The economy is totally fine though /s
this post was submitted on 30 Sep 2024
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Plenty of reasons I can think of other than the economy. LGBTQ+ rights, child labor laws being removed, and access to medical services being limited or illegal are some big factors.
Loneliness is also a massive factor.
I've been "alone" for so long I can't even tell if I want to be around people anymore! Every time I have to go do something it feels like I'm doing something I don't want to now. lol
I feel the same way a lot of times. It takes effort to be social and it's easier to just stay at home and not do anything. It's especially easy for me because I have no friends in this town and my closest friends live an hour away. Being lonely seems like it's easier than having friends even if it feels worse. It's a problem to be sure.
This is one where there is a significant economic cause and effect.
People not having free time, money for activities, hobbies, etc - this impacts our ability to be social.
I agree, but also, where do you go to meet people anymore? People used to get into conversations in places like coffee shops and bars. Now everyone's looking at their phones, possibly even with earbuds in. If you're religious, I guess church. Plenty of people aren't religious though.
There's a hobby/ttrpg store nearby that hosted game nights every week. They'd try out a new game.
There wasn't a big crowd, but went out wife my wife to dinner and there were definitely people chatting from different groups at the bar. Dont know if they knew each other though, its not that big of a city.
I think there are still places to go, its just harder for a lot of people to go out. Even my wife and I, we haven't had a dinner just us in a few years (kids).
There's a store like that here and they were totally insular. I asked if there were any games I could join in and they looked at me like I was some sort of stupid neophyte who wouldn't know D&D from Call of Cthulhu. Fuck that.
Oh that's unfortunate, thats not how they run things here. I haven't been in a while, but its more like a bunch of DMs and everyone gets randomly assigned to a table. Games are 30 minutes, and then rotating tables. Its more about trying out some different games than anything else.
They did have a separate night they'd host, but those were reserved rooms (like a conference room setup, TV available for map display). More like a night for regular players to have a regular space to play, but its kind of obvious (with the reserved signs on the rooms and all).
Yes, the article lists some of those reasons and it also mentions economic factors. I personally see job loss to be a huge factor in depression amongst people I know, hence my comment.
jobs, housing, cost of being alive... honestly what is there to be happy about? A lot of people did everything right, have good jobs and are responsible but most of these problems are completely outside their control, of course people are depressed. everything really is just shit.
Yes, those are the rest of the things. But society has decided that in public discourse the only thing that matters is the economy.
And by economy we mean the stock market.
well yeah. In this world that we live in money is freedom and if you don't have it your options are severely limited. For those that don't have it it getting it is the only thing that matters.
prices go up, people get squeezed, and no one cares, the social safety net has been whittled down to nothing by republicans. all alone and looking at the prospect of getting or being sick, homeless, and without assistance.
People need 3 things to commit suicide:
- social isolation
- sense of burden
- capacity
Social Isolation
If the person feels alone, even if surrounded by people, they're meeting this criterion. Loneliness is social pain because being alone was guaranteed death back in the day. Being socially isolated is literally painful.
Sense of Burden
If the person feels that all they do is drag people down, then they may see that their existence is a drag. Match this sense of worthlessness and parasitic existence with the pain of loneliness, and the person in a dire hopeless situation. To them, there is no point to being alive. They're in constant inescapable pain and not only contribute nothing, but they are spreading that pain onto others...at least that's how they see it.
Capacity
This refers to the ability for someone to be able to kill themselves. Do they have the means? Pills, car, rope, firearm? Military people in general are at higher risk because they are more likely to have firearms. But one thing that I think is overlooked is that they've been trained at a brainwashing level that violent killing is the ultimate solution to problems.
Regardless, not having the capacity is a major protective factor, which is why people get isolated in settings that prevent them from killing themselves. I'd like to point out how fucked up this is though. We are taking a person that is in so much pain they want to die, and placing them in a physical environment that prevents them from that. While necessary as a last resort, it's torture.
What if when someone says their in pain, we believe them? Maybe we offer millions of other opportunities to turn their life around. And if they're not grabbing on to those opportunities, work with them to solve those barriers. Maybe placing blame on them solely increases their sense of burden.
If you're in pain, I believe you ♥️
edit:
Firearms play a critical role in suicide deaths, being used in over 50% of all suicides in 2022. The availability and lethality of firearms contribute significantly to the high suicide rates, particularly among men. Recent data shows that increases in firearm suicides are driving the overall rise in suicide deaths, with 2022 recording the highest number of gun-related suicides on record. This underscores the importance of addressing firearm access as part of suicide prevention strategies.
Reminder that most suicide attempts are in response to an acute crisis, like an argument with a loved one, and go from initial idea to action in less than 30 minutes.
Survivors report perceived lethality of firearms being a primary factor in their decision.
Access to lethal means can make all the difference between a bad day and a last day.
Japan has ~~no~~ very difficult access to firearms.
Japan has no access to firearms.
This is factually incorrect. I could go get my firearms and license right now if I wanted to (not that it's easy, but it's possible). See https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/05/31/national/crime-legal/gun-control-explainer/ for more info in English.
Those age 20 or above who want to possess a gun need to go through a lengthy screening process by the local public security committee, which is the governing body for the prefectural police force.
It doesn't mention that there are restrictions on types of firearms, but it's possible to own shotguns and rifles. Pellet guns are also possible, though I'm not sure 'firearm' is the right word there. I think crossbows were recently outlawed due to murders (previously I think they were in a weird grandfathered-in state, but I'm not 100% sure on that).
In any case, access to firearms is so restricted, it isn't a factor in suicide, yet Japan's suicide rate is comparable to the US and often exceeds it. So the pat answer that firearms is what makes suicide numbers high is bullshit.
Nobody argued that there are no other factors like social pressure. Obviously it is a problem when about half of the suicides involve a gun. Building hurdles and adding effort is needed to prevent deaths.
Addressing the actual problems, not outlawing rope, is what needs to be done to reduce suicide. If you think people that want to die are going to be slowed down by not having a gun, you haven't got a clue what suicidal depression is all about.
Or one could do both. Reduce access to killing tools and reasons to kill.
I'll look forward to your bill that outlaws gravity, razor blades, sleeping pills and rope immediately after you rid the world of guns.
Then when that fails, maybe we'll address the problem.
(He also still likely can't get one. Unless he's literally a farmer or otherwise using it for work, or joining a shooting team, he can apply all he likes but that approval won't ever come. But yes it's not as simple as "guns," as Japan makes evident.)
It's non-zero, including handguns which would have to be illegally obtained outside of very narrow circumstances (police, military, maybe competitive target shooters?, etc.). I imagine it would be much higher if guns were more widely available. Here are statistics https://www.e-stat.go.jp/dbview?sid=0003411679
Effort needs to be put into supporting men.
But the billionaires are doing great though, so what’s the issue? /s
When a colossal part of the population suffers from a whole plethora of societal issues, most of which either go ignored, or are actively being made worse by local government, no fucking surprise people want to end it
The s&p hit a new all-time high again! Things're great, duh.
It's trickling down, people just have to be patient! /s
Yeah, trickling down from billionaires to millionaires.
If you barely have the money for shelter and food, me yal health becomes an unnecessary expense
I read "lowest" and said to myself "no fucking way". Highest does sound right, but I don't even live there, so what do I know?
I wonder how much this has to do with our 24 hour "make them angry and scared so they keep watching and giving us clicks for our ad revenue" news cycle. Of course that isn't the sole factor and I don't know if we'd ever be able to measure the impact of that alone vs other things, but I do wonder.