Suicide rate in Australia

[Johno]

I thought I should mention the suicide rate in the so called lucky country...... I live in Australia the lucky country yet statistically speaking more people (mostly young men) kill themselves than are killed in Auto accidents and homicides combined,,,,... A sobering fact.... For a rich country ( by world standards) something is not quite right........

 

[Waybuloo]

Are the suicidal young men farmers? Because I heard the farmers have it hard due to lack of success with women who'd rather move to the cities, and the chronic draught is making it harder to make a living. A lot of farmers struggle and even face financial ruin.

Do your statistics mention what the possible causes could be?

I don't fancy going to the US. There is no reliable welfare system, there is high ambition and competition. Sure if the good times roll all is good but when you lose your job what can you lean on? I wonder if the happy immigrants are from less fortunate countries, Australia gets lots of them too and it's only natural for them to flock to advanced nations.

I enjoyed Australia for its great weather, food and scenery. There is scope to fulfill ambitions but also a good welfare system if you are unfortunate.

I wouldn't want to be a worker in Japan either for many reasons.

 

[EscapeArtist]

I always imagined that the poor countries with families who have never tasted easy living would have a lesser chance of suicide because they have nothing to lose, are used to hard living, small acheivements mean a lot more to them, and they are in touch with the individual instinct of survival...as long as they have a family. It seems to me the more "advanced" countries (the ones that are over-working for imagined acheivements, such as job status or money greed) would be the ones with higher suicide rates? But there are other factors, government, social status, etc...

 

[NathanielWingatePeaslee]

People commit suicide everywhere and just because you have a more advanced nation it doesn't mean that there won't be unhappy people there. The smaller countries have a lower rate because of course they are smaller and not as focused on superficial things and being competitive as much as the more developed countries. There are welfare programs probably not as good as Australia's, but there is a lot of support here if you look for it.

I went to a large high school where the population was mostly upper-middle class economically. There were no deaths by murder, but on average 1 or 2 kids a year killed themselves.

 

[SilverFire]

I don't fancy going to the US. There is no reliable welfare system, there is high ambition and competition. Sure if the good times roll all is good but when you lose your job what can you lean on? I wonder if the happy immigrants are from less fortunate countries, Australia gets lots of them too and it's only natural for them to flock to advanced nations.

Americans fall back on their friends, their family, their social and/or spiritual organizations. When all else fails, there are quite a few charitable organizations that help out as well. You're right that there's no reliable welfare system, as that's not part of what makes America America.

Traditionally, immigrants come to advanced countries for two reasons: opportunity or to get hand-outs. The latter kind of immigrants are on the verge of destroying France and Britain, and they're making life suck for us in the US, as well.

 

[Kiwong]

I live in Australia too and those suicide stats are alarming.

Mental health in Australia has never attracted adequate funding from Governments. Perhaps Australia is behind many other countries in providing support, places where people can turn to in times of crisis, particularly in rural areas.

Having suffered from depression and social Anxiety for over ten years I have been subjected to a lot of intolerance towards my mental illness in the rural town I live in. There is most definately a stigma associated with mental illness.

This is changing through inititatives such as Beyond Blue and Lifeline Australia.

Tommorrow I am running the City to Surf, a race with over 70000 people in it. I am running for the Beyond Blue Depression initiative as my charity.

 

[Lost Girl]

That's awesome Kiwong

 

[BlueDays]

....................

 

[Kiwong]

Thanks heaps Lost Girl and Mandy.

My bib number is 6931, I'll be wearing a white singlet and a black shorts. I'll post a photo when they are available.

I'm pretty tall, long skinny legged, with blonde hair. I'm a bit of an oldie at 47 years old.

 

[freestylemonster]

I think the reason the suicide rate is higher in the more industrialized nations, or "meritocracies" (A place where everyone has a chance to succeed based on merit) is because in these countries you're told that it's very possible for you to become very wealthy and live a pampered life. So if you're struggling to pay rent and you're stuck at a dead-end job you'll start thinking there's something wrong with you. That you're inadiquate. That's when suicidal thoughts come in.

In a poor country you just live with the fact that you'll always be poor and so will everyone else. It's not your fault you're poor so it's not so bad.

 

[Social_Monstrosity]

It seems Eastern Europe is the region with the highest suicide rates overall.
List of countries by suicide rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm half Romanian...better watch myself, heh.

 

[Richey]

one of the factors regarding australia that is interesting is that the country itself is very isolated from the rest of the world and it is often out of the loop as well in a cultural and inclusion sense but i think its also dependent on what sort of upbringing one has had. any person around the world will feel the weight of expectations as an adult if its brought upon them in their family or by others and society. and men do feel the weight of a career and having to provide and finding a partner, owning a house etc difficult and feel the expectations alot more then you would think. but that happens all around the world as well i'd imagine. .. ...