One Million People Commit Suicide Every Year

the statistics are staggering and really sad. across the world every year 1,000,000 people kill themselves and 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 people attempt suicide. 30,000 people in the usa kill themselves every year... its hard for me to wrap my head around what those numbers actually mean and this issue is the most "hushed up" and "kept quiet" thing there is and never are the true facts about how out of control suicide has actually become in the news, why? are we in denial about our own reality? i think its because society does not want to face the truth about itself and admit that the way we make eachother live and the kind of world that we have made for ourselves is not so great after all and that there are an extreme amount of people that are not able to function in this "self centered" "greedy" "i,me ,mine" "rat race" "fast lane" "always in high gear" modern world and they just end up forgotten and left behind, another dead statistic... you'll read again and again in the obituaries about how he or she "died at home" but you'll never hear what really happened and some experts estimate that perhaps 10% or more of all car crash deaths are actually suicides and you'll never see a newspaper headline that reads,"the world that we have made is a lonely and terrible place", but i think it mostly is. what are we doing to ourselves and why is this horrible issue left in the dark? here's the brutal and sad suicide facts and figures > www.medicinenet.com...

reply to post by blocula


Hey could you clean the thread up a bit please? It's difficult to read like that and I'm sure everyone would appreciate it if you made it into paragraphs. On topic it's a tradgedy but with all the crap going on all over the world can you blame them for suiciding?

everything dies, and it dies exactly when it needs to.

no one makes people go along with society, society IS what people have made.

sadness may have value, but it is entirely selfish, and it has absolutely nothing to do with anyone who chose to end their own life when they were tired of living.

Well if they're volunteering for population control, then i have no problem with their choice.

They are committing suicide for a reason, not because someone forced them too. It may have gone up because of the financial # up, but in this day and age it is to be expected!

It's easy for people to dismiss things like this but if you actually knew someone that took their own life you'd realise that it is one of the most horrible things ever. Specially if that person rang you up the night before asking for help and you told them you were busy (and you weren't). Then you wake up the next day to find out said person threw themselves under a train.

I don't blame myself but sometimes think had I actually taken the time to talk then that bloke might still be here today.

Advance Warning: off-topic humor, follows:

Every year!

I would have thought it was a one off type of thing.


Apologies to anyone offended, it was not my intention.

reply to post by blocula
Living in a society where people expect things to be handed to them, dealing with adversity is something of a lost art.
I feel for the friends and families that have suffered loss.

most of us didnt ask to be here but here we are.

living in poverty and living meaningless lives because our parents decided to have sex.

sure life is enjoyable, but why CANT you choose when to quit?

would we choose to be born at all?

then again living IS everything and the only thing we could know, if you dont believe in an afterlife

Living in a system like the one imposed in America, I don't blame the people taking their lives. The system is demanding and if you are weak you can be sure their gonna exploit that to the fullest and make your already #ty life even more #ty.

So the real question is why is life in America so hard that people feel the need to commit suicide?

Suicide is not a choice the person makes, in most cases. It is the endcap on a complicated process of often very real biological decay and damage in a brain which is just as disabled as a body without arms and legs.

Suicide is just another name for a way of dying, like 'drowning', or 'electrocution'. No one who has not had the rare experience of being close to someone who ultimately had a terminal mental illness has an opinion that is remotely informed.

reply to post by Anoynymoose

So the real question is why is life in America so hard that people feel the need to commit suicide?

Nearly 1 million people worldwide commit suicide each year, with anywhere from 10 million to 20 million suicide attempts annually. About 30,000 people reportedly kill themselves each year in the United States.

This isn't just an American problem.

Maybe the lack of empathy and understanding from others is part of the problem. Our world is very narcissistic - me first, I'm all that matters. It can be a hard place to live for people who DON'T think along those lines.

Originally posted by Anoynymoose
Living in a system like the one imposed in America, I don't blame the people taking their lives. The system is demanding and if you are weak you can be sure their gonna exploit that to the fullest and make your already #ty life even more #ty.

So the real question is why is life in America so hard that people feel the need to commit suicide?

Poor people see middle class and want what they have.. middle class see rich, and want what they have.. and the rich just keep on wanting more. It is like a never ending cycle.. you get a new phone, a few months later a better one comes out. Same thing with cars. So much pressure to buy the latest, greatest thing, just spending our money on junk, and working.
And sometimes at the end of the day, all the things you thought would make you happy often don't.

reply to post by blocula


I believe the ultimate reason people commit suicide is not because they're depressed or tired of living, but rather because they never found a reason to live. There have been multiple studies showing increased health problems among people who don't have larger purposes in their life such as fulfilling careers, ideologies, relationships, etc. While these people are not consciously committing suicide, they are unconsciously shortening their life because they have not found an important enough purpose. There are many anecdotes of spouses dying shortly after their life partner has passed away - the purpose they had held on to for so long had been taken away.

This is why I personally believe that the most important thing we can do is find out what the purpose of life is.

Originally posted by MrHappyman989
It's easy for people to dismiss things like this but if you actually knew someone that took their own life you'd realise that it is one of the most horrible things ever. Specially if that person rang you up the night before asking for help and you told them you were busy (and you weren't). Then you wake up the next day to find out said person threw themselves under a train.

I don't blame myself but sometimes think had I actually taken the time to talk then that bloke might still be here today.

i know two people so far. and one of them died by train as well, thankfully he didnt call me first.
but still i spent an entire week as an emotional wreck, before i finally(over months) realized it had nothing to do with me, and that my emotional low point was all for my own ego, and had nothing to do with my dear friend who was now gone.

its also very easy to assume the way you feel about an issue is the only correct way to feel. thats pretty much how all the truly "most horrible things ever" like war and genocide and such happen. there are no right and wrongs. but suicide happens, regardless of how everyone else on the planet might feel about it.

I honestly think people should have the right to kill themselves. Women can legally kill unborn children in this country, but an adult is not allowed to remove themselves from this world if they see fit? Seems a bit lopsided. That wasn't a jab at abortion rights BTW, I am not really totally against abortion. Just comparing our society's views towards death.

I just don't know how to put this system into place. Obviously, it's not illegal for you if you succeed, your dead. It doesn't matter if it's illegal.

I think there should be a system that people can use to end their lives if they want to, but it would be incredibly complicated to construct a system that would help matters, and not make them worse.

One thing with suicide is that it's usually pretty messy. Blowing your head off, jumping from a building, poisoning yourself and then puking all over, etc. Then there is the issue with failing to actually accomplish your task, which could also be messy, or leave you maimed the rest of your life, with all the same problems, but even more. If there was a simply way for people to kill themselves, like lethal injection, I think it would take some of the drama out of the situation.

There should also be safeguards against people just all of the sudden freaking out about something and wanting to die. Maybe something along the lines of requiring a person to submit a suicide request for 4 consecutive 3 month periods before being given the "treatment" That way you have to want to die, constantly, for a whole year. Someone who is having a down month could snap out of it and decide not to submit the following requests, and won't go through with it.

This leaves people who really, really, want to die right away probably doing it the old fashioned way, with all the drama, mess, and risks.

There are many reasons people wish to end their lives, and as long as they do it in a responsible manner (not leaving a whole mess of problems for those left behind) I don't have a problem with it. But, as I said, the implementation of such a system would be pretty difficult to figure out.

reply to post by Maluhia


I was hoping someone noticed that. It's a million total with ONLY 30,000 being in the USA. it would seem to me from those numbers the US is not the hardest place to live , I can't help but wonder what those numbers pan out for the rest of the world. I would venture a guess without utilizing Google , that a lot of that million would be in 3rd world countries. You know those places with the bloated little kids playing with a tumbleweed in a mud puddle. The ones where the people have flies all over them and they eat rice everyday and don't even know what cell phones are. I mean we can think its so bad here in USA but I am Damn sure glad I don't live in one of those places cuz I probably would kill myself.
I think people always forget how Damn lucky we are (not blessed cuz that is just WRONG to think your BLESSED because your rich or well off.) in the crappy old US. I totally agree we have issues but really, look around it COULD BE MUCH WORSE. I think ill Google what those numbers mean for the rest of the world cuz 30,000 is nothing out of a million!!!! It's a lot to the hurting family and friends that lost the 30,000 people a year.

Suicide has become a taboo subject via religion for thousands of years, in some cultures and religions self sacrifice and suicide are a required norm. This doesn't make it right however and there are causes that you have to take into consideration, this figure includes assisted suicides, mental health issues / abuses of drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, accidental overdoses, suicide bombing, murder suicides etc.

Suicide - Wiki

As for the suggestion above that they can introduce a possible system of handing in notice to commit suicide over a period of time, just doesn't get it, individuals that commit suicide 99 times out of 100 do it in a split instant to get over pain or hardship, ie. walking in front of a car/bus/train or jumping from a building. these you will not be able to stop.

The main issue is to get people to talk to one and other if the person is feeling depressed or in an anxiety state, once you can talk with them and get to the root of the issue it is more likely that you can bring them back from the edge. other things that we can do are :

* Promote awareness that suicide is a public health problem that is preventable
* Develop broad-based support for suicide prevention
* Develop and implement strategies to reduce the stigma associated with being a consumer of mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention services
* Develop and implement community-based suicide prevention programs
* Promote efforts to reduce access to lethal means and methods of self-harm
* Implement training for recognition of at-risk behavior and delivery of effective treatment
* Develop and promote effective clinical and professional practices
* Increase access to and community linkages with mental health and substance abuse services
* Improve reporting and portrayals of suicidal behavior, mental illness and substance abuse in the entertainment and news media
* Promote and support research on suicide and suicide prevention
* Improve and expand surveillance systems

if you are feeling suicidal or depressed please speak to someone, i know that if you are considering this option you may feel that this is not for you and that it is pointless talking about it, but believe me it can help, there are lots of charities and organisations that can help you through this time / situation,

In the UK you can

Call 08457 90 90 90 The Samaritans - The Samaritans Website

NHS Website
* go to your nearest accident and emergency (A&E) department and tell the staff how you are feeling
*contact NHS Direct on 0845 4647
* speak to a friend, family member or someone you trust
* make an urgent appointment to see your GP

In the US

Medline Plus Website

If you know someone who is considering suicide, do not leave him or her alone. Try to get your loved one to seek immediate help from his or her doctor or the nearest hospital emergency room, or call 911. Remove any access he or she may have to firearms or other potential tools for suicide, including medications

If you are in crisis call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The service is available to anyone. All calls are confidential.

National Institute of Mental Health
Web site: www.nimh.nih.gov


Wee Mad

i knew a guy who lost his job and girlfriend at the same time and killed himself up stairs,right above his mom and dad who were watching tv downstairs.he did it with a shotgun and his mother told me that she heard the sound of the guns blast every night for years.thats all it took for him to decide to end it all and i know that if i knew what he was going to do, that i could have talked to him and things would have been different

i myself have suffered through " far, far worse" simultaneous financial and emotional trauma and did'nt even consider killing myself. so whats the real reason? are some people born with a genetic disposition to suicide? or is it the relentless pressure of todays " do or die " society?

Originally posted by Anoynymoose
Living in a system like the one imposed in America, I don't blame the people taking their lives. The system is demanding and if you are weak you can be sure their gonna exploit that to the fullest and make your already #ty life even more #ty.

So the real question is why is life in America so hard that people feel the need to commit suicide?

and the suicide statistics are eliminated from the mainstream news.for if it was in the news,just in the usa alone over 30,000 suicides every year equals out to around 90 suicides every day and that sad fact is purposefully not talked about in the news or media because,"the powers that be only want people thinking that life is great and working every day for next to nothing in a world of violence and war is the thing to do"...well its not

10,000,000 to 20,000,000 million suicide attempts world wide every year !!!...thats sickening and totally unbelievable!!!...yet true...thats equals out to about 400,000 a week!!!...