Suicide kills 45,000 men, women and children a year. Society shrugs.
Let friends in your social network know what you are reading about Facebook Email Suicide kills 47,000 men, women and children a year. Society shrugs Though suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in America, efforts to understand and prevent it fall short. But this could be changing Post to Facebook Suicide kills 47,000 men, women and children a year. Society shrugs Though suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in America, efforts to understand and prevent it fall short. But this could be changing Check out this story on tallahassee.com: https://ift.tt/2KOqSQE Cancel Send A link has been sent to your friend’s email address. Posted! A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Join the Conversation To find out more about Facebook commenting please read the Conversation Guidelines and FAQs Suicide kills 47,000 men, women and children a year. Society shrugs The Editorial Board, USA TODAY Published 10:10 a.m. ET Nov. 30, 2018 CLOSE On average, there are more than 128 suicides per day in the United States, attempted by people with and without known mental health conditions. USA TODAY Though suicide is the 10th leading cause of death, efforts to understand and prevent it fall short. But this could be changing: Our view A new mural of the late Anthony Bourdain in Santa Monica, California. (Photo: Chris Pizzello/AP) CONNECT COMMENT EMAIL MORE If a killer roaming America left 47,000 men, women and children dead each year, you can bet society would be demanding something be done to end the scourge. Well, such a killer exists. It’s called suicide, and the rate of it has steadily risen. Yet the national response has been little more than a shrug, apart from raised awareness whenever celebrities — fashion designer Kate Spade and renowned chef Anthony Bourdain, to name two this year — are tragically found dead by their own hand. USA TODAY’s comprehensive look at this public health crisis and its ripple effect, published Wednesday, includes a daughter’s heart-wrenching narrative of losing a mother to suicide, as told by former Cincinnati Enquirer Managing Editor Laura Trujillo. Although suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in America, efforts to understand and prevent it fall dismally short. The National Institutes of Health, by far the world’s largest underwriter of biomedical study, spent $68 million last year on suicide — a relatively small amount compared with NIH funds devoted to other leading killers. Kidney disease leaves about as many dead, yet it receives nine times the research funding. Indeed, the NIH spent more than twice the suicide research sum to better understand inflammatory bowel syndrome and even more on dietary supplements.
Suicide rates across the U.S. (Photo: USA TODAY) The NIH says that it spends billions on mental health research and that this indirectly prevents suicide, but that’s misleading: Millions of Americans suffer emotional problems, and relatively few resort to suicide. Society needs to know why this is, and only further study can answer the question. Federal government priorities often mirror what matters to politicians and, ultimately, the general public, which for too long has seemed mired in complacency about suicide. There have been no concerted campaigns similar to those targeting leading killers such as HIV or breast and prostate cancers. This could be changing. A new survey funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention shows that 94 percent of Americans believe that suicide is preventable , and the foundation is advocating an increase in NIH suicide funding, to $150 million. “The public is starting to get it,” says foundation CEO Robert Gebbia. Even limited investments have borne fruit: ►The military and the Department of Veterans Affairs invested hundreds of millions of dollars after suicide rates tripled in the Army during recent wars, then kept climbing among a generation of young veterans. The VA has developed an algorithm to identify the most at-risk patients as a way to focus more intensive care. Preliminary results have been encouraging, with lower mortality rates. ►Studies show that reducing access to lethal means saves lives, and states with stronger gun control laws now see reduced rates of suicide. Construction began this year on a massive, stainless steel net slung under the Golden Gate Bridge to end that San Francisco landmark’s dark history as a prime site for suicide. ►With proven benefits of intervention, President Donald Trump this year signed a bill to examine the feasibility of creating a 911-style, three-digit emergency number for more easy access to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255). Scientists have established that the self-destructive urge is often fleeting. Where counseling, better coping skills and reduced access to a lethal means help the distraught to endure this moment, people can survive. It’s one of the reasons why nine out of 10 people who attempt suicide , studies show, do not ultimately kill themselves. Where there is life, there is hope. CONNECT COMMENT EMAIL MORE Read or Share this story: https://ift.tt/2KOqSQE From The USA TODAY NETWORK These sites are part of the USA TODAY NETWORK. Their content is produced independently from our newsrooms. More Stories
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