the only thing that held me back was a very very good friend and an unnatural fear of hell/what happens after. The thought is never completely gone, though, in tough times as it’s sometimes a much easier answer than working through life’s issues.
Suicide is the ultimate selfish act. The thing is, when a person is that depressed, it is difficult to see around it - to see a way out other than death.
The happy moment that perhaps Dick Cavett was referring to often occurs when a person has decided to kill himself and is finally relieved that there will be an end to his suffering/pain/confusion. I think this is more often the case for people who plan a suicide after a period of time (as opposed to those who kill themselves spontaneously in a moment of extreme emotion).
It is VERY difficult to believe that clinically depressed people can’t/don’t kill themselves due to a lack of will.
posted by Dawn on 7-2-2008 at 5:50 am
I think the motivation to stay alive should come from realizing the selfishness of the act and realizing the hurt that you are about to cause others. I personally belive in the power of the mind. I have been depressed before (including prescription meds) but I believe that what got me through it was my will: I willed myself to overcome it and I did. And I dont mean just thinking “I wish I could get better” but actually believing I would get better and moving towards that. Willfully stop dwelling on the negative, abolish thoughts of suicude from your head and move on. Get out, learn soemthing new, meet new people. It´s one hell of an effort but it works. (Just as a follow-up, I have now been off any meds for 9 years and never felt a need to go back).
Just my 2 cents.
posted by GTT on 7-2-2008 at 11:10 am