According to an article found in the New York Times, there is a huge relationship between the number of suicides and the economic trends of a society. The relationship has been tracked since the Great Depression, and shows that in the United States, suicide rates go up the worse the economy is and down the better it is.Though this trend seems almost common sense to some researchers, what has been mixed are the proposed reasons for it. Some argue that the bad economy causes people to develop depression or mental illness, while others say that the root cause is that the economy pushes already mentally vulnerable people further towards suicide.
Even though this distinction requires a far more elaborate analysis of people's previous and current mental conditions, job description, etc. than is currently available, The American Journal of Public Health published an extensive study to try to track rates among different age groups. It showed that only young to middle-aged adults were affected by the economy in terms of suicide rates, with both children and the elderly being unaffected.
Also cited in the study were the potential effects that cultural influences could have placed in terms of the transition. For example, the study mentioned that during the sixties, the suicide rates could have been higher because of the increased social tension and unrest, not just the economy.
The article went on the suggest that this sort of research could help doctors treat patients better by taking the economic and cultural conditions into account when screening for mental illness problems. Public health has a role to play here in terms of educating the public, including health workers, about the negative effects that the economy can have on mental health so that there can be increased awareness. Personally, I think that it also has a responsibility to try to influence people to incorporate healthy things such as meditation into their lives, especially in stressful economic ties in light of the relationship that this has to mental health. This can also include eliminating the stigmas surrounding mental health currently in our culture (things like thinking that it's just weakness) so that people feel like it's acceptable to seek our help.
I think one of the issues that this article highlights is the huge need for attention on the mental health problems in this country. How can we see all of this research and not do anything about it? These statistics about suicide are especially scary. These deaths come as a direct result of pressure from society, etc. These personal communication issues are clearly a public health issue. What can we do to make people realize how important these very preventable issues are?
ReplyDeleteWhile it does make sense that bad economic times would correlate to higher rates of suicide, I agree that this does not answer the entire question. During bad times, many people lose their job and are put under much more stress in their day to day lives which could lead to mental illness if they are at risk for it. Being aware that mental illness becomes more prevalent during bad economic times though could help the health system in their treatment of patients. Health workers and doctors could be more aware of the increased risk of mental illness and adjust their treatment/diagnosis accordingly. More research on the various aspects of the correlation between economic prosperity and suicide would lead to better understanding as well.
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