Most #American #men who die by #suicide do not have any known history of #mentalhealthproblems. So, what is to blame?

KEY TAKEAWAYS

- It is commonly thought that greater than 90% of people who die by #suicide had a diagnosable #mentalhealthcondition. 

- A new study finds that this is not the case for #American #males. About 60% of #male #suicides were not linked to #mentalhealthissues. 

- Instead, #suicide is more driven by sudden impulsiveness in reaction to acute stressful situations. #Men with access to #firearms are most at risk.

#American #men kill themselves at much higher rates than #American #women. In 2019, #males accounted for nearly 80% of the 47,511 #suicide deaths in the U.S., and #suicide was the eighth leading cause of death for #males over the age of ten. But counterintuitively, about 60% of #American #males who died by #suicide had no known #mentalhealthissues, according to a new study conducted by researchers at the #CentersforDiseaseControl and UCLA.

Rethinking suicide

“What’s striking about our study is the conspicuous absence of standard psychiatric markers of suicidality among a large number of #males of all ages who die by #suicide,” Mark Kaplan, a professor of social welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, said in a statement.

This sharply counters a commonly cited statistic “that greater than 90% of people who die by #suicide had a diagnosable #mentalhealthcondition,” Kaplan and his colleagues wrote.

Instead, they found that #alcohol and #firearms heavily contributed to the deaths of the majority of #men who commit #suicide.

Poring over data collected between 2016 and 2018 via the #CDC’s National Violent Death Reporting System, the researchers found that #males without known #mentalhealthissues who died by #suicide were between 50% and 90% more likely to use a #firearm and 20% more likely to have tested positive for #alcohol postmortem compared to #males with #mentalhealthissues who committed #suicide. They were also 40% to 50% more likely to have been in a recent argument with a friend or loved one, 30% more likely to have suffered a recent eviction, 60% to 80% more likely to have faced recent legal problems, and 30% to 50% more likely to have relationship problems.

#James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleOrder your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife:From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy

www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com

Impulse control

While it’s likely that some of the #males without known #mentalhealthissues were concealing struggles, the study hints at a different explanation for why #males commit #suicide rather than just poor #mentalhealth: #Men are more impulsive than #women.

This emotional reactivity, exacerbated by #alcohol intake and coupled with much greater access to #guns (#men are twice as likely than #women to own a #gun), result in far more #males taking their own lives. About 83% of #suicideattempts with #firearms result in death, by far the most “effective” method.

Greater investment and focus on #mentalhealth is undeniably needed in the U.S., but to make a dent in the tragic number of #American #male #suicides, reducing firearm access, advocating responsible #alcohol use, lowering poverty, and teaching #males healthy coping methods to deal with acutely stressful situations might save a lot more lives.
https://standingabovethecrowd.com/2023/01/jamesdonaldson-on-mentalhealth-why-do-so-many-american-men-die-by-suicide/