Suicide:
The Spirit of Deception- Pt 1
I felt
compelled due to the seemingly rising deaths of suicide that I needed to
research and look into why? And what can I do to help someone, or even give
information to help someone else become aware of this tragedy. I pray this
helps you or someone you know.
The
definition of suicide according to Webster’s:
-- the
act of someone who kills himself or herself purposely
- to
put (oneself) to death
-- 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.
It is
estimated by the World Health Organization that about one million people die
each year by their own hands (suicide). And a study by UC Davis reports suicide
outnumbers homicide 2-to-1. The Guardian reports that for every 40 seconds suicide
kills one person worldwide.
-Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the
US for all ages
-There is one death by suicide in the US
every 13 minutes
IrishCentral is
reporting that in Ireland 2 people every day die by their own hands.
-According to the Aptn
National News, reportedly suicide took 40 people over a 3 month period from
November 2014 to January 2015 of the aboriginal youth.
-Connecticutmag.com is
stating their state as one the nation’s highest for suicide rates, claiming nearly
one death every day.
-The Dept. of Defense
for the 1st quarter of 2015 reports from Jan.-March 57 suicides
among service members active component, 15 members in reserve, and 27 in
National Guard.
-Greek suicide rates
surge 35% in the last two years following austerity-related events.
-16 people killed
themselves last year by jumping off the Coronado Bridge in San Diego.
-According to CABL of
Brown University, suicide rates are increasing in black children while
decreasing in white children. That letter was issued in June 18, 2015.
-Tulane University in
the week of Mardi Gras, several students committed suicide in which one was a
murder-suicide where a man killed his girlfriend and then himself. Studies at
that University showed that thoughts of suicide have increased by 118% to 400
students the past Fall.
-Depression affects
20-55% of Americans ages 18+ in a given year
Both
teenagers and older adults are at a higher risk of suicide.
Teenage
suicide is a serious and growing problem. The teenage years can be emotionally
turbulent and stressful. Teenagers face pressures to succeed and fit in. They
may struggle with self-esteem issues, self-doubt, and feelings of alienation.
For some, this leads to suicide. Depression is also a major risk factor for
teen suicide.
And
for the older people generally the elderly:
The
highest suicide rates of any age group occur among persons aged 65 years and
older. One contributing factor is depression in the elderly that is undiagnosed
and untreated.
Talking
to a friend or family member about their suicidal thoughts and feelings can be
extremely difficult for anyone. But if you're unsure whether someone is
suicidal, the best way to find out is to ask. You can't make a person suicidal
by showing that you care. In fact, giving a suicidal person the opportunity to
express his or her feelings can provide relief from loneliness and pent-up
negative feelings, and may prevent a suicide attempt.
A way
of opening up to the person of concern is:
• I have been feeling concerned about you
lately.
• Recently, I have noticed some differences
in you and wondered how you are doing.
• I wanted to check in with you because you
haven’t seemed yourself lately.
And as
they begin to seem receptive to your concern and wanting to give up is indeed
what is going on; you can ask questions such as:
• When did you begin feeling like this?
• Did something happen that made you start
feeling this way?
• How can I best support you right now?
• Have you thought about getting help? Can I
pray for you?
Here
are some things you can say that might help:
• You are not alone in this. I’m here for
you.
• You may not believe it now, but the way
you’re feeling will change.
• I may not be able to understand exactly how
you feel, but I care about you and want to help.
• When you want to give up, tell yourself you
will hold off for just one more day, hour, minute—whatever you can manage.
One of
the most terrifying aspects of this tragedy is that the act of committing suicide
can happen suddenly, and most of the time, looking at the person from the
outside you wouldn’t know that there was a turmoil going on inside. I need to
show you some of the stories I found to help you understand what I mean and how
important it is to talk and check on each other and loved ones.
A NYPD
sergeant went home April 12th, 2015 and while his wife and two
children were in another part of the house, Sgt. Jim Fitzpatrick walked into
the master bedroom and pulled the trigger of his service weapon and killed himself. Neighbors said
he was very family-oriented. He was a family guy and he took his kids to all
the sporting events. They said, “he was all about his kids.”
Beautiful
Jayah Ram Jackson 15, she was a student at NEST+m, a lower east-side school for
gifted children. Jayah walked up to the roof of her Grandmother’s Amsterdam
Ave. building around 10:47 am and jumped 27 floors to her death. Her recent
posts on Facebook portrayed she was gripped by loneliness and depression. And the
most tragic part of this story is, a surveillance camera captured her sitting
alone on the roof for two hours, she then went downstairs and casually chatted with
her grandma for 30 minutes before she returned to the roof and jumped. “She was
a sweet girl”, says the doorman, I never knew she had problems.
Madison
Holleran 19, a student at University of Pennsylvania jumped to her death from a
parking lot garage. She was a beautiful athlete who ran track & field and
according to others, was always happy-go-lucky. Madison left a note apologizing
to her parents and grandparents telling them she loved them.
August
7, 2015 a woman jumped to her death inside Shanghai IAPM mall that morning.
They believe it was related to China’s stock market taking a dive.
Izabel
Laxamana 13, from Tacoma Washington, got out of a car and jumped from a highway
overpass, landing on Interstate 5 below. She was rushed to a hospital where she
later died. Izabel took her own life after her father recorded a video of him
punishing her by cutting off her hair.
Other
horrific stories around the country and world are just as disturbing;
Epidemic
of Suicide by Wall Street Executives: by the Mint Press News stated that Thomas
J.Hughes 29, fell 24 stories to his death. His father stated, “my son was under
a lot of stress.” His death was the latest in a series of Wall Street workers
since 2014.
In a
phone call from Sarvshreshth Gupta 22, he told his father that he had not slept
in two days and was feeling overwhelmed by his work load. He was found outside
his apartment building April 16th where he had jumped from the roof.
Across
the globe in India, farmers have been committing suicide in an alarming rate.
600 farmers in the past 6 months have died, and 2000 in the last year have committed
suicide. Causes relating to this have been blamed on poor crop yield. Gajendra
Singh, a farmer from Rajasthan hung himself from a tree where protesters rally
near India’s Parliament. He left a note saying he suffered crop losses.
I could
go on and on. The stories are sad and disheartening to know that from the young
to the old they felt like there wasn’t a future. To think that whatever they
were going through that it wouldn’t get better or felt like no one could
understand or help. I cannot reiterate enough to please, please, please check
on someone today. Ask questions, look deeper. Don’t take an “I’m okay or fine”
at face value. I understand that some are determined or mentally sick and it
doesn’t matter what you say or do, will not hinder their agenda, but if we can
reach the ones that just needed to be heard and understood isn’t that a
start? God Bless –L.G.
