[Victoribus Spolia]

A couple of articles, David's Spade's sister-in-law and hand-bag designer Kate Spade committed Suicide this week as well as Anthony Bourdain (whose show No Reservations I really enjoyed).

http://www.businessinsider.com/kate-spa ... rms-2018-6

https://pagesix.com/2018/06/08/anthony- ... ide-at-61/

In light of these celebrity deaths, it has been revealed that the U.S. suicide rate has jumped by 30% since 1999 and now every talk-show host thinks he is a therapist and is trying to explain all of this.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-n ... ys-n880926



If one were to look at rates of Suicide overall though, an even grimmer picture can be painted where generally speaking, the more developed nations tend to have higher suicide rates (a couple of exceptions not withstanding).

http://worldpopulationreview.com/countr ... y-country/

(see map in above link)

One must ask; why is this the case and what has changed in the west and developed far-east as to cause an ever-growing rate of suicide?

Think of Japan, Japan has also had a rather high rate of Suicide, as does South Korea which is only rivaled by Europe...

What about being a developed nation makes people kill themselves?

There may be limitless theories, but there are some interesting correlations that should be observed:

1. The countries with the highest suicide rate tend to be comparably wealthy.

2. The countries with the highest suicide rates tend to be the most irreligious.

3. The countries with the highest suicide rates tend to have the lowest birth rates.

These are only correlations, but it ties into the Marxist, Libertarian, Traditionalist, Christian, and Existentialist concerns equally.

People are alienated, have high-time preferences (impulsive tendencies), are decadent, have no sense of ultimate purpose/worth, and lack any sense of authenticity.

Modernity with big governments and instant-gratification culture, removed from any sense of tradition or connection to blood and soil, faith and family, are simply unhappy and downright unstable (mentally).

No statistics about relative happiness for developed nations can be taken seriously when self-destruction is endemic.

Indeed, money isn't everything, and are advanced and egalitarian social-democracies really a more progressive state? a higher echelon of societal evolution? How can such be honestly asserted when the socio-cultural conditions of such nations cause people to want to end their own lives?

Perhaps living in poverty in Liberia with 15 kids is actually better and more human than wearing a suit-and-tie in Tokyo with the latest iphone and a six-figure salary. At the very least it seems, if suicide rates are any indicator, that a life of Liberian rural-poverty surrounded by children and superstition is ultimately a happier and more fulfilling life than urban cosmopolitanism.

That correlation should give people pause, but it isn't.

So bring on the Prozac and straight-jackets, perhaps they are needed in the unthinking march of progress and development.

[Suntzu]

We need to go back to living in mud huts and drinking out of the rivers we bathe and shit in.

[blackjack21]

I think in the Bourdain and Spade cases the nature of "disposable relationships" is probably at the root of it. Some people can be your best friend one moment, and pick up and move on the next as if you were just a part in a movie for them and the show is over. Much of what gets championed as modern simply doesn't work well. Spade left a note, and more or less pinned it on her husband--which I'm guessing means he cheated on her. Apparently, there were also some financial issues. Bourdain is too soon to tell at a deeper level, but apparently his girlfriend had moved on and did so kind of publicly. He was shooting his show, so he was at least productive.

[Victoribus Spolia]

We need to go back to living in mud huts and drinking out of the rivers we bathe and shit in.

I think you might be taking my point a bit too far there bud.

All things in moderation as they say.

[jimjam]

Interesting ….. I was just writing about this to a friend. Our discussion was limited to America. Our observations, admittedly, are antidotal and subjective. Americans, it seems, are stressed, anxiety ridden and, at the far end of the scale, mentally ill. The question arises …. why? The answer can be found, perhaps, in the very nature of an American culture that, from an early age, wants people to strive. Strive for "more". In school we are encouraged to get good grades. Keep pushing for more and more. Have you gone beyond your God given abilities? No no no … do more. In doing more beyond our God given abilities, we now find ourselves striving for a thing we are incapable of achieving. This leads to anxiety and depression. Later in life this dynamic continues in the form of driving people to make more and more money (the measurer of "success") . This is a cool thread. More interesting than the usual meaningless political blather. I'll be back. I now must chat with my 93 year old friend and go jogging by the ocean before the sun sets.

[Decky]

The Rothschild Zionists need more lebansraum. How will they get more land for the reptilians without removing the mammals?

[Pants-of-dog]

This link ismfrom the OP.

http://worldpopulationreview.com/countr ... y-country/

Suicide occurs throughout the world, affecting individuals of all nations, cultures, religions, genders and classes. In fact, statistics show that the countries with the highest suicide rates in the world are incredibly diverse. For example, among the top five are the south Indian island nation of Sri Lanka (35.3 suicides per 100k), South Korea in east Asia (28.3 suicides per 100k) and the eastern European country of Lithuania (32.7 suicides per 100k). A number of other eastern European countries have high suicide rates, including Belarus, Poland and Latvia, all at around 22 suicides per 100k.

In contrast, the only western European nation with a particularly high suicide rate is Belgium, which ranks at number fifteen with 20.5 suicides per 100k. However, it is worth noting that Belgium has some of the world's most liberal laws on doctor-assisted suicide, which is likely to be a factor in its statistics. Interestingly, the country of Bhutan, which is famous for measuring Gross National Happiness, an index used to measure the collective happiness and wellbeing of its population, has a relatively high suicide rate at 11.7 per 100k.

Perhaps surprisingly, many of the most troubled nations in the world have comparatively low suicide rates. Afghanistan has 5.5 suicides per 100k, Iraq has three and Syria has just 2.7. It is not clear if the suicide statistics for these countries reflect suicides committed due to mental health problems and terminal illnesses (which are the primary reasons for suicide in most of the world), or if they also include suicides committed as part of the ongoing conflicts in these countries.

The lowest suicide rates in the world are concentrated in the Caribbean Islands of the Bahamas, Jamaica, Grenada, Barbados and Antigua and Barbuda. Suicide is almost unheard of in each of these countries, with Grenada and Barbados reporting 0.5 and 0.4 suicides per 100k, respectively.

Country Crude Suicide Rate Rank
Sri Lanka 35.3 suicides per 100k 1
Lithuania 32.7 suicides per 100k 2
Guyana 29 suicides per 100k 3
Mongolia 28.3 suicides per 100k 5
South Korea 28.3 suicides per 100k 4
Kazakhstan 27.5 suicides per 100k 6
Suriname 26.6 suicides per 100k 7
Belarus 22.8 suicides per 100k 8
Equatorial Guinea 22.6 suicides per 100k 9
Poland 22.3 suicides per 100k 10
Latvia 21.7 suicides per 100k 11
Hungary 21.6 suicides per 100k 12
Slovenia 21.4 suicides per 100k 13
Belgium 20.5 suicides per 100k 15
Angola 20.5 suicides per 100k 14
Ukraine 20.1 suicides per 100k 17
Russia 20.1 suicides per 100k 16
Japan 19.7 suicides per 100k 18
Estonia 18.9 suicides per 100k 19
Bolivia 18.7 suicides per 100k 20

These are the top twenty countries in terms of suicide rate.

Please note the lack of developed countries except Belgium and Japan.

[Sivad]

People are alienated, have high-time preferences (impulsive tendencies), are decadent, have no sense of ultimate purpose/worth, and lack any sense of authenticity.

Modernity with big governments and instant-gratification culture, removed from any sense of tradition or connection to blood and soil, faith and family, are simply unhappy and downright unstable (mentally).

I agree, but while the sort of traditionalism your advocating did ground people and give them identity/purpose/meaning, it was still a form of bondage because a more meaningful way of life is possible. We have gotten lost in a wasteland of postmodernity but turning back is just not an option. Not only because it's antithetical to the human spirit, but also because the foundational tenets which sustained that traditionalist worldview have been completely debunked. There is no way back, we have to press on.

Indeed, money isn't everything, and are advanced and egalitarian social-democracies really a more progressive state? a higher echelon of societal evolution? How can such be honestly asserted when the socio-cultural conditions of such nations cause people to want to end their own lives?

I'd call it a painful state of transition and growth. It's like going through adolescence, it's scary and confusing, many lose their way and despair, some even give up altogether, but those of us who do develop real maturity realize that it was worth the ordeal.

[Godstud]

[colliric]

I would like to see how these rates compare with the prescription of Anti-Deperessant medication.

I've long suspected that drugs which dull a person's nervous system and affect the brain may cause people to feel as if they can take more risks and actually increase suicides.

People who commit suicide tend NOT to be depressed at the very end. They want to do this, and are happy to "escape the world". The drugs probably ironically push this along.

[Albert]

Interesting ….. I was just writing about this to a friend. Our discussion was limited to America. Our observations, admittedly, are antidotal and subjective. Americans, it seems, are stressed, anxiety ridden and, at the far end of the scale, mentally ill. The question arises …. why? The answer can be found, perhaps, in the very nature of an American culture that, from an early age, wants people to strive. Strive for "more". In school we are encouraged to get good grades. Keep pushing for more and more. Have you gone beyond your God given abilities? No no no … do more. In doing more beyond our God given abilities, we now find ourselves striving for a thing we are incapable of achieving. This leads to anxiety and depression. Later in life this dynamic continues in the form of driving people to make more and more money (the measurer of "success") . This is a cool thread. More interesting than the usual meaningless political blather. I'll be back. I now must chat with my 93 year old friend and go jogging by the ocean before the sun sets.

I believe that is the answer indeed.

@Sivad For me Sivad, the old ways have not been debunk but in fact have been proven to be healthier to the modern way of life. The modern day insanity is the prof of that, to press on is, well suicide.

[colliric]

I believe that is the answer indeed

I sincerely believe there is a degree to which drugs which are designed to "dull emotions and nerves" contribute to these higher suicide rates. Partly because they are presented as the "solution to this dilemma".

Most people who commit suicide successfully are not in their dying moments depressed individuals. In fact they are "escaping" from the depression. Hence drugs that "clear my mind" actually help them make a "cool calculative decision" to successfully murder themselves. I sincerely believe these drugs are unnatural and harmful.

[Albert]

I agree with you, I find that modern pharmaceuticals are not really helping in general.

[jimjam]

What drives a person to take his/her own life? A mental hell commonly manifested by depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia. I believe that many people are predisposed to these conditions at the starting gate which may or may not develop depending on the conditions they experience as their lives unfold. IMO the American culture provides in abundance such conditions. Americans are programed from the get go that they must "achieve". Such achievement is defined by the culture and restricted to their definition. In school achievement is measured by grades. You need to work your ass off to get A's and make it to the "Honor Society". If your grades go too far south …. you are a "failure". What a stark dichotomy …. honor or failure. Think that doesn't create stress depression and anxiety? Think again.

Granted the American culture worships money but it positively mystifies me how many people just do not get that the amount of money you can make in a lifetime is unlimited while the amount of time you get is seriously limited.

Moving on to college it gets worse. You now have to cough up $50,000 - $100,000 @ year for tuition in addition to the honor/failure rat race. You don't have the dough re me? No problem … we'll strap your ass with a third form of stress, anxiety and depression. It's called debt. You've now graduated. Congratulations. You now get to shoot out a few hundred resumes a month in hopes you get a job interview. Not a job …. a fucking interview. Stress, anxiety and depression? Yup.

Now you have entered the "work world" where you are pressured to make as much money as possible at all times. The guy who makes the most money is the "best" ( ). Let's see ….. you owe a couple hundred grand from tuition loans and you are now conditioned to buy … buy ...and buy. Soon you have a giant mortgage and a house full of useless shit purchased by money borrowed from your good friends down at Quicken Loans (they now own your ass for life). Then, your wife gives birth to twins. Stress, depression and anxiety? Good chance. Suicide is now looking like a good option.

Should peace of mind and good will toward mankind be promoted as a primary goal of the culture in lieu of abject materialism? No fucking way. That would not be good for both the economy and the plutocrats.

The above losing formula may be applied to many "Developed" nations.

Me? I've been an "under achiever" all of my life. I am not depressed, have little anxiety and zero debt.

[jimjam]

I sincerely believe there is a degree to which drugs which are designed to "dull emotions and nerves" contribute to these higher suicide rates. Partly because they are presented as the "solution to this dilemma".

Yes and no. Depression, once it takes hold, is a chemical imbalance. A real thing. Not a figment of the imagination. Antidepressants work to put the chemicals back in balance. My wife suffers from depression. Her first husband treated her like shit for 20 years thereby giving depression a good home. If it were not for antidepressants, she would be hospitalized … or dead.

But I also agree with you. Drugs can be way over used.

[colliric]

Yes and no. Depression, once it takes hold, is a chemical imbalance. A real thing. Not a figment of the imagination. Antidepressants work to put the chemicals back in balance. My wife suffers from depression. Her first husband treated her like shit for 20 years thereby giving depression a good home. If it were not for antidepressants, she would be hospitalized … or dead.

But I also agree with you. Drugs can be way over used.

Your wife is a lucky one. She has a good husband.

I sincerely believe these drugs do not work for suicidal cases and for people at risk of immediate suicide they should be removed. I believe a person who is hellbent on actually killing themselves is only going to be "helped" by such drugs.

Of cause my opinion is probably affected by the fact a friend killed himself on such drugs with a delibrate overdose.

[Ter]

I am no expert in the matter of suicide but I would like to add a couple of thoughts here.

Except for people with terminal disease and in great pain, there are a lot of older people in their fifties and sixties who contemplate old age and prefer not to experience it.
Many if not most older people have health issues which grow worse with time. There are conditions with pain, others need special diets, lots of medicines, reduced independence, less choices, less physical fitness, less enjoyment of life, and so on.

For some, the lack of family and friends is sad, and for some, financial concerns are part of retirement. The children are gone their own way, the retirement pension does not allow the same standard of life that one is used to.

Add to that the feeling of being useless. People used to have a professional life, responsibilities, and now there is nothing to look forward to. Except maybe once in a while seeing the grand children, if any. And often one hears of friends and family members who get sick and die.

Not a rosy picture, but for many, this is reality.

[Steve_American]

The OP said that the rate of suicide was going up very fast in developed nations.

Someone tried to divert the discussion by pointing out that the rates in the developed world are not that high, only 2 nations are in the top 20 nations.

The question asked was why is the rate going up *now* in developed nations?

So far noone has mentioned the main cause that I see.

In America it can be called the stealthy end of the American dream. That is, inequality has been rising since Reagan in the 70s. It does not matter that the GDP/person in America is high if 50% of the income goes to the top 5% of families. If that is the case then the people are not that wealthy. [Note I made up that figure as my best seat of my pants guess.]
Even worse, it was not announced that the Gov. would act to keep wages flat while productivity of Americam workers continued going up just about as fast as before the 70s and this let corp. profits skyrocket. The people reacted by going into debt because they were not told that the Gov. would keep their income from going up; so they hoped it would go up and went into debts that they could not pay if their income didn't go up. Many had to borrow on their house as houses prices went up and up in a bubble. In 2008 came the crash. No more easy debt, many lost their house.
. . . The skyrocketing corp. profits fed the inequality.

In Europe it is no doubt the austerity imposed on nations by the ECB and the IMF that is causing the suicides. Not just in the pigs nations but almost all but Germany also have austerity. Especially the UK.

Japan has had economic problems for a few decades now. I predict that Japan's rate started higher but was raised less but the rise started sooner.

S. Korea is different. Not sure what the situation there is with suicide. My economic reading tells me that it didn't suffer much in the crash and the Gov. there is acting to stimulate demand.

The current economic theory was famously called "Supply side economics". MMT, OTOH, is definitely a "Demand side theory". It says spending is always someone's income; so reducing spending is always reducing income. Comp. don't hire when they get cash from a tax cut, comp. hire when they see a rise in demand now or coming in the near future. Here demand = spending by their customers. If the potential customers have declining incomes then the comp. will not see a rise in demand and so will not hire.
. . . Chemicals/drugs may add to the above. But inequality explains a lot of what we see. Especially *unexpected* inequality.

[QatzelOk]

...1. The countries with the highest suicide rate tend to be comparably wealthy.

2. The countries with the highest suicide rates tend to be the most irreligious.

3. The countries with the highest suicide rates tend to have the lowest birth rates.

**Map of USA with colorful pattern of states**

Well, your own country is relatively wealthy, not religious enough for its evangelical cults, and has a low birth rate. And that's who you're targeting this thread to.

So it's good marketing of a thread, even if there's no real theory or information in the OP other than "Make America non-suicidal again."

The stats you quote ignore all the slow suicides via opioids, alcohol, anti-depressants, and media consumption. Along with the hidden suicides behind many vehicle collisions and ODs.

[Zagadka]

Might have something to do with the dismal approach to mental health most countries have, which very often leads to the sole treatment being over prescribing pills.