Friday, September 19, 2014

Suicide Prevention

Today's news highlights the increasingly little value people give to human lives.  Some of the reasons people have for taking their lives are mentioned in the article below. . . What are the reasons that people feel they must take the lives of family members before they take their own my be varied.  But, for whatever reason they feel it is a necessity, we the living need a solid hope for ourselves, the survivors of these victims, or people who sincerely want to help others to cope.  The following articles should help.

 
 
 
 
Suicide

Internet Suicides

Awake! 2004 11/22 28

Divorce, unemployment, and drug and alcohol abuse continue to be cited as the main factors contributing to a “large increase in suicides among young men” in England and Wales, according to an article in The Times of London. But Internet chat rooms where young people meet and arrange suicides are causing increasing concern. “The internet itself attracts those most prone to suicide: young men. Seventy-five per cent of suicides are by men and 80 per cent of those are committed by men aged 15 to 24,” says the paper. There may be thousands of so-called death sites on the Internet. “Most participants in suicide websites feel unloved and already seem to be contemplating suicide, or have attempted it, and there is plenty of advice on how not to be talked out of it,” the article adds. Some sites encourage the potential suicide victim to follow through with his plans rather than change his mind.

 

Why People Give Up on Life

 

Awake! 2001 10/22 3-7

Each way to suicide is its own: intensely private, unknowable, and terrible.”—Kay Redfield Jamison, psychiatrist.

“IT IS suffering to live.” That is what Ryunosuke Akutagawa, a popular writer in early 20th-century Japan, wrote shortly before committing suicide. However, he prefaced that statement with the words: “Of course, I do not want to die, but . . .”

Like Akutagawa, many of those who take their life do not want to die as much as they want “to end whatever is going on,” stated one psychology professor. The wording so commonly found in suicide notes suggests as much. Such phrases as ‘I could not take it any longer’ or ‘Why go on living?’ show a deep desire to escape life’s harsh realities. But as one expert described it, committing suicide is “like treating a cold with a nuclear bomb.”

Although the reasons why people commit suicide vary, certain events in life commonly trigger suicide.

Triggering Events

It is not uncommon for young ones who give in to despair and commit suicide to do so even over matters that may seem trivial to others. When they feel hurt and cannot do anything about it, youths may view their own death as a means of getting back at those who have hurt them. Hiroshi Inamura, a specialist in handling suicidal people in Japan, wrote: “Through their own death, children cherish an inner urge to punish the person who has tormented them.”

A recent survey in Britain indicated that when children are subjected to severe bullying, they are nearly seven times as likely to attempt suicide. The emotional pain that these children suffer is real. A 13-year-old boy who hanged himself left behind a note naming five people who had tormented him and had even extorted money from him. “Please save other children,” he wrote.

Others may try to take their life when they get into trouble at school or with the law, suffer the end of a romance, get a bad report card, experience stress over exams, or become weighed down by worries about the future. Among high-achieving adolescents who may tend to be perfectionists, a setback or a failure—be it actual or imaginary—may bring on a suicide attempt.

For adults, financial or work-related problems are common triggering events. In Japan after years of economic downturn, suicides recently topped 30,000 a year. According to the Mainichi Daily News, almost three quarters of the middle-aged men who killed themselves did so “because of problems stemming from debts, business failures, poverty and unemployment.” Family problems too may lead to suicide. A Finnish newspaper reported: “Recently divorced middle-aged men” make up one of the high-risk groups. A study in Hungary found that the majority of girls who contemplate suicide were reared in broken homes.

Retirement and physical illness are also major triggering factors, especially among the elderly. Often suicide is chosen as a way out, not necessarily when an illness is terminal, but when the patient views the suffering as intolerable.

However, not everybody reacts to these triggering events by committing suicide. On the contrary, when faced with such stressful situations, the majority do not take their life. Why, then, do some view suicide as the answer, while most do not?

Underlying Factors

“Much of the decision to die is in the construing of events,” says Kay Redfield Jamison, professor of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She adds: “Most minds, when healthy, do not construe any event as devastating enough to warrant suicide.” Eve K. Mościcki, of the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, notes that many factors—some of them underlying—work together to lead to suicidal behavior. Such underlying factors include mental and addictive disorders, genetic makeup, and brain chemistry. Let us consider some of them.

Foremost among these factors are mental and addictive disorders, such as depression, bipolar mood disorders, schizophrenia, and alcohol or drug abuse. Research in both Europe and the United States indicates that more than 90 percent of completed suicides are associated with such disorders. In fact, Swedish researchers found that among men who were not diagnosed with any disorders of that kind, the suicide rate was 8.3 per 100,000, but among the depressed it jumped to 650 per 100,000! And experts say that the factors leading to suicide are similar in Eastern lands. Still, even the combination of depression with triggering events does not make suicide inevitable.

Professor Jamison, who once attempted suicide herself, says: “People seem to be able to bear or tolerate depression as long as there is the belief that things will improve.” However, she has found that as the cumulative despair becomes unbearable, the ability of the mental system to restrain suicidal impulses gradually weakens. She likens the situation to the way that the brakes on a car are worn thin by constant stress.

It is vital to recognize such a trend because depression can be treated. Feelings of helplessness can be reversed. When the underlying factors are dealt with, people may react differently to the heartaches and stresses that often trigger suicide.

Some think that one’s genetic makeup may constitute an underlying factor in many suicides. True, genes play a role in determining one’s temperament, and studies reveal that some family lines have more incidents of suicide than others. Yet, “a genetic predisposition to suicide by no means implies that suicide is inevitable,” says Jamison.

Brain chemistry too can be an underlying factor. In the brain billions of neurons communicate electrochemically. At the branched-out ends of the nerve fibers, there are small gaps called synapses across which neurotransmitters carry information chemically. The level of one neurotransmitter, serotonin, may be involved in a person’s biological vulnerability to suicide. The book Inside the Brain explains: “A low serotonin level . . . can dry up the wellsprings of life’s happiness, withering a person’s interest in his existence and increasing the risk of depression and suicide.”

The fact is, however, that nobody is destined to commit suicide. Millions of people cope with heartaches and stresses. It is the way the mind and the heart react to pressures that leads some to kill themselves. Not just the immediate triggering causes but the underlying factors must also be dealt with.

So, then, what can be done to create a more positive outlook that will regenerate a measure of zest for life?

[Box on page 6]

Gender and Suicide

  According to a study in the United States, while women are two to three times more likely to attempt suicide than men, men are four times more likely to succeed. Women are at least twice as likely as men to suffer from depression, which may account for the greater number of suicide attempts. However, their depressive illnesses may be less violent, and thus they may turn to less violent means. Men, on the other hand, may tend to use more aggressive and decisive means to make sure they succeed.

  In China, however, more women than men succeed. In fact, a study reveals that some 56 percent of the world’s female suicides occur in China, especially in rural areas. It is said that one of the reasons for impulsive female suicide attempts leading to completed suicides there is the easy access to lethal pesticides.

[Box/Picture on page 7]

Suicide and Loneliness

  Loneliness is one of the factors that lead people to depression and suicide. Jouko Lönnqvist, who headed a study of suicides in Finland, said: “For a great number [of those who had committed suicide], everyday life was lonely. They had lots of spare time but few social contacts.” Kenshiro Ohara, a psychiatrist at Hamamatsu University School of Medicine in Japan, commented that “isolation” was behind the recent surge in suicides by middle-aged men in that country.

[Picture on page 5]

For adults, financial or work-related problems are common triggering events

 


When You Feel Like Giving Up on Life


Awake! 1/2012 18

 

EACH year tens of thousands of people in the United States alone attempt to take their own life. The Bible gives a fundamental reason why many are in such a state of despair. It explains that we live in “critical times hard to deal with.” People feel the pressures of life with great intensity. (2 Timothy 3:1; Ecclesiastes 7:7) When a person is overwhelmed by life’s anxieties, he may contemplate suicide as a means to escape pain. What can you do if you have had such thoughts?

 

You Are Not Alone!


 

Even though your situation may seem desperate, remember that you are not alone and that sadly nearly everyone is coping with some type of problem today. The Bible states: “All creation keeps on groaning together and being in pain together.” (Romans 8:22) While in the short term it may seem that your problem will never be resolved, things often do improve with the passing of time. In the meantime, what can help?

Share your feelings with a mature, trusted friend. The Bible says: “A true companion is loving all the time, and is a brother that is born for when there is distress.” (Proverbs 17:17) The righteous man Job, described in the Bible, opened up to others during his period of turmoil. When he felt what he referred to as “a loathing toward my life,” he stated: “I will give vent to my concern about myself. I will speak in the bitterness of my soul!” (Job 10:1) Confiding in others can diminish the intensity of your emotions, and it may give you a fresh perspective on the problems you face.

 

Pour out your heart to God in prayer. Some have the idea that prayer is just a psychological crutch, but the Bible says otherwise. Psalm 65:2 calls Jehovah God the “Hearer of prayer,” and 1 Peter 5:7 says: “He cares for you.” The Bible repeatedly stresses the importance of relying on God. For example:

 

“Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. In all your ways take notice of him, and he himself will make your paths straight.”—PROVERBS 3:5, 6.

 

“The desire of those fearing [Jehovah] he will perform, and their cry for help he will hear, and he will save them.”—PSALM 145:19.

 

“This is the confidence that we have toward him, that, no matter what it is that we ask according to his will, he hears us.”—1 JOHN 5:14.

 

“Jehovah is far away from the wicked ones, but the prayer of the righteous ones he hears.”—PROVERBS 15:29.

If you tell God the difficulties you face, he will provide help. For good reason, the Bible encourages you to “trust in him at all times . . . Before him pour out your heart.”—Psalm 62:8.

 

When More Is Needed


 

Studies reveal that most people who take their life have a history of depression. This underscores the fact that medical attention may be necessary. A physician may prescribe medication or recommend dietary adjustments. In some cases, a program of exercise is an effective supplement to treatment. Professional medical care has proved beneficial to many.

 

The Bible contains much information that can give you support and hope. For example, at Revelation 21:4, the Bible says regarding Jehovah God: “He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.” This is a divine promise, and meditating on it can provide relief.

 

Jehovah’s Witnesses are sharing this Bible-based hope with millions of people around the world. As a result, many are finding genuine hope in these distressful times. For more information, contact Jehovah’s Witnesses in your area by visiting your local Kingdom Hall, or write to the appropriate address on page 5 of this magazine. You can also visit our Web site www.watchtower.org.

 

[Footnotes]

 

Some have received help by calling a suicide-prevention center or a mental-health center.

For more information on depression, see the July 2009 issue of Awake! pages 3-9.

Awake! does not endorse any particular treatment. Each individual should carefully evaluate his options before making a personal decision.

 

[Box on page 16]

 

HELP FROM THE BIBLE


 

● “Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God; and the peace of God that excels all thought will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus.”—Philippians 4:6, 7.

● “I inquired of Jehovah, and he answered me, and out of all my frights he delivered me.”—Psalm 34:4.

● “Jehovah is near to those that are broken at heart; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.”—Psalm 34:18.

● “He is healing the brokenhearted ones, and is binding up their painful spots.”—Psalm 147:3.

[Box on pages 17, 18]

 

IF YOU HAVE THOUGHTS OF SUICIDE . . .

 

Share your feelings with a trusted friend

Pour out your heart to God in prayer

Seek medical advice

 

[Box/Picture on page 18]

 

FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY


 

Family members and close friends are often the first to recognize that a distressed individual is contemplating suicide. Taking action can save that one’s life! Be an empathetic listener. Acknowledge the reality of the difficulties that he or she is undergoing. The Bible says: “Speak consolingly to the depressed souls.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14) Urge the distressed one to get help, and when necessary, follow through to make sure that such help is arranged.

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