Discussion Suicide Contagion

[ARW3N]

There's a strong body of evidence to suggest that suicide is contagious. Dozens of teens and young adults in the Welsh county borough of Bridgend have killed themselves, almost all by hanging, in an epidemic that became global news.

 

[Step40]

There is a similar situation in North and West Belfast.
Many have put it down to low employment, drug use and the troubles.
I don't know the answer
I do know that this has been happening here for the past 20 years and there will be no deaths for a while and then there will be quite a lot. The week my brother passed there were 10 in that area in one week.
I'm not sure if anyone is aware of the size of Belfast but it really is not a big city in comparison to others.
I remember Bridgend being on the news because there were so many in such a short space of time, the media almost portrayed it as a sickness that had suddenly swept the area!

 

[Despairing]

There is a similar situation in North and West Belfast.
Many have put it down to low employment, drug use and the troubles.
I don't know the answer
I do know that this has been happening here for the past 20 years and there will be no deaths for a while and then there will be quite a lot. The week my brother passed there were 10 in that area in one week.
I'm not sure if anyone is aware of the size of Belfast but it really is not a big city in comparison to others.
I remember Bridgend being on the news because there were so many in such a short space of time, the media almost portrayed it as a sickness that had suddenly swept the area!

Yea, it is shocking.

 

[262653]

The "infected" ones were already latently suicidal. That's the quick explanation that first came to mind. Makes me wondering how the suicides of SS members affect other members.

 

[wordsonscreen]

Bumping this up- I wonder what people think of suicide contagion

 

[Natty]

It's pretty well documented that after celebrity suicides happen suicides in general go up.

A part of it that makes the most sense to me is that seeing others take part in something eliminates part of the stigma.

One of the reasons celebrities coming out as dealing with things like addiction or mental health issues is that it is proven to help lower the stigma associated with those things.

Suicide most certainly carries a massive stigma and seeing or hearing about someone you know doing it helps to break down that barrier.

I know Anthony Bourdain's death really sparked something in me that believe led me down this path.

 

[booray]

I remember very well the morning I read about Anthony Bourdain's death. I had just spent the night in jail after being arrested for possession and had bailed myself out. I was having breakfast in a diner and was shocked to think that he could have killed himself when he had the life I dreamed of having. Little did I know at the time that I would be contemplating ctb myself soon enough, though for me it will be SN rather than hanging. My ctb will not be an impulsive act like his obviously was.

 

[Natty]

My ctb will not be an impulsive act like his obviously was.

If you think his death was an impulsive act then you did not know the man. You shouldn't make such assumptions about one of the best people this world has seen.

 

[booray]

If you think his death was an impulsive act then you did not know the man. You shouldn't make such assumptions about one of the best people this world has seen.

He was scheduled to shoot scenes for his show the next morning and had an entire production crew waiting on him when news of his ctb was announced. I could be wrong, but that sounds impulsive to me. Whether it was or not, it doesn't diminish him as a person in any way imho.

 

[DeadButDreaming]

It's probably due to the covid lockdowns.

 

[Bedrock48]

I definitely think things like that do happen. For example, I live near a relatively popular suicide bridge. Jumps and people being found on there seem to come in clusters then you won't hear of any incidents for weeks or months. A lot of it could be coincidence but at times I've also felt suicidal around the time I hear of a police presence on the bridge.
I guess it could simply be that one already struggling hears of another's successful attempt and goes 'hey, if they can do it maybe I can to'. Not really sure but it's definitely a curious phenomenon.

 

[Symbiote]

Should watch the dreadful movie called The Happening, where thought tree pollen caused mass people to kill themselves. Also a lot of inventive suicide methods in that movie, but damn the acting was atrocious that it made me want to suicide as well.

 

[Natty]

He was scheduled to shoot scenes for his show the next morning and had an entire production crew waiting on him when news of his ctb was announced. I could be wrong, but that sounds impulsive to me. Whether it was or not, it doesn't diminish him as a person in any way imho

Literally every person on this forum has something planned right now for the future, it's indicative of nothing. Almost all of us have told no one or very few people even the slightest bit of what we've planned.

You really shouldn't make such assumptions, you will look like a fool.

 

[Endeavour]

I think it's perhaps not a surprise that you end up with epidemics of suicide in certain areas.

For a lot of people is uncertainty and a feeling of hopelessness and no future they can see, so in areas with little work, each day being a groundhog day, etc with no light at the end of the tunnel, if one person ctb then it might well prompt others to follow suit.

This is why I think the true scale of suicides during covid lockdowns will be horrendous. In the UK they have to have inquests, etc that take ages, so the true numbers won't be known for at least 12 to 18 months, but I know of a couple of young people (i.e. 19-22) who have taken their lives because they feel there is no future, and the current meme (it's not really a meme it's an epidemic of feelings) among a lot of young people is "what's the point" of thinking about university, or education, or careers, or anything else.

12 months ago they were planning amazing lives, studying in foreign lands, learning to drive, buying their first car, going on holidays, taking gap years.
Now all they can see is zoom lessons from their bedrooms and no jobs at the end of it.

 

[wordsonscreen]

Literally every person on this forum has something planned right now for the future, it's indicative of nothing. Almost all of us have told no one or very few people even the slightest bit of what we've planned.

yeah haha 16k of us

I think it's perhaps not a surprise that you end up with epidemics of suicide in certain areas.

For a lot of people is uncertainty and a feeling of hopelessness and no future they can see, so in areas with little work, each day being a groundhog day, etc with no light at the end of the tunnel, if one person ctb then it might well prompt others to follow suit.

This is why I think the true scale of suicides during covid lockdowns will be horrendous. In the UK they have to have inquests, etc that take ages, so the true numbers won't be known for at least 12 to 18 months, but I know of a couple of young people (i.e. 19-22) who have taken their lives because they feel there is no future, and the current meme (it's not really a meme it's an epidemic of feelings) among a lot of young people is "what's the point" of thinking about university, or education, or careers, or anything else.

12 months ago they were planning amazing lives, studying in foreign lands, learning to drive, buying their first car, going on holidays, taking gap years.
Now all they can see is zoom lessons from their bedrooms and no jobs at the end of it.

yesyesyes. Those are valid reasons too. Life was hard enough as is and now there feels like no end to this shit.

 

[wordsonscreen]

Should watch the dreadful movie called The Happening, where thought tree pollen caused mass people to kill themselves. Also a lot of inventive suicide methods in that movie, but damn the acting was atrocious that it made me want to suicide as well.

Awful movie haha but interesting concept