Q: A neighbour committed suicide and the whole community was devastated. No one knew him well, he tended to keep to himself on his little piece of land, but the thought that someone who was a part of our community died in this way was unbearable.
We have no idea what made him do it but we would like to discourage this sort of thing from happening in the future.
A: I think that dealing with suicide is just about as difficult as it gets. People close to the victim often wonder if they could have said or done something different that would have prevented it. Feelings of guilt or second guessing yourself are common.
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We have a few statistics on suicide. We know that more men commit suicide than women, although more women may try. We know that of those men, many are coming out of personal tragedies, some are caught in the middle of difficult divorce settlements, others are facing vocational losses, losing their farms or being let go by long-time employers. And we know that many men who commit suicide are starting to get a bit older.
These statistics do not tell us why people commit suicide.
Fortunately we do have information that may help community leaders make their constituencies safer and healthier. Suicide is the 11th most frequent cause of death in the United States and probably the same in Canada.
Suicide is the third most frequent cause of death for young people between 15 and 24 years old. Approximately 4,000 Canadians commit suicide every year.
People who are active in their communities outside of their homes are less likely to commit suicide. People who are strongly committed either to their families, their professions, their churches or projects within their communities are also less likely. People who look after themselves by eating properly, getting enough rest and exercising regularly are less likely to commit suicide.
People who drink less or use fewer street drugs are less likely to commit suicide as are people who are involved in rewarding and long-lasting intimate relationships.
Suicide is symptomatic of other problems. Symptoms do not go away until problems are solved. The more our communities are able to engage people in healthy activities, the less likely they will have to deal with emptiness and helplessness common in suicide cases.
