That is quite the category choice.

I'm 47
From 44 to mid 46 I woke up every morning thinking of suicide
it was very annoying.
I'd have said it was triggered by my divorce and the nature of it, but all of that was soooo common to my age group that I swiftly realized I was only a statistic.
Since then I spend a LOT less time online and a lot more time focusing on achieving my dreams/goals.

via meditation and rigorous self analysis I came to the firm belief that the suicidal thoughts were a "phase" I was going through
I'm actually a pretty positive motherfucker, but these self destructive thoughts kept intruding from "somewhere else"

working from the perspective of a "phase" helped me keep objectivity and treat them as something separate from myself that I could choose to ignore and not become personally involved/invested in
Still ... that was a seriously sucky phase to go through.

Now ...
Well, now at 47 I find that most of my "dreams" seem to be coming true but I'm oddly detached from any sense of accomplishment/joy.
I've become entirely too "serious" for my taste, and I fight every day against becoming "bitter".
Oddly, I have everything I've ever wanted (except "true love", but whatever, one thing at a time) and I still have a pervasive loneliness gnawing at me ... but that shit (the loneliness) was true in my twenties too.

And you know what ... so be it.
Aint nothing wrong with feeling the same things in your forties that you felt in your twenties, and 20yr old me would have traded a leg for the life I have now.

I have a small team working with me on some projects we're planning to go public with within the next few months .. hopefully that will lift my spirits and get me involved in my own life again.
If nothing else, it should prove distracting ;D

btw: when I was going through the worst of it I ran across a book that really helped.
Specifically the point that (by memory) "sometimes something bad happens that is so large it is the largest event in your life and you kind of take up residence in it, allowing it to continue and define you. When this happens there is only one way out ... you have to make your life so BIG that is makes the bad event small by comparison... there is no other way".
That book was the only place I've ever seen/heard that advice and it truly helped.

Here's hoping that the next post you see from me is enough to make everyone's life "bigger and better" ;)

Hang in there -_-

tags :D

It's sad that it takes a celebrity's suicide to finally take this somewhat serious.

Don't forget after major shootings. It's amazing how many of the gun rights activists I know suddenly seem to care about mental health issues whenever people start wondering how the shooters acquired a firearm.

Talking about mental health after a suicide or shooting spree is like talking about safe sex after the baby is born.

It might prevent another one?

Speak for yourself

Pardon me?

Suicide is and always been taken seriously. Ask any parent whose son or daughter has jumped from a bridge. Ask any son or daughter whose parent sat in a car, in a garage and let the engine run.

This article is bogus. There has been no silence.

There was no silence when Amanda Todd took her life.
There was no silence when Rehtaeh Parsons took her life.
There was no silence when Shayne Clench took his life.

I would like to add there have been task forces on suicide in Canada, the US and Australia.

There is no silence...only an obsession with celebrities.

I understand your point now. Thanks for replying with a bit more context.

Relative to war, murder, and natural disaster? Relative to automotive safety? Suicide is taken seriously but the current epidemiology of this problem is not widely known.

I doubt if the epidemiology of automotive safety is well known either, but that is not to suggest it isn't known.

The whole article stinks though...

"Recently self-harm has been taking more lives annually around the world than war, murder, and natural disasters combined." Umm recently? How about, normally. With the exception of large scale warfare like WWII or WWI, warfare kills around 50K per year, as opposed to almost a million world wide...


"In more advanced countries, only three causes of death steal more years of life expectancy"

In Canada and the US, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death. On;y when we look at a particular demographic, like males 25-35 does that number reflect reality.

This article has more to do with sensationalism than information.

I grant you your point that the article is sensationalist, as is most of what is published as news. Perhaps I could have picked a more academic article.

My point and I think the article's poorly made point about war, murder, natural disasters, and automotive safety is that you hear much more about them than you do about the prevalence of suicide and it's recent acceleration. Moreover, if we look at a particular demographic and that number does make sense, it should be an eye opener. We don't discount a virulent fatal childhood disease because the demographic it strikes is children.

The gross numbers of death by suicide and death by breast cancer in the US are roughly equivalent. Breast cancer deaths are declining and suicide deaths are increasing. Which do you think garners more attention?

Again, if your beef is with the article, granted; but I think the subject matter deserves attention.

Yes the article infuriates me and yes the topic deserves attention.

As if the death of Lauren Bacall should make us all aware the old age is the leading cause of death of old people...

The very concept that there is an 'epidemiology' to suicide in general seems ludicrous.
People commit suicide for a wide variety of reasons, but the vast majority of cases, like Robin Williams, are likely due to depression. If the idea is to try to prevent suicides than what's needed is more robust and pro-active mental health care - particularly addressing this common and debilitating illness.