On July 20, 2017, Chester Bennington, lead singer of the rock band Linkin Park, was found dead in his residency in Palos Verdes State, California (Grow). According to the report given by Los Angeles Police Department, the rock vocalist committed suicide by hanging himself. Right after hearing the report, Linkin Park fans formulated a question: Why would someone, who is on top of his career and has everything anybody would wish for, commit suicide? The truth was Bennington was a victim of sexual abuse at the age of 14. Also, he was addicted to alcohol and suffered clinical depression. But what shocked him the most was the recent death of a close friend. As a result, he committed suicide motivated by his social and health troubles he could not deal with. The way Bennington killed himself is not rare among people neither it is suicide. Suicide is a serious social problem in the US. But what is suicide? According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, suicide is defined as “the act or an instance of taking one’s own life voluntarily and intentionally”. However, these are only words that do not express the real situation behind suicide nor how dramatic and horrifying are the previous moments of committing suicide. The statistics of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention indicates that 122 people commit suicide in the US every day. The most prone to suicide are white men between 45 and 64 years of age. Also, there is an average of 25 attempts per every suicide case.
"More people in the general population die from suicide than homicide in North America. There are almost 11 suicide deaths each year for every 100,000 people living in the United States, and for every suicide, there are between 8 and 25 attempts" (Brent 4203). Based on this research, the great effect of suicide is displayed. According to dictionary.com, suicide can be defined as "the intentional taking of one's own life." Suicide is a major issue for all people, but it most obviously affects those ranging from ten to twenty-four. People need to understand the tremendous ramifications caused from suicide everyday; when people take their lives, others lose their loved ones. Suicide, one of the leading causes of death of numerous people each day, has reached a crisis point for adolescents and young adults, and it needs to be prevented.
Suicide is a severe community health matter which can have lifelong negative consequences on individuals, families, and the society. Reduce suicidal risk factors and increase protective measures are the main objective of suicide prevention. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defined suicide as the “death caused by self-directed injurious behavior with intent to die as a result of the behavior; suicide attempt is “A non-fatal, self-directed, potentially injurious behavior with an intent to die as a result of the behavior; might not result in injury’; and suicidal ideation is “thinking about, considering, or planning suicide” (2015).
Suicide was seen as a just way to die if one was faced with unendurable suffering - be it physical or emotional”. Throughout time, suicide has been viewed and dealt with in countless ways. Recently in America, the problem has grown increasingly. In the past decade, suicide rates have been on the incline; especially among men. According to the New York Times (2013), “From 1999 to 2010, the suicide rate among Americans ages 35 to 64 rose by nearly 30 percent… The suicide rate for middle-aged men was 27.3 deaths per 100,000, while for women it was 8.1 deaths per 100,000”. A 30 percent increase with an average of 19 more male suicides than female suicides is certainly an issue for both genders, and an epidemic for men. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (n.d.), found that in 2010, 38,364 suicides were reported, with 78.9% being men. The economic recession, unemployment, and various other factors are speculated to be responsible for this incline in male suicide. As of 2010, an estimated 30,308 men ended their own lives, and it seems as if there is a great risk of that number increasing each year.
The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has published a fact sheet of statistics on suicide in the United States. In 2007, it is reported that suicide was the tenth leading cause of death. Furthermore, for every suicide committed, eleven were attempted. A total of 34,598 deaths occurred from suicide with an overall rate of 11.3 suicide deaths per 100,000 people. (NIMH, 2010). Risk factors were also noted on this report and listed “depression and other mental disorders, or a substance abuse disorder (often in combination with other mental disorders). More than ninety percent of people who die by suicide have these risk factors (NIMH, 2010).”
There is at least 113 suicides each day or 1 every 13 minutes. Suicide among males is the seventh leading cause of death and the fourteenth leading cause in females. Most suicides are with a firearm and are carried out with a “ Saturday night special”. (Dilaura,Cynthia DiLaura) “More than 90 percent of suicide attempts with a gun are fatal. “ (Brady Campaign) There are a number of reasons why suicide occurs. Stress is the number one cause among our youth, bullies, peer pressure, depression, and abuse. 41,100 people committed suicide in the United States in 2013. Our young teens today does not take time to look deeper into there problem and to seek out a better solution. They are looking for a quick fix but not realizing once the trigger is pulled the result is final with no turning back. Most people who has attempted suicide is more likely to try a second attempt and most have an underlying mental illness. There is many warming that someone may be in a suicide crisis. We most learn how to see things through their eyes. No matter what one is facing in life or the difficult that lie ahead of them Nothing is worth taken your own
Attention Getter: Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. surpassed by accidents and homicide. (According to Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention)
As one may expect, suicide is a huge problem in this country. Many people are trainied to be sucide bombers. However, there are those that commit suicide for other reasons such as not being able to take their way of living anymore, some women take their own lives due to not being able to handle being married to abusive drug addicted husbands. Men take their own lives simply due to not wanting to go on anymore.
In the article “Suicide” on the Opposing Viewpoints website they state “Each year, about thirty thousand people in the United States commit suicide” (“Suicide”).I chose the theme of violence from the novel Kindred, written by the author Octavia Butler. A specific issue that arose within this theme is the act of suicide. Webster Dictionary defines suicide as the act of intentionally causing one 's own death. Suicide is the escape route out of many situations their victims can’t fight. Suicide goes back in history all the way to BC time. One of the first suicide cases was the Greek philosopher Socrates dated on 399 BC May 7. Suicide has been around for several years. This theme relates to kindred because one of the characters commit suicide. . Suicide is a critical conversation in the world today because the suicide rate is increasing rapidly (“Suicide”). It is very common to see someone has committed suicide. The age group that’s being targeted now are young adults, and older celebrities. Teen suicide is a growing health concern. It is the third-leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24, surpassed only by homicide and accidents, according to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Many people take different viewpoints on this issue. Some people feel as though self-murder is there choice. Another viewpoint people feel is, there is always another option than suicide. In society, we feel like you can seek professional help before you try to commit
Every suicide effects more than the individual’s life, in truth it impacts families, communities and economic well-being of our nation. According, Piscopo, Lipari, Cooney, and Glasheen, (2016) “Suicide is an important public health problem in the United States and a tragedy for all involved—families, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and communities. In 2014, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death in the United States overall.1 Among people aged 10 to 34, suicide was the second highest cause of death, and for those aged 35 to 54, it was the fourth highest cause of death” (p. 2).
Suicide rate is a grow problem in the United States according to the American foundation for suicide prevention more than 41,149 suicides were reported in 2013. The highest rate of suicides is committed by adults between age 45-64 and this is especially true amongst the elderly. Older adults are inflected with a terminal disease, loneness and depression and because of this they are committing suicide at a higher rate. Suicide amongst the men is steadily higher than women, in 2013, 77.9% were male and 22.1% were female. Men success rate for suicide is much higher, because their attempt is more lethal, for example, men are more than likely to shot themselves, whereas women are more likely to use poisons to end their life. Suicide Rate committed race/ethnicity was higher among Whites 14.2%, American Indians and Alaska Natives 11.7%, Asians and Pacific Islanders 5.8%, Blacks 5.4% and Hispanics 5.7%. According to the mean method used to commit suicide is a firearm, then suffocation and poisoning. The main cause of suicide is due to mental health condition and depression is at the foremost leading factor.
21 well known celebrities have committed suicide over the past decade (http://nypost.com/2016/02/28/dying-for-fame-21-reality-stars-commit-suicide-in-past-decade/). These were the individuals who we saw everyday and felt as we were truly a part of their lives. From watching great acing in Batman by Heath Leger, to enjoying a soul touching voice from Amy Winehouse. As outsiders whenever we look at these celebrities we wonder, why would they commit suicide? They have everything that any individual would want, from fast cars to riches. Durkheim discusses
“Suicide is the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally especially by a person of years of discretion and of sound mind” (merriam-webster). Suicide has been around for centuries in many different cultures all around the world. Whether it was out of sorrow, frustration, shame, or for relief, it seems that suicide has been frowned upon by most societies. However this was not always the case. In some societies, suicide was an honorable and acceptable alternative to other dishonorable situations. Suicide is a controversial topic and can sometimes be seen as acceptable under certain circumstances.
Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. There are approximately 121 successful suicides a day, and 44,193 a year. Almost 50% of suicides are committed with a firearm. Seven out of ten suicides are committed by white middle aged men. It is proven that men die from suicide 3.5 times more than women; however, it is documented that women try three times more. Over the past 17 years’ suicide rates have increased steadily. Suicide rates are higher in people who are 34 and older. Whites currently hold the highest suicide rate. The most popular form of suicide is with a firearm it accounts for 49.8%. Second is suffocation at 26.8%, then poisoning at 15.4%, and other at 7.9%. No count is kept for people who attempted
Suicide is is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors include mental illness such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, alcoholism, or drug abuse. People choose suicide when they are hopeless or when they think there isn’t anyone that cares for them anymore. They can also choose this if they think there isn’t an end to their suffering or to their problem. Most of the time this happens because of depression and in some cases bullying, it can also happen because of alcohol or because of a major stressful event that has happened. Suicide can really happen anywhere and at any time.Suicide is a problem that exists because the numbers of suicide keep going up and won’t come down.
Suicide: the intentional taking of one’s own life. Each year 34,000 people commit suicide about twice as many deaths as caused by homicide, about 1 death per 15 minutes. People commit suicide as an act of getting away from their everyday problems. Some people argue for legal recognition for a “right to suicide” and allowing physician assistance with that. I believe we should help people come to a better conclusion than to take their own lives.