Meant to Live: May 2013

Oprah: 'We want to be validated. We want to be understood.'

AP Photo What do you like about me?" This is a question I asked my boyfriend. And, afterward, I wondered why did I need to ask f...

'Falling in love' will not cure your depression

Movies portray falling in love as some kind of Heaven on earth. For instance, in Disney movies, a princess is saved by a prince, they get ...

'Purpose Driven Life' author's son kills himself; parents shouldn't blame themselves

Pastor Rick Warren - AP Photo For someone who has found the meaning of life, his son obviously did not. Pastor Rick Warren, author of...

thefutureofhealthnow.com

Here is another reason, in the long list of reasons, why you shouldn't kill yourself.

What if you knew that your death could cause other people to die too? Would you rethink it?

If you think the world would be better off without you, that's just not true. In fact, if you kill yourself, this increases the chances that others will attempt to do the same thing.

A new study has found that students age 12 to 13 who had a classmate kill him or herself was almost five times more likely to have thoughts of suicide than someone who never had a classmate commit suicide. Of 16 to 17-year-olds, 15.1 percent of the students who had a classmate commit suicide said they had thought of it too, compared to 7.4 percent of students who didn't have a classmate kill themselves.

The study shows that these effects last for up to two years following the suicide. Also, a previous study shows that teens are at the highest risk to attempt suicide up to two years after a parent dies from suicide.

Also — surprisingly — someone doesn't have to be particularly close to the person who died in order to have these thoughts or to attempt suicide as well.

Dr. Ian Colman, an assistant professor at the Department of Epidemiology and Community Medicine and Canada Research Chair in Mental Health Epidemiology, said in the study: "When someone dies, particularly a young person, the deceased is described by their loved ones in the media and in social media in glowing, romantic terms, often mentioning how beautiful the child was. Talk like this is common when any child dies, but it can be dangerous when talking about suicide. When other vulnerable youth are reading or hearing about this, they see the reports about how wonderful the person was, and they want their loved ones to feel the same way about them."

If being harsh could save one person from doing this permanent thing, then so be it. If telling someone "Your life will get better" won't work, maybe telling them that, by choosing to live, you could save someone else — maybe that will make them stop and think. Your death could make someone else contemplate suicide. And killing yourself could cause someone else to kill themselves too.

No matter how bad your life may seem, is that really worth it?

I also think this serves as a harsh reminder to all of us. Don't wait until someone dies to say, "I love you," or say how much those in your life mean to you. Maybe, if more people were told they were loved while alive, they wouldn't want, so desperately, to die.

Suicide is 'contagious,' another reason not to do it

thefutureofhealthnow.com Here is another reason, in the long list of reasons, why you shouldn't kill yourself. What if you knew ...

What are panic attacks?

Imagine that you are walking in a dark alley, and all of the sudden, a robber puts a gun to your head and demands all of your money. Your ...

The government released Thursday that the suicide rate among middle-aged Americans has climbed by an astounding 28 percent in a decade.

The suicide rate for white men and women in that age group has climbed even more — the rate jumping 40 percent between 1999 and 2010. Suicide has gone from the eighth leading cause of death among middle-aged Americas to the fourth.

The Washington Post reports that the recession, which hit manufacturing-heavy states like Michigan pretty hard, may have pushed already troubled people over the brink. After all, losing a job or getting a pay cut after working for years can have an extreme effect on your self-worth.

But it seems like, although suicides among people ages 35 to 64 accounts for about 57 percent of suicides in the U.S. — suicide prevention efforts focus mostly on youth.

As the New York Times reports: “Suicide has typically been viewed as a problem of teenagers and the elderly, and the surge in suicide rates among middle-age Americans is surprising.”

While there are several challenges youth have to deal with — such as bullying, stresses of fitting in, etc. — many times the mid-life challenges are overlooked. After all, many people in this age group are so busy taking care of their teen's problems and making sure their children are cared for that their problems go by the wayside.

But adulthood problems are just as real as teenage problems — and many times even more stressful. Some of the various problems plaguing the baby boomer generation are job loss, divorce, caring for aging parents, thinking about your own mortality, realizing life didn't turn out the way you expected (but does it ever turn out the way you expected?) and, an added stress for women — menopause.

Sometimes, people go through a mid-life crisis. To me, I would say — go through that mid-life crisis! It's a lot healthier of a way to deal than to take your life. Dye your hair a weird color, splurge on a new sports car (if you can afford it), change your career, open your dream business, take a vacation. If this helps you feel better, then go for it. You only live once, and, instead of ending your life, live it! No, you're not too old to learn how to drive a motorcycle, dance in a mosh pit or dye your hair a bright fuchsia (even if this does embarrass your children).

Most importantly, you need to learn that you cannot take care of others unless you first help yourself. Asking for help is not a sign a weaknesses. Instead, being able to admit that you do need help takes strength.

And I'm hoping this newly released statistic will bring attention to the risks of suicide among the middle-age population and that, instead of just programs targeting teens, programs will be created for them as well. Don't think that what you're going through isn't important — because it is.