US suicide rates have risen by 41 percent in just three years.
People in their late 30s and 40s are experiencing these four indicators of despair.
People in their late 30s and 40s are experiencing these four indicators of despair.
Depression, suicidal ideation, drug and alcohol abuse are on the rise among those approaching middle age, new research finds.
People in their late 30s and early 40s are now more likely than ever to experience these indicators of despair.
So-called Generation X-ers, born around the 1960s and 70s are becoming more desperate, regardless of ethnicity, education and geography.
The conclusions come from a survey that tracked the mental health of thousands of Americans born between 1974 and 1983.
The results showed that while adolescence was typically a rocky period, people felt happier in their 20s.
However, by the time they reached their late 30s and 40s, the indicators of despair were on the increase.
Previously, it was thought this dip in mental health in mid-life was linked to one particular demographic group: white people with low education in rural areas.
Dr Lauren Gaydosh, the study’s first author, explained:
“What we wanted to do in this paper was to examine whether the factors that may be predictive of those causes of death — substance use, suicidal ideation and depression — are isolated to that particular population subgroup, or whether it’s a more generalized phenomenon.”
Instead, it turned out the trend was more broad, said Dr Gaydosh:
“We found that despair has increased in this cohort, but that increases are not restricted to non-Hispanic whites with low education.
Instead, the increase in despair that occurs across the 30s is generalized to the entire cohort, regardless of race, ethnicity, education, and geography.”
Dr Gaydosh is worried the indicators of despair will worsem:
“Public health efforts to reduce these indicators of despair should not be targeted toward just rural whites, for example, because we’re finding that these patterns are generalized across the population.”
The study was published in the American Journal of Public Health (Gaydosh et al., 2019).
The lowest suicide rate is in education, training and library jobs.
The lowest suicide rate is in education, training and library jobs.
Among US women, the highest suicide rates are among workers in the arts, design, entertainment, sports and media, new research finds.
This includes people who have jobs such as actors, designers, musicians, singers and writers.
Among men, the highest suicide rates are in construction and extraction.
This includes people who have jobs such as carpenters, plumbers, miners and roofers.
The second highest rate of suicides for men was in the same arts and design category as for women.
The lowest suicide rate was seen in education, training and library jobs.
Dr Deb Houry, director of the CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said:
“Increasing suicide rates in the U.S. are a concerning trend that represent a tragedy for families and communities and impact the American workforce.
“Knowing who is at greater risk for suicide can help save lives through focused prevention efforts.”
The study covered over 22,000 Americans and its aim is to help target those who are most at risk.
The study was published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Peterson et al., 2018).
Considering suicide is more common than you might think.
Being different is stressful.
Missing out these simple parenting behaviours increases suicide risk in adolescents.
Missing out these simple parenting behaviours increases suicide risk in adolescents.
Children who are not shown by their parents that they care are significantly more likely to contemplate suicide, research shows.
The study’s authors identified three behaviours which, when lacking, were linked to suicidal thoughts in adolescence:
Adolescents who were rarely or never told by their parents they were proud of them were five times more likely to have suicidal thoughts.
They were also seven times more likely to have a suicide plan and to attempt it.
Adolescents who were never or rarely told they had done a good job or rarely helped with their homework were at similarly increased risk of suicide.
Professor Keith King, who presented the results of the study at the 2017 American Public Health Association conference, said:
“Kids need to know that someone’s got their back, and unfortunately, many of them do not.
That’s a major problem.
Parents ask us all the time, ‘What can we do?’”
You can tell them you’re proud of them, that they did a good job, get involved with them, and help them with their homework.”
The researchers’ conclusions come from a 2012 US national study of parental behaviours and suicidal feelings among adolescents.
Professor Rebecca Vidourek, study co-author, said:
“A key is to ensure that children feel positively connected to their parents and family.”
The study was the study the 2017 American Public Health Association conference (King & Vidourek, 2017).
Study recommends ‘minimal use’ of these commonly prescribed drugs.
Study recommends ‘minimal use’ of these commonly prescribed drugs.
Antidepressants commonly prescribed for children could double the risk of aggression and suicide.
Researchers looked at 68 clinical study reports involving 18,526 patients.
They found that children were at an increased risk when they took antidepressants.
Modern antidepressants are typically SSRIs or the variant SNRIs.
SSRIs are marketed under brand names including Prozac, Paxil and Zoloft.
SNRIs are marketed under brand names including Effexor and Cymbalta.
Even the doubling in risk could be an underestimate, the study’s authors explain:
“The true risk for serious harms is still unknown [because] the low incidence of these rare events, and the poor design and reporting of the trials, makes it difficult to get accurate effect estimates.”
There was no link, though, between taking the drugs and aggression and suicide in adults.
The study’s authors recommend:
“Minimal use of antidepressants in children, adolescents and young adults, as the serious harms seem to be greater, and as their effect seems to be below what is clinically relevant.”
The study was published in the journal BMJ (Sharma et al., 2016).
Child pill image from Shutterstock
Bullied high school students three times as likely to think about suicide.
Bullied high school students three times as likely to think about suicide.
Regular exercise for high school students can reduce suicide by 23%, a new study finds.
Exercise had a beneficial effect on both suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts.
The study is the first to show that exercise can help students who are being bullied.
Dr Jeremy Sibold, who led the research, said:
“I was surprised that it was that significant and that positive effects of exercise extended to kids actually trying to harm themselves.
Even if one kid is protected because we got them involved in an after-school activity or in a physical education program it’s worth it.”
The US survey of 13,583 high school students found that physical activity on four or more days was linked to a 23% reduction in suicidal ideation and attempts.
The survey also revealed that:
Bullied students were twice as likely to report sadness and three times as likely to think about suicide or try to act on those thoughts.
Despite the benefits of exercise, many school administrators across the US are cutting physical education.
Currently only around half of young people in the US meet minimum standards for exercise (at least 60 minutes per day).
Dr Sibold said:
“It’s scary and frustrating that exercise isn’t more ubiquitous and that we don’t encourage it more in schools.
Instead, some kids are put on medication and told ‘good luck.’
If exercise reduces sadness, suicide ideation, and suicide attempts, then why in the world are we cutting physical education programs and making it harder for students to make athletic teams at such a critical age?”
The research was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (Sibold et al., 2015).
Sad teen image from Shutterstock
Join the free PsyBlog mailing list. No spam, ever.
