Mariana Arellano

Arellano 1

May 03, 2015

English 090-1010
Jims Beatty

Suicide the Growing Threat

Suicide; the action of killing oneself intentionally. This has been an ongoing problem
since the early nineteen hundreds and has kept steady since 1942. There happens to be rumors of
all kinds about suicide as if it were some sort of disease, something that one is born with
because it happens to be hereditary or something that grows upon us when we are set on a time
of need. Research shows that males suffer more from suicide than women because it is already in
their genes just like other research shows that women are more vulnerable to suffer from
depression and then become suicidal. What the real questions here is why, why do people
become suicidal? Some say that it is naturally in us since birth however, it has not been proven to
this day. It has been fought and said that there is no real reason behind suicide it just happens.
More humans die annually from suicide than by murder and warfare combined; this is
also a worldwide issue. Normally people in danger of suicide are those with mental illnesses and
mood swings. Medicine and scientist havent been able to keep these rates down, they have
actually been growing each year and no one can seem to find a cure. Men commonly commit this
act by using lethal weapons and succeed while on the other hand women usually overdose on
medication and are less likely to succeed. Statistically 23.7 men commit suicide out of every

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100,000 and women only commit 8.1 out of every 100,000. This being said men take a lead at
committing this act and the reason behind is because of financial problems.
Tara Parker-Pope from the New York Times stated in her article, Suicide Rates Rise
Sharply in U.S., that suicide rates rise during times of financial stress and economic setbacks.
This is what typically affects a man when becoming suicidal and it is because over the years,
society has made it seem like men are in charge of the household and have to provide for their
family. The male gender is said to be bigger than the female therefore it puts an extra weight on
men and when the economy is not looking great it leads them to become suicidal. Men suffer
from suicide for economic reason as research has provided evidence, but other studies show that
there is no evidence yet to why this happens to either gender.
Different people were interviewed that were suicidal survivors and asked why they had
attempted to take their lives away. When speaking to the men and women they all answered that
they did not know what made them think of this it just happened. They were having issues as far
as boyfriends or family issues but they had never had suicidal thoughts before. Kim Tingley a
journalist from The New York Times, wrote Trying to study what people are thinking before
trying to kill themselves is like trying to examine a shadow with a flashlight. (The Suicide
Detective) No one can know what is going on at a time of self-harming unless one is the victim
and even then there is no clear understanding of what comes over one when this act is happening.
It is hard to study something that even the victim cannot understand but new information
explains that there are certain factors in the body that contribute to suicide.
A couple of school researchers went on to study suicide with men and women and the
results were more in favor to men. According to the results men carry a hormone that when in

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low levels will cause depression and eventually suicide. Ricardo Caseda wrote in a research
called, Gender Specifics Effects of Depression and Suicidal Ideation in Prosocial Behaviors,
Low level of testosterone and serum was a trigger to suicide. Caseda along with other
members interviewed several males and the two that were prone to be suicidal or had already
thought about killing themselves were the ones lacking the hormone. This was proven to be one
trigger for males only but what about the other people in danger that have normal levels of
hormone or the opposite gender so they dont carry that hormone? This is potentially an opinion
to what causes it and research closer to finding out what triggers suicide.
The person I agree with the most is Kim Tingley, and the reasons behind it is, because
they interviewed actual survivors and because I agree with what they had to say from personal
experience. Right before starting this semester of college I had attempted suicide myself before
finding myself in the situation I was in, killing myself had never crossed my mind. There was a
big issue surrounding me and the decision I took on harming myself but the mind shuts down
and the body gives up. It is something so unexplainable that I cannot understand either. I
remember everything up to when I harmed myself and go blank from there on until I woke up in
the hospital. It is not like a voice was telling me to end my life but my conscious was reminding
me of what I had to do in order to be happy with myself. The mind takes over and becomes
soulless it is like one is dead and a dark side takes over. Attempting towards ones life is bad
enough let alone waking up from a nightmare you were trying to end, now you carry the problem
from before and the burden put on yourself and the family and the consequences that follow
after. Rehab wasnt for me, I didnt feel as if I were getting help in an odd way I felt judged for
my decision from the people that should make it all better. Then there are the monthly bills of
treatment every month reminding you of what happened and your family being scared of what

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could happen as well as yourself. I would like to say that I will never hurt myself again but Im
afraid that it could be false. That I can go into that dark place again and just have it take over me
and cause for something tragic to happen to me. I feel that this isnt just me this is a fear that
anyone who had ever thought or tried to commit suicide lives with and it is something that we
have to face every day.
Suicide is not a disease and it is not hereditary because no one in my family has
suffered from depression or suicide until it happened to me. It is also not something that we can
say we are born with and not because there is no research to prove that, but because if that were
the case then everyone struggling would be suicidal. Suicide is something that takes over
someone without even knowing and I can say that there is no way of knowing when it can
happen or if it will ever happen again, who is at risk or why. It is simply Suicide and we have to
prepare ourselves mentally for when the day comes that maybe we are next. Suicide should be
taken very serious and not look down upon weather a child or an elderly person commits it.
Society needs to address this issue because it is growing every year and we can find ways to alert
and help people prevent it. Bullying, financial struggles, sexual preference, family, school etc.
are things that can also cause suicide and that anyone is at risk for when we least expect it. We
need to keep an open mind that it could affect us at any time and there is no such thing as it will
not happen to me I am too strong.
Suicide is an ongoing problem nationwide that could happen to anyone at any time.
Precautions can be taken and society can contribute to helping reduce these rates. Taking our
lives away is never the right thing to do, unfortunately it happens a lot more than what we think.
No such research can tell us why it happens and nothing so far has been able to help the thought
of a suicidal person. It happens when we least expect it and it can happen to you. Research can

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give us all the statistics in the world and come up with new ideas of why this happens but they
have not been able to give us an answer yet because one does not exist, and until we understand
that then we cannot help ourselves.

"The Suicide Detective." The New York Times. June 2013. Web. 07 April 2015.

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The New York Times article focuses on a bit of every factor. It talks about suicide rates in the
military and how it has increased within the years. It goes into depth about a couple of people
who tried committing suicide and what triggered them to react that way. Also talks about how
treatment and therapies actually affected the way a suicide survivor thought or helped them.
This article could be very useful because we are getting an inside declaration on actual suicide
survivors. This is the closest you can get in depth with as far as research goes. This brings in
different perspectives as far as suicide rate increments, military suicides, and suicide survivors.
"Suicide Rates Rise Sharply in U.S." The New York Times. May 2013. Web. 07 April 2015.
This article focuses on "baby bloomers" being a majority of the suicide population and also more
men than women. Most suicides have been committed by using a firearm, and more suicides
have been caused by poisoning themselves as well. Research shows that mostly suicides have
been triggered by financial problems in "baby bloomers" because they need to be maintaining
as well as their younger children.
In particular this article could be very helpful in my research because I can discuss the different
percentages in men and women and what research has found about the triggers. Also I can
explain the different ways that people are committing suicide and how that has increased and
why it has changed and developed within the years. A discussion about how the generation of
"baby bloomers" has grown because of the economic/financial problems to maintain themselves
as well as their young.
Cceda Ricardo, Tori Moskovciak, Stefania Prendes -Alvarez, Justyna Wojas, Engel Anzhelika,
Samantha Wilker, Jorge Gamboa, Zachary Stowe. "Gender Specific Effects of Depression and
Suicidal Ideation in Prosocial Behaviors."
Ephost 9.9 (2014): 1-8 Plos One. Web.
7 Apr. 2015
This article in specific goes through the specifics in what research has found that gender roles
have to do with suicide. In particular it is states that women have committed suicide more than
men and that women will most likely commit suicide in a future. Women experience typically
more depression than men and men have suicidal thoughts due to financial circumstances.
Since one of my prior topics is specialized on men committing suicide and this one is against it
then I think it would make a strong argument. They both have different points of view on why
more men/women commit suicide. That could be one of my key points; that gender typically
affects suicide but it is not a main cause since it is only research and not something that they
have actually discovered by a suicide survivor.

Randall Jason, Randy Walld,Greg Finlayson, Jitender Sareen Patricia Martins, James Bolton
Acute Risk of Suicide and Suicide Attempts Associated With Recent Diagnosis of Mental
Disorders: A Population-Based, Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

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Plos One 59.10 (2014) 531-538 Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Web.

25 Apr. 15
The article explores the idea of women being more prosocial. They use the gender roles to see
how it affects suicide and what the gender actually has to do with it. Also how women suffer
more of depression and what effects this has to do with them being prosocial.
This article will help me counter argue that men commit suicide more than women. Women get
as depressed with other factors and since I changed my thesis I can prove that men commit
suicide because of low hormone levels but women do it because they are prosocial. It shows
that both gender roles have different aspects of what contributes to suicide but it happens as
equally.