2. Suicides by age group
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
5 to 14 15 to 24 25 to 34 35 to 44 45 to 54 55 to 64 65 to 74 75 to 84 85 plus
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Ages
Series1
Statistics provided by American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention (2007)
5. “The cruelty to which you subject your
body in this method is only one of its
shocking features. There’s also the will to
leave in a public or semi-public setting
your charred corpse. The reality is that
we’re shocked senseless by self-
immolation, especially when, as in these
cases, it has no political or spiritual
motive. Without those motives we’re
forced back on sheer vindictive rage —
against oneself, against the world.” ---
Margaret Solten, English Professor at
George Washington University
6. Schizophrenia
Alcohol or drug abuse, particularly when combined
with depression
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, or some other anxiety
disorder
Bulimia or anorexia nervousa
Personality disorders especially borderline or
antisocial
At least 90 percent of people who kill
themselves have a diagnosable and
treatable psychiatric illnesses -- such
as major depression, bipolar
depression, or some other depressive
illness, including:
8. Cyberbullying
“The Associated Press found at least 12 cases in
the U.S. since 2003 in which children and young
adults between 11 and 18 killed themselves after
falling victim to some form of "cyberbullying" –
teasing, harassing or intimidating with pictures or
words distributed online or via text message.”
Photo of 13-year-old
Ryan Halligan, who
committed suicide as
a result of cyber
bullying
10. White people have the highest suicide rate in the
United States
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
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Race
Series1
11. Mourning the suicides of two High School
sophomores killed by an Amtrak Acela
train in Norwood, PA
Suicide Pact?
12. 1938: Crowd of people stand outside the
Gotham hotel in New York City watching
John Ward threaten to jump from the 17th
18. The American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention found:
50 percent to 75 percent of people having
suicidal thoughts gave some indication to a friend
or family member
1. Take it seriously
2. Always be willing to listen
3. Do not hesitate to seek professional
help
4. If there has been a previous suicide
attempt make sure that person receives
appropriate treatment
19. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention:
Risk Factors?
20. “Suicide wounds because it throws
in our faces, forces a confrontation
with, the foundation of our
willingness to live. The question Why
did they do it? Can’t really be
answered; but the question Why
don’t we? Can. It can be answered,
and it should be posed,” ---Margaret
Solten
Notas del editor
As the statistics provided by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention there was a total of 34,598 completed suicides in the year 2007 as shown in this chart the rates of suicide greatly increase as people reach middle age. Those within the age range of 45 to 54 have the highest suicide rate of any other age group in the country. In Comparison, according to the Mental Health Association of Westchester county in New York, approximately 1,088 suicides take place on college campuses across the United States each year.
Audio: In September there were two highly publicized suicides on the Wesleyan University campus in Middletown, Connecticut and the Rutgers University campus in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Both are well-known universities with high academic ratings. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention says that “At least 90 percent of people who kill themselves have a diagnosable and treatable illness” However, all too often their illness is not caught in time and even when it is those people are already too far gone. But how far is too far?
On the left is a picture of Barbara Johnson, mother of the late actor Christopher Reeve, and Rutgers University President Richard L. McCormick at the 2005 Graduation ceremony. The picture on the right is a picture of president Obama giving a speech to the 2008 Wesleyan Graduates.
21-year-old Wesleyan student, Nora Miller graduated at the top of Middletown High School’s class of 2006 with 12 state track titles and a gold medal in the Junior Olympics Long jump was found burned alive and unidentifiable On Monday, September 13, 2010. Miller drenched herself in unidentified flammable liquids and lit a match that ultimately ended her life. She suffered from a severe form of depression diagnosed three years ago according to her mother, Patricia Miller. Nora was found hours later on that Monday morning with burns covering one hundred percent of her body. She was airlifted to the hospital and later died in the Bridgeport Hospital burn unit. Her last facebook status “When there’s nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire” a quote from the band Stars album My ex lover is dead were the final words of the talented athlete.
English Professor at George Washington University, Margaret Solten said,
“Suicide wounds because it throws in our faces, forces a confrontation with, the foundation of our willingness to live. The question Why did they do it? Can’t really be answered; but the question Why don’t we? Can. It can be answered, and it should be posed,”
[This quote by Solten was an analysis in response to the recent suicide of Wesleyan student Nora Miller. In essence, her remarks reflect the idea suicide performed in such a brutal public display shows that these students felt that they had no other way out. Similarly, Solten relates Miller’s suicide to that of Rutger’s Freshman Tyler Clementi and despite their different methods, the idea that against oneself, against the world, as she put it].
AUDIO: In respoonse to the suicide of Nora Miller, Margaret Solten, English professor at George Washington University said, “The cruelty to which you subject your body in this method is only one of its shocking features. There’s also the will to leave in a public or semi-public setting your charred corpse. The reality is that we’re shocked senseless by self-immolation, especially when, as in these cases, it has no political or spiritual motive. Without those motives we’re forced back on sheer vindictive rage — against oneself, against the world.”
AUDIO: Weeks after Miller’s suicide Rutgers University freshman and talented violenist, Tyler Clementi leapt off of the George Washington Bridge in New York City on September 22, 2010. When a practical joke had gone too far he felt that the only way to escape his humiliation was suicide. After a web cam set up in their dorm room by his roommate broadcast clementi’s private sexual encounters with another male on the popular social networking site facebook was a sufficient reason to end his own life. His public display should have sent a constructive realization and message to those who have partaken in “cyberbullying” or any other forms of harrassment or discriminiation of any kind.
Statistics showing different methods of suicide from suicide.org in 2001 showed that using firearms is the most popular suicide method with 55.1% of completed suicides, hanging is second with 20.2% of completed suicides, poisoning with 17%, falling or jumping off of something has 2.1%, cutting 1.3%, drowning 1.1% and suicides involving the use of fire is 0.5% of all completed suicides.
A crowd of people stand nervously by, watching John Ward, 26, who was threatening to jump off the 17th story ledge of The Gotham hotel in New York, July 26, 1938. Several times the crowd scurried backwards as it appeared Ward would leap from his precarious perch. (AP Photo/Tony Camerano)
In March 2010,
AUDIO: In March of 2010, a 21-year-old, Yale University student plunged to his death from the Empire State building’s 86th floor observation deck. Cameron Dabaghi is another example of a student who appeared ordinary on the outside, but no one knew what he really felt on the inside. Dabaghi was one more horrific public demonstration to show the world how powerful his feelings were on the inside.
Montgomery County Sheriffs Dept. officer Sharon Perry views a large quilt dedicated to those who have committed suicide during a gathering to commemorate Suicide Awareness Week in Alabama at the Capitol in Montgomery Wednesday, Sept. 8, 2004. More people die from suicide in Alabama than from homicides each year. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)
In this photo taken March 16, 2010, a rose hangs on Cornell University's Suspension Pedestrian bridge looking into the Fall Creek Gorge below in Ithaca, N.Y. Cornell University, an Ivy League school known for its spectacular gorges and haunted by a reputation for suicides, took the extraordinary step of posting lookouts on bridges and going door-to-door to check on students after three undergrads plunged to their deaths in the past month. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)
AUDIO:This photo of the Surgeon General, taken July 28, 1999 as he declared suicide a serious public health threat for the first time, recognizing that suicide is a major issue worldwide and introducing a national strategy of prevention by launching an effort to educate school counselors, parents and even hairdressers on how to spot signs of trouble according to the Department of Health and Human Services U.S. Public Health Service
AUDIO:Someone may be at risk if they have a history of suicide, mental illness, substance abuse, or child maltreatment. Other factors include previous suicide attempts, impulsive or aggressive tendencies, isolation, recent loss of someone close, physical illness, cultural or religious beliefs and feelings of hopelessness,
Audio: “Suicide wounds because it throws in our faces, forces a confrontation with, the foundation of our willingness to live. The question Why did they do it? Can’t really be answered; but the question Why don’t we? Can. It can be answered, and it should be posed,
