As a psychology major, I learn about abnormal behavior on a daily basis. However, among all of the disorders and abnormal thoughts, I think the most important is suicide. Although suicide is not considered a disorder, it is typically caused by depression and/or other disorders.
Emory University has a page dedicated to suicide statistics in the United States. I found the numbers to be saddening. Each year, about 35,000 people commit suicide. However, these numbers could not be 100% accurate. It is sometimes hard to tell whether one had actually committed suicide or if it was an accident. For example, one may run off the road on purpose and die in the fatal car accident. However, the police would probably say it was an accident. Suicide is not always an easy thing to conclude. Thus, this may cause some problems within the overall statistics. Also, on average, about 94 people commit suicide on a daily basis. Although this is not a huge number, I found it significant enough to be worrisome. I found these numbers to be even more worrisome when I read that there are more suicides (35,000) in the U.S. than there are homicides (18,400). Overall, I found these statistics very interesting to look at and although suicide is a very difficult subject to research, Emory did a great job with the use of their statistics. Also, I think the primary reason for this website was to show that suicide is a bigger problem in society than people think. Emory wanted to bring more awareness to the difficult subject of suicide.
http://www.emorycaresforyou.emory.edu/resources/suicidestatistics.html
I like your post Tamara. If you would like to learn about how to prevent suicide in people you know or come into contact with you should check out the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training which is hosted here at UNM every year. Our Agora chat shifts are inundated with suicidal individuals who have nowhere else to turn. Although I wish I could boast any success rate (we almost never know the outcome of a call) it is nice to know that people sometimes have the ability to share their thoughts and feelings about death and occasionally will change their mind (if even only temporarily). The training I received at the ASIST was one of the most valuable skills training moments in my life.
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