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Local mental health professionals say many of the people calling them have reached their breaking point. Its keeping hotlines jammed and the voices on the other end are increasingly desperate.
With nowhere else to turn many people are calling suicide-prevention hotlines. “It’s very scary,” explained Margie Wright, the Executive Director of Suicide & Crisis Center of North Texas. “People pick up the newspaper, watch the television and all they hear is bad news and people are afraid and when they are afraid they go into crisis.” According to Wright, the center’s calls have increased by up to 15-percent.
Mental health experts say the sour economy has turned what usually manifests as seasonal blues into a full-blown crisis. The fear of losing one’s job and pressures caused by a downturn in business, demotion or pension plan cutbacks can be bad for mental health and therefore increase suicide risk.
Fear is the No. 1 emotion we’re hearing. People are feeling hopeless and helpless because of the economic crisis, and many feel that things aren’t going to get better. Now many of the calls are from people who have lost their home, or their job, or who still have a job but can’t meet the cost of living.”
To those who can recall the stories of bankers jumping out of windows across New York at the beginning of the Great Depression in 1929, the correlation between a financial crisis and an increase in suicide seems quite real.
A person with depression can blame their depression on whatever has been in the news recently, so some might begin to say that they are depressed because of the financial crisis. But the financial crisis isn’t necessarily the basis for the illness in the first place.
Japan is already home to one of the highest rates of suicide in the industrialised world, with an estimated 30,000 killing themselves every year. Amid deepening fears of a global recession, the rate is expected to surge even higher, fuelled by the growing prospect of job losses, decreased financial security and a rise in social dissatisfaction.
A recent study from Flinders University in Australia concluded that the suicide rate amongst Australian farmers was around 50% higher than the rest of the population. “Relationships are one of the greatest supports for suicidal people,” Laura Kennan, Australian expert say. And finances have an impact on relationships.”
In the US, Men and women between 45 and 54 years old have the highest suicide rates in the country among nine different age groups as economy tanks and GOP blocks jobless benefits.
Women seek help for suicidal thoughts more often than men and added that “acknowledging the problem” was a crucial step to getting help.
But while suicides increased slightly in 2006 and 2007 across the United States, researchers noted suicide rates for people in their 40s and 50s have been steadily growing over the last decade.
Specialists from area hospitals and organizations involved with suicide prevention programs say older people seem to be seeking help in growing numbers. Most identify the current economic crisis as one of several major factors responsible for the apparent increase.
Obviously, the most important way to reduce suicides is to reduce the hopelessness of people at risk by making them aware suicide is preventable and resources are available to help them.
26 Responses
Really.. help is out there? I made a six figure income, lost my job and can’t even get a job at walmart. Not that I’d want the job… but unemployment screws with everyone trying to discredit their eligibility. Congress representatives don’t care, they have food. Welfare turns us down because we’re eligible for unemployment… hummm what help is there! really? print some actual facts, what are we to do?
Posted on August 16th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
they can’t even call what they do help. and collectors act like you have the money, you’re just hiding it from them. my water go shut off today, i lost one of my two jobs, my fiance is laid off, we have a two yr old and one on the way and no one can help us pay the bills we used to be able to make. unemployment is a joke, if we could’ve lived off of half his salary my fiance would’ve down graded a long time ago to be home more often. welfare and food stamps are never enough…i don’t know who calculates the cost of living around here but they need to look again and if i hear one more time that the recession is over i just may run into traffic.
Posted on September 21st, 2010 at 2:57 pm
[...] been able to find any solid numbers, but it seems that hundreds, if not thousands, of people have committed suicide due to financial stresses in the last three years. In one heartbreaking story, a woman faxed her [...]
Posted on September 24th, 2010 at 12:46 pm
So if it is this bad for white america think of how blalck men feel and how bad it is for them. They were depreciated before the economic downturn. So imagine what their lives are like right now. You haven’t seen bad yet.
Posted on January 6th, 2011 at 5:02 am
The usa. government has lost the ability to govern;the disent of government power has begun.
Posted on January 17th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
People are indeed loosing it, what are we suppose to do, would rather die young and healthy and with a bit of money to atleast pay for my airline ticket to the golden gate bridge and throw myself off rather than die old ,sad and broke!!! two of my neighbours took their own lives and i dont blame them, they where both laid off weeks following each other and their home claimed by the bank!!!
mhh, it easy for people to say… oh things will improve, oh the government will help.
anyway, i have 2 weeks left on earth!
Posted on January 27th, 2011 at 5:58 am
Please don’t Amy! I don’t need any more encouragement. And I was told it starts a trend with your relatives. Probably my preventative.
I know too much about the “why’s” of what’s happening and how we’re all being duped.
I’m a Real Estate Agent and no matter how hard I work, no matter how many hours, or how smart I am, I can’t make enough to live off. I can’t even make enough to eat right (the fish in my fish tank are starting to look good). I only know a few Agents who can and they’re selling Bank Owned properties.
The worse part in all this is banks had their highest quarterly earnings last quarter in the history of all banks. They are not suffering. They are being bailed out. And they are NOT making any effort to help their clients (you gotta see the formula. There’s so much more money in it for them to foreclose). I know this from day to day experience. Oddly our representatives don’t know this and don’t care because the cities and jobs that aren’t suffering from a down turn are those where government offices are supporting them (that means our money). Just as bad, Attorneys are making big money off of bankruptcies, especially when there’s a short sale included. They often collect about $5,000 – $10,000 cash (in the form of a cashiers check written out to them) from the Buyer then collect another $25,000 from the bank for their services (which is a term I use loosely) on the back. So don’t think they’re about to help open suit to protect us. No, it’s a very good time for government, banks, and attorneys.
It’s a fact that if the government and the banks weren’t making bank they would change how they did business. Follow the money trail. Always follow the money trail…
Amy, don’t give them this one. Use your time and effort letting people know where the problem is. They can’t keep it a secret forever. It’s the secret that’s the problem and our medias are too scared to tell it.
Posted on March 1st, 2011 at 6:15 pm
By her statement, she already went through with it. Sounds good right about now…. “would rather die young and healthy and with a bit of money… rather than die old, sad and broke.”
Ain’t that the truth.
Posted on March 22nd, 2011 at 5:53 pm
First off Amy I hope you didnt follow thru with your past in Jan. !!! Please add a comment so I know your ok !!! Life is VERY tough and its hard not to get so down and out but I dont want ANYONE to end their life as an answer to their problems !!! This is my situation…..I have worked my butt of in the construction field my entire adult life and have worked VERY Hard yet I have NEVER been able to save any money ! 25 years ago I didnt worry about paying the bills I always covered my expenses (there was never any left over but I managed ok). Since about 24 years ago I have CONSTANTLY worried about being able to pay my bills and each year it has gotten worse and worse and in the past 10 years its pretty much an unbearable situation that eats me alive !!! I have worked for myself for the last 25 years because I can make more money on my own but now where near what I need. I would definately go to work for someone else but the pay scales are so so VERY far off and not realistic at ALL !!!!! As in the case with almost ALL the jobs out there !!!! I go over my expenses constantly and and its adds up to a small fortune just for me to break even. I have cut my expenses as much as possible. Over the years I have had to use many credit cards and borrow huge amounts of money from family members just to pay the bills !!!! I do NOT have anywhere to turn anymore….I cant borrow anymore money anywhere …Im maxxed out and my credit rating has gone from very good to almost the bottom of the barrel.All of this has takin a toll on me physically and mentally. Yet I ALWAYS try to and for the most part hold a positive attitude !!! But it gets harder and harder to keep that attitude when you cant even provide for your family !!! Right at this moment I am TOTALLY BROKE and Im in the worst situation Ive ever been in and I just hope I can make it thru. I have 2 grown children in there early 20s and what scares me is that I know Im right at the very edge of losing it ….Im so close to that breaking point and if that breaking point comes Im afraid of reaching the point to where I feel theres just no way out anymore and may have to end my life ! I cant let that happen….How could I possibly do that to my beautiful children….someway somehow I MUST get by and I MUST get to where I can do more than just pay my bills !!! But I do realize that NO ONE under financial stress wanted to end up taking their lives But they did reach that breaking point so even though its the LAST thing I ever would do I cant rule it out. The bottom line is its a CRAZY world today its always been tough …. when was a kid my folks had it hard and it wasnt easy then. But it doesnt compare to the cost of living in the last 20 years and the last 10 …. years are much tougher and right now its just insane !!!! I dont know how people are expected to survive and pay their bills. EVERYTHING COSTS a FORTUNE….EVERYTHING !!!! MONEY MONEY MONEY !!! Yet the pay scales are so Ridiculous ……..$ 9.00 – $ 15.00 are what most jobs pay …….. you can barely buy grocerys for that today nevermind the fifty million other bills most people have in todays world !!! The pay today is so VERY SEVERELY below what it TRUELY COSTS to Live TODAY !!!!! That is the MAJOR Problem !!!!!! Sorry for the Lonnnnggggggg posting but Im just so F ing Fed up. Once again I just popped into the grocery store for a few items 1 Milk 1 Bread 1 Rack of Toilet Paper 1 Rack of Paper towels (Not brand names) 1/2 Lb of Cheese 1.5 pounds of Turkey Breast 1 Large Can of Coffee and some Tomatoes for a total of $ 71.00 !!!!! Thats NO WHERE EVEN CLOSE to the average pay scale !!! Thats just a few items !!!!! Thats a full days pay at Most jobs today and that like .00001 of the amount of the bills we all face !!!! I LONG for the OLD DAYS !!!!! The world today is so screwed up !!!!!!!!! Well I wish the BEST for everone out there facing financial difficultys….I hope we all find our ways thru all the challenges we face in life !!!!! Good luck to you ALL !!!! and AMY I want to hear from you !!!
Posted on March 25th, 2011 at 10:21 am
For those suggesting that people not end it all, what is your solution? Can you gurantee beyond the shadow of all doubt that everything is going to be ok for that person and they are not going to end up in the street. I have been homeless before and before I allow that to happen I will kill myself. I do not believe in life for the sake of life and using religion as reason for discouraging people from killing themselves boarders on being cruel.
I get tired of people blaming mental illness as the reason that so many people end it all when many people do it because being dead beats living in the streets with the rats and pimps for company. People are so hateful when you are alone out there. I woudn’t live through that again.
Posted on April 1st, 2011 at 4:33 pm
I read many of your stories they had me in tears. I married young and my husband was accused of a crime he did not do sentence 18 years in prison when I was 6 month pregnant with our son- I lost everything-living with my mother- I laid there thinking how my life was stripped from me. I believe deeply in the Lord Jesus Christ. One day a Pastor by the name of Dr. Mike Murdock came on TV he said to give a offering to God- Im was on welfare- trying make it myself and I did not have nothing I took my last money and I trusted God. In One month this is truth so help me God. I went from not having a dime to I was about to be cut off of welfare. Someone walk up to me gave me the title to the house, another person said God said to give them their car with the title- God made an Officer with the City making a good pay. We don’t have to give up so easily but sometimes we just got put our trust in a God that do care. I went from having a job as an officer to having my own business. Sometimes our answers is not always what society has to offer but we got look deeper its always another street to take even when it look like we are at the end of our ropes. Tune into the testimonies with Pastor:Dr. Mike Murdock – Im just a person who has suffer like you did but God did the impossible let him do it for you Today
Posted on April 15th, 2011 at 1:19 pm
People that look down on people because of what they don’t have is an act that is very cruel.
I too as a young pregnant woman had the door shut in my face by family members and the more i suffer the more they smile at my misery i found out the hard way who care about me and who did not. It was most miserable- many tears I cried- it was evidence that those around me did not care and I felt so along- by myself- i felt lost. I experience it.
I too have been homeless- living house to house to sleeping in my car not knowing where my next dime was coming from- living with people that point the finger- at me and make me feel useless about myself but God do care about those that are without but we got believe that he is who he says he is and he send is son Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ went through alot of the things we are facing now—I know he is real I experience him for myself and just like He snatch me from all the misery I went through he will do the same for you. It got be more than just a religion or tradition when the results of it is real. Now the Lord bless me to help others start their own businesses. We just got believe!!!!
Posted on April 15th, 2011 at 1:53 pm
It’s real, I own my own retail store and learning center. Graduate with degree, made over $250k year and in the last 3 years it has gone all down hill. Obama care? will add trillions in USA debt. I have tried to find steady income from 2008 and I can’t even score an interview. Have very marketable skills that I can’t market enough. I spend hours applying for a job just to get a bg fat SORRY not you email back if I’m lucky.
Three kids and a wife that is a RN supporting us now and we can’t make ends meet. If it was not for my children and tha sadness they would go through life knowing I shot myself in the head with my 45 cal 1911. What are we to do? Where are we to go that we have not already. I’m worth more dead now then alive. I have insurance on my death but can’t get insurance for my childrens health. I have stopped watching TV and if I hear how the USA is doing better I’m going to blow a hole in my TV first.
Obama was not the answer, he has trips to Hawaii with his family while mine has not had a family vacation since the economy went into the shit hole. Where are we headed?
Posted on April 27th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
America DOES NOT NEED rich people, they have had their chance to be a good person and they blew it – I dont care if a few of them are an exception they should all be swept up – their kind did not serve Americans well. They have un-precedented wealth, where are all the good jobs? The disloyal rich and their dupes, constantly berate Americans, they call Americans lazy, they are breaking the law – existing laws need to be enforced against the rich. The rich have attempted to corrupt our society during a time of war – that is treason.
All we want is a little bit of tax from the disloyal rich. The middle class must reject identification with the upper class, they are not us, they do not want us, American middle class families are an obstacle in their way. One day, Americans will get tough on these worthless rent-collectors and gamblers who create nothing and destroy jobs.
French Revolution all the way!!! Guillotines are too good for the rich!!!
Posted on June 1st, 2011 at 11:59 am
Ok, America is falling apart. It is needed, but the thing I keep wondering about is why is it that when we “normal” Americans fall on hard times, do we want to die? I think of how other countries which are very poor, war ravaged for generations with no hope in sight find the courage to persevere despite deplorable conditions. I think we are weak. Weak in our morals and values. Even when we are stripped of all our “things” we continue to measure our lives by the stuff we have (or dont) and the amount of money we have in the bank.
Pride keeps us from exploring alternatives in life.
How about looking for someone else who isnt homeless (craigslist, grocery store bulletins, church groups) who needs helps with meals, chores, doc appts, and arranging a cooperative living arrangement? Cooperative living? I sure do like the idea of Rent-a-Husband or Rent-a-Wife.
What about looking for a community garden and growing food? What about looking for Off-Grid communities? How about living at a camp ground for the summer?
Half.com allows you to sell games, books, music. libraries often have withdrawn books for free… Look into monies available to going back to school or turn that hobby into something that creates income.
There are options and alternatives… it requires that we let go of the propaganda and dogma fed to us by the media. Worry less about what other people think about you. Think well of yourself. Connect with GOD however you define him.
Chances are, that job was killing you anyway. This is an opportunity to turn your life around. Let people who want to help, help you. Many times family connections are not ones of blood. Do away with pride. You never know where you will meet someone who can benefit from what you have to offer. Go to the Library, museums, book stores, talk to people. Right now, you have time and your friendship to offer.
Go to your doctor and have him write a note saying your unable to work, not just for 2 weeks, but long term, ongoing. Being suicidal contributes to this… Sometimes the county will then provide services for you.
I apologize that my thoughts are jumbled, This doesnt have to be the end. It could be the thing you needed to turn your life around.
Isn’t your life worth exploring all ends before you end it?
Posted on June 2nd, 2011 at 2:14 pm
TraceeJean- some people can’t afford to go to the doctor, they can’t take time off work. There are many Americans here that don’t have healthcare either. What is going on right now is a trajedy. You said it yourself. America IS falling apart and no one cares. It is so bad that people are killing themselves. I agree that death is better than the life we live now.
Posted on June 21st, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Sadly, a sign of the times! God forgive n help the money mongering whores!
Posted on August 19th, 2011 at 10:57 pm
I don’t believe there is much justice in this world. Everything revolves around the acquisition of money and the greedy tendencies that often incase it. Family members, neighbors, strangers, and persons all over the world are sacrificed for either financial or physical gain. This phenomenom is hardly new and has been going on for centuries all across the globe. “Average joes” living in modest houses nearby can be just as deceitful as those flip-flopping politicians who reside miles away.
Labels are fairly silly when it comes down to it because insincerity and hypocrisy pop up with much abundance when it comes to the human race. It seems like you either have the option of personally using people or getting used by other people during your lifetime. I refuse to look down on suicide. Everyone has their breaking point.
May those who comitted it finally rest in peace…
Posted on August 25th, 2011 at 1:08 am
Us economy is a consumer economy, now it is consuming the consumer!!! If all of us live in contentment then those who are getting richer would stop becoming richer which means you must save so that you can live- more in peace with little than go into pieces. Savings will help keeping the credit card away, that is the silent killer!!
Rest in peace and trust in GOD.( who ever it is)
Posted on September 7th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
All of you should start living in the moment! all of you are stuck thinking about tomorrow!
NOW is where you live! people worry about the future…something that doesnt even exist! how insane is that????
don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself.You have enough to worry about today.
MAtthew 6:34
Posted on September 23rd, 2011 at 11:56 am
Yup, to die “elderly” and broke, just living on social security and just making it. No extras, can’t go anywhere or do anything. Prices are rising on everything. Out of a job, and boredom is especially awful on weekends. I know what time the trains come through here, and I’ll either be on the tracks or drinking antifreeze.
Posted on October 30th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
I have got to say there is hope. In the 70′s I was a young mother whose husband left leaving me broke and on welfare. I bettered myself and got a job, went to school and learned how to manage money because I had very little for years.
I still watch for sales on everything. Food, clothing and every possible expenditure I make. Later I managed to save money too. When everyone was getting into debt I was saving and living under my means. I learned to do without when I had nothing and because I came from parents who were poor but hard workers I knew the work ethic very well.
I know today it is a strain on many because the good times were good in the economy and now they stink. I didn’t see the good times as I was frugal through all the years clipping coupons and made it a way of life to save because of the hard times that i knew could come again. Now I am not struggling yet still save when I can.
I know there is hope and light at the end for everyone so hold on through the bad times. God was always there for me and I prayed many times when I had nothing and no help. I recall going to the salvation army asking for clothes for my baby and myself and could not pay for them . They gave me a free bag of clothes for nothing because I was that broke.
If one needs help there is no shame to ask for help. Food banks, Good Will, and the Salvation Army are there for the ones who need help. There are charities that give vouchers for extra food for holidays too. Look on line for charities to help . Reach out and find the wonderful people who give there time in helping others. And for the ones who are doing well, give extra in this time of need where so many are struggling.
Posted on November 15th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
The economic wealth of America originated with slavery. Millions of Africans were transported from their villages and enslaved for 250 years, with no pay, no health care, no respect, no prospects and nothing to pass on to their children. The Native American was also slaughtered so that poor, landless, immigrants from Europe could take advantage of this new found wealth and to “live the American dream.”
Those same once landless, poor immigrants worked hard to keep the Native Americans and Africans beneath them. Instead of identifying with their suffering, they mocked them, discriminated against them, and accused them of being lazy, ignorant, and savagery. They taught their children to despise and segregate themselves from them.
The middle class bowed at the feet of the rich, and raised their children to look down on those “beneath them” and aspire to rub elbows only with the elite. My point. What these Americans forgot was that those Africans and Native Americans were also God’s children and did not deserve how they were treated. While the majority of white America prospered, these groups remained poor, vilified, exploited and neglected, and then blamed for it.
When you take someone’s land, and enslave others to work it without compensation, there is no way one will have peace in their souls, or in these lands. The descendants of those same elites who were the slave holders then, now have us all enslaved today. Americans had a chance to do this right, but they chose pride, arrogance, gluttony, class differences, greed, selfishness, and indifference towards those who continue to suffer in this nation and around the world, so that they can have their luxuries.
The only hope for America now is repentance. However, before any redemption is accorded, many will pay the price for what their forefathers and mothers did and fail to stop doing. Many never thought this day of reckoning would arrive. Well it is here.
Obviously, I do not mean those who are and have tried to do good in their lives. I am speaking of America’s sad, dark and shameful history that has come back to haunt us all.
I also do not encourage anyone to kill themselves. There is no honor or redemption in that. Keep your head towards God, and work to help someone who is worst off than yourself. You be surprised what you may discover, especially about you.
Posted on December 20th, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Justin: just want to point out that salvery began according to American history when africianamerican chiefs sold their own people into salvery, transporting humanbeings to spanish colonies. whites did not start salvery, africians sold their own people to the spanish. Whites were just as much a part of the slave trade hundreds of years ago. Money talks, takes priority over human life, yesterday,today and tomorrow..
Justin, remember what God said, ” there is nothing new under the Sun” all current theories are based on what has already been…..
Yvonne
Posted on January 4th, 2012 at 6:30 pm
I totally agree on what blonde arsenal is saying. if people stop complaining and start looking or not stop looking, there is always hope for tomorrow. American people have been spoiled (not all though, obviously) that the country’s financial crisis bring some to suicide. If you look how poor and are always in crisis third world countries are, you will realize you are still in good condition.
instead of complaining, why not stop and look at the world and realize you are actually in a better shape than most?
Posted on January 23rd, 2012 at 8:31 pm
The American people are not just divided, they’re fragmented into dozens of groups. The economy is in the toilet. Every where you look it’s more bad news and only going to get worse no matter what the politician’s try to tell us. Most people are falling in income, many have been wiped out entirely.
Is it any wonder that the suicide rate has gone up steadily and that the middle aged are the most likely to commit suicide now? They believed the hype, that working hard and being faithful and loyal and honest would get them through, but it hasn’t and won’t.
Posted on February 6th, 2012 at 11:37 pm
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