This article will be discussing suicide, which may be triggering if you are experiencing thoughts of suicide. Your life is precious and worth living. For support, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
Suicide is on the rise in America, according to a new report released by the CDC, the Centers for Disease Control. Using the National Violent Death Reporting System, data was collected from 27 states from 2015 onward. The findings were startling and enlightening.
Suicide By The Numbers
Since 1999, suicide rates increased more than 30% in half of states. In 2016, nearly 45,000 lives were lost to suicide, the report found. That is just shy of the 50,000 lives estimated to have been lost to opioid overdose in 2015. Of leading causes of death in the United States, suicide ranks tent. However, suicide is just one of three leading causes of death which are on the rise. Suicide rates increased in nearly every participating state from less than 6 percent to more than 50 percent. All age groups under the age of 75 experienced an increase of suicide. The largest increase occurred among adults between the ages of 45-64.
Mental Illness Is Not Necessarily A Factor
When a notable individual dies by suicide, mental illness quickly becomes part of the national conversation. Rightfully so, suicide is associated with mental illness and can be a result of untreated mental illness. However, causes for suicide do not have to include mental illness at all. Fifty-four percent of people who died by suicide did not have a known mental health condition. Known is an important term. People may have had mental health conditions which were never officially diagnosed, and mental illness may have been underreported. Still, the number makes a significant suggestion.
Some of the highest contributing factors to the risk of suicide found by the report included:
Relationship problemsSubstance useCrisis “in the past or upcoming two weeks”Criminal/legal problemsPhysical health issuesLoss of housingJob problemFinancial problem
What’s Missing: Trauma
Suicide is a high risk for individuals who have survived one or more trauma events in their life, especially during childhood. Many of the discovered possible contributing factors can be traumatic experiences. Though it is important to dissociate mental illness from suicide, this cannot rule out the experience of trauma and all of its effects, without creating a mental illness diagnosis.
If you are struggling to cope with trauma, there is help available. Call The Guest House Ocala today for information on our residential treatment programs for traumas, addictions, and related mental health issues: 1-855-483-7800