Suicide
In researching suicide, I found that the numbers are staggering. Suicide is the ninth leading cause of death in the US, with 31,204 deaths recorded in 1995. It was at number eight on the list in 1998, and as the numbers are steadily increasing it threatens to move up the list. This approximates to around one death every seventeen minutes. There are more suicides than homicides each year in the United States. In 1993, the suicide rate was 11.3/100,000. Two-thirds of all suicides under the age of 25 were committed with firearms (accounting for most of the increase in suicides from 1980 to 1992). The second most common method was hanging, third was poisoning. 61% of all suicides involve firearms. From 1952 to 1992 suicides among teens nearly tripled. Today, it is the third leading cause of death for teenagers aged 15-19 (after motor vehicle accidents and unintentional injury). Suicide is increasing, particularly for teens and for those over 65.In young people, the suicide rate is relatively low (13.5/100,000 in 1993), but it is still a leading cause of death. In older people, the suicide rate is very high, but it is not a leading cause of death (in white males over 85, the suicide rate in 1993 was 73.6/100,000). In all ag
An important statistic of suicide prevention is that for every suicide there is five attempted and failed suicides. Attempted suicide needs to be taken more seriously. People who had previously attempted suicide carry out more than half of successful suicides. The problem is that often patients of attempted suicide only get emergency treatment. Many have been in hospitals several times, but never receive psychiatric treatment. In order for many patients to get on the road to recovery they need to be evaluated and helped. Another aspect that should be taken more seriously is that people who threaten suicide are often more disturbed than people who attempt suicide. They are searching for attention and are reaching out for someone to help them. When people respond harshly to the threats the result is often suicide. A problem for doctors in helping suicidal patients is that often the doctor doesn't seem to feel the same deep concern as he does for other patients with medical problems that are life-threatening. Another surprising or should I say confusing area is depression and its relation to suicide. Most suicides occur by people who are suffering from depression. Certain life difficulties such as the loss of a loved one, divorce, stress at work, or a series of disappointments can contribute to depression. And sometimes, depression may just run in the family. More than 19 million Americans, appr
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Approximate Word count = 954
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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