Included are suicide and undetermined deaths suspected of being
suicides. Teenage rate is deaths under age 20 divided by population age
15-19; adult rate is for age 20+.
Emerging analyses show rapidly rising suicide, firearms, and addiction-related “deaths of despair”
afflict whites the most in rural and suburban areas where white
populations are most concentrated. There are many more suicides among
the seven million white rural 35-64 year-old men than among all 40
million American teenagers of all races and both sexes everywhere. Rural
areas also tend to have higher rates of gun ownership and firearms
mortality (correlated with men’s suicide) and lack the level of mental
health services that have evolved in cities.
There has been a spate of articles pointing out that farmers have a suicide rate about twice as high as the rate amongst veterans. The scary part of that news is that we are just coming off of a generational price boom that I probably won't see a return to for the rest of my (assumed actuarial) lifetime. Those of us in agriculture are facing much darker days going forward, at least in a financial sense. Meanwhile, rural areas continue their steady decline. Considering these factors, I fear the trend in suicide deaths will continue to worsen. I don't anticipate that either the public or private sector will work to change any of these trends. What I can say is that faithful readers of this blog do not have to worry about me, I'll be with you until the bitter end. I enjoy hating life way too much to ever consider cutting it short. Plus, there is this to consider:
