Suicide rates in the US are highest among elderly men, and most involve guns, CDC report says

https://lemmy.world/post/8340391

Suicide rates in the US are highest among elderly men, and most involve guns, CDC report says - Lemmy.World

Senior men have higher rates of suicide than average, and firearms were involved in more than three-quarters of those deaths in 2021, according to a CDC report

Guns just add dangerous violence to everything.

In a shooting event, the “good guy” trying to stop a bad guy with a gun can still accidentally hit innocent bystanders with bullets. By adding more bullets flying, they’ve effectively made the situation more dangerous, and now when incompetent cops show up, they’ll think anyone with a gun is the shooter.

In a suicide, you’re not only risking it not working because you didn’t explode enough of your own head, you’re also putting other people in danger, depending on the caliber of bullet and gun used. You could easily have the bullet exit the back of your head and enter your neighbors apartment and harm someone on the other side.

Guns make everything worse.

If you need defense in a shooting/violent attack, carry a high-powered flashlight that you can temporarily blind an attacker with, allowing you and others to escape in confusion and/or get close enough to disarm the assailant.

If you want to off yourself, buy a fucking Exit Bag and get some god damned helium.

Guns have nothing to do with this and you fell victim to partisan click-bait. You got perfectly distracted from the real issue of suicide, it seems.

You are making some bold assumptions that a person that is in that headspace actually gives a fuck about anything else or anyone else.

Art imitates life. I equate it to using a weapon as literary device. If you’re reading a book and the author mentions a gun on the table, that gun will be used.

Think of how many minor traffic accidents or drunk arguments at birthday parties result in deadly consequences because just like our author, if someone has a gun, they may use it.

Good job in taking a serious issue and putting an unnecessary partisan spin on it, CNN. The issue of guns needs to be sidelined when talking about issues as serious as suicide.

worldpopulationreview.com/…/suicide-rate-by-count…

Suicide Rate by Country 2026

Detailed data on suicide rate by country, offering insights into the prevalence of suicide across different nations.

World Population Review
If Republicans actually gave a shit about mental health maybe we wouldn't have so many gun suicides.
Or suicides generally.
Yeah but then they’d have even more mental gymnastics to do with bootstraps and all that

So suicide is a republican problem hey.

Get a grip.

They're the ones who keep saying "it's not a gun problem it's a mental health problem" and then doing fuck all to improve mental health, so yeah.

In this instance they ate actually correct.

If you understand suicide even a little bit you would know men do not fuck about when it comes to suicide. There is little in between, no cry’s for help they are rare. guns are a tool to achieve the outcome and the statistics will never change.

So this click bait title and stupid anti-gun garbage does not help and makes the issue harder to resolve. Men will ALWAYS be the higher suicide rate no matter what. Social support systems and mental health stigma for men needs to change.

Up next water is wet.

But they still won't vote for comprehensive mental health coverage, and most of the men in the Republican party are poster boys for toxic masculinity.
So what. You’re obsessing over political a farce unless you want to join the party?
I have a problem with blatant hypocrisy. Every gun nut in this thread saying "it's not guns it's mental health" and "men have a mental health crisis" and then go vote for assholes who do nothing to help either of them, and then say it's the Democrats who are the problem.

Sounds like you’re obsessed with guns yourself and a nut in your own right. The core problem here is the social stigma stopping men from seeking help. When men get to the point of suicide it’s going to happen. Banning guns doesn’t change this even in othe western countries still have this same problem.

This issue will take a generation or more to change. It won’t be resolved by banning guns or policy from parliament. It will take a change in social values and gender stereo types; the men don’t cry attitude. Which is engrained into core values. The best we can do is support those in our circles. Ask are you ok, help those we care for to find mental health services and we can also get better at helping those around us. Online support services like “are you ok” have resources for everyone.

If you want to be engaged politically you will need to have a life experience to have impact. from their write to your local political member with that experience and don’t be anonymous. That way you’re counted as a constituent and you can have this conversation with them. But they may just chose to ignore your story so don’t hang your identity on a political party. I would rather see someone passionate about men’s mental health being a force for healing instead of yelling at the wind.

Or maybe I got this wrong and you would make a great Democrat. So maybe that’s your path.

Your oversimplification was unnecessary the first time, stop copypasting your comments.
Said the asshole adding nothing to the topic
I don’t really see the problem with elderly people who decide they want to check out. If we allowed medically assisted death, they could die with dignity.
Most of it is caused by depression, not terminal illness.
Doesn’t change my opinion
I imagine in many cases depression caused by their failing bodies and inability to lead a happy life due to it. That and their partner probably recently dying.
Still need the option to check out on your own terms.
what about improving their material condition so they can enjoy being old like other people in civilized countries???
These are not mutually exclusive.
That would be great. You realize TWO things are possible, right?
Suicide isnt reported in many places, because it is a social and religious taboo. For example the greek orthodox church literally still refuses to bury people who killed themselves(and 99% of greeks used to be christian orthodox, though atheism is becoming more popular nowadays).
Do they still refuse to bury unbaptized kids as well?
Only if they were allowed to bugger them first.
None think about having to clean up all their blood and brain matter left over. Suicide is so selfish.
That kind of suicide at least, for sure. There’s still deaths of despair that are far from selfish acts, and moreso acts of desperation.
Ironically your comment is incredibly selfish (you need to walk in their shoes) and based on nothing but your imagination. Some may take precautions to minimize cleanup.
deleted by creator
thank you. its nice to hear or in this case read someone put it out so sanely and clearly. I do not get why other people feel they should tell someone else that they have to continue to exist because they know better than them.
It’s also selfish to force people to suffer due to our personal moral scruples. Allow assisted suicide.
I try not judge these folks too harshly, they must be in incredible pain.

Wall, Street is selfish. Taking more profit than you need is selfish.

These people were desperate.

Calling people who suffer from suicidal ideation or committed suicide selfish is exactly like calling kids with down syndrome idiots.

I have thought about that. I have a really big back yard. I’d do it back there where my blood stained bone fragments will soak into the ground and feed some worms. No mess. No fuss. House holds its value for immediate liquidation with proceeds going to my daughter.

Keep your self(ish) righteous bullshit to yourself.

ITT gun nuts immediately defending tools designed to quickly kill

downvoters are presumably said gunhead lobotomites

Apparently it is “partisan clickbait” because it talks about a real issue in the world and that rustles their fucking jimmies apparently.
The real issue is that assisted suicide is basically illegal in the USA…you turned it into a gun issue…

Its a gun issue because most people see that as the “easiest” way of achieving it because they haven’t done even cursory basic research into effective suicide methods.

Just because it is illegal doesn’t mean a gun is the only option.

Guns are used in dumb fits of passion because it is easy and at-hand for a lot of people.

Wow…yes it’s the guns fault, not that our society is so fucked that people are offing themselves like crazy…naa it’s the gun doing it. The fuck outta here.
I didn’t say it was the guns fault. Even if we fixed a boatload of societal problems, guns still don’t help these situations, and you’d still have people using them because they’re available.
They do, but they are not the root cause, and focusing on them is a distraction.
typical “buh muh guns” response

It’s not a distraction though.

The vast majority of attempted suicide survivors regret ever trying. They get help and live better lives.

When someone is in a bad state of mind or having a depressed episode that is the time when they are most vulnerable.

Having easy access to an immediate life ending device with the squeeze of a trigger is a major problem.

This is the reason jump nets and barriers work on bridges. Making it slightly harder or more inconvenient to kill themselves saves lives.

As someone who lives in the UK where only farmers can get a gun to protect livestock from dangerous wildlife( which hate on me all you want is a valid reason to own a firearm and not just as a fancy toy to show off like Americans). Statistics show that men tend to use more brutal methods of suicide so not having guns makes no difference because they will simply use a different fatal method. So as someone who lives in a country that has a lot of suicides and no guns for the average joe. Removing guns has solved nothing in terms of suicide.

So please draw info from other countries before making assumptions about how a law would change your country, because otherwise it’s very narrow minded, and you will waste time and lives trying to make a solution that already has no effect abroad.

As someone who lives in the UK where only farmers can get a gun to protect livestock from dangerous wildlife( which hate on me all you want is a valid reason to own a firearm and not just as a fancy toy to show off like Americans). Statistics show that men tend to use more brutal methods of suicide so not having guns makes no difference because they will simply use a different fatal method. So as someone who lives in a country that has a lot of suicides and no guns for the average joe. Removing guns has solved nothing in terms of suicide.

So please draw info from other countries before making assumptions about how a law would change your country, because otherwise it’s very narrow minded, and you will waste time and lives trying to make a solution that already has no effect abroad.

Its not a distraction – it’s an immediate, measurable solution to a growing problem, that absolutely nobody is suggesting is the entire solution.

Meanwhile, what have the pro-gun groups that insist they (and they alone) have the solution suggested?

Video games. Marilyn Manson. Rock and rap music. Not enough prayer. Too many doors. Abortion. Legalised weed. Women. Drag Queens and gay marriage. COVID vaccines. Critical race theory. Not enough people having guns.

And what a surprise, every single one of those excuses is just blatantly something they want to attack anyway, using the “look what you made me do” excuse loved by manipulative abusers everywhere.

The boomers blame popular culture. The fundamentalists blame secularism and abortion. The fascists blame minorities. The neoliberals blame their donors not making enough money.

After 25 years of offering nothing by distractions, some marketing genius thought of “mental health”, which is at least part of the problem.

But of course their take away isnt “clearly we are not mentally healthy enough as a society for such permissive gun laws”, nor even “we should do something about the mental health problems are facing”.

Instead, it’s “Other people should build a mental health system that is mandatory for every man, woman and child in America, even if they don’t want help. It has to cure mental health problems, even those beyond our ability to treat, instantly and so completely that they will never relapse, even for a second. Also, we are going to obstruct your efforts every step of the way politically, legally and by telling children they’re less important that inanimate objects used to kill and oppress people”.

Because the idea was never to fix the problem, the idea was to create something that would distract people for 200 years, so the money would keep rolling in.

But don’t worry if the skepticism has already started to creep into your brain with intrusive thoughts like “does this mean we train soldiers to be mentally ill?” or “are they trying to say that being a right wing reactionary like most mass shooters (and gun owners) is actually a mental illness?”…

MTG has already come out and blamed mass shootings on the medication we use to treat mental health problems, ensuring gun owners still have the backup distraction of “too much mental healthcare”, ready to be used the day people meet their impossible prerequisites for gun control.

If someone wants to off themself, they’re going to do it whether they have a gun or not. Look at Japan, higher suicide rate than the US, virtually no guns in their society. Americans typically use guns because it’s quick and available. Even if guns weren’t available, suiciders are gonna suicide. So yeah, it absolutely is not a gun issue, it’s a societal issue, be it depression or lack of availability of assisted suicide.

If someone wants to off themself, they’re going to do it whether they have a gun or not

Not supported by science nor statistics. There is no better way to reveal that not only are you not an expert, you havent even made a token effort to be informed.

Instead, you’ve just assumed you know everything there is to know about suicide prevention without looking and what a surprise, it just happens to align with whats most profitable for the gun lobby.

Spoken like someone who hasn’t had depressed friends off themselves after years of trying to talk them off the ledge. I don’t give two fucks what your statistics or science say about it, I’ve lived it. So eat a bag of dicks and shut the fuck up about shit you’ve only read about on the internet.

Edit: down vote all you want you little bitch. I sincerely hope you take that attitude to someone in real life and they kick the absolute shit out of you, maybe then you’ll realize your sheltered view of the world doesn’t align with reality. Go touch grass.

Glorious. Downvotes are actually publicly visible on Lemmy and it wasnt me, but sure, go off.

Don’t get embarassed though, you’re still very big and scary and the “go touch grass” still hurts my feelings no matter how many times right wing reactionaries use it, because I’m that insecure.

Spoken like someone who hasn’t had depressed friends off themselves after years of trying to talk them off the ledge.

I sincerely want to be sympathetic because I do know what thats like.

But its easy enough to swallow that compassion when I remember that you’re only pulling out that trauma and heartbreak to defend gun laws that rob thousands of people of the chance to escape that same fate.

Because you don’t get to “talk people off the ledge” when they have a gun. There is no ledge. Those critical opportunities for help and self-reflectance, that have saved thousands of people from bridges, rooftops and bathtubs full of blood, are all lost.

And the people talked off ledges don’t just find another ledge. Only 1 in 10 people who survive a suicide attempt go on to die by suicide, but the survival rate of self inflicted gunshot wounds is functionally zero.

Its why, if someone you care about is struggling with depression or trauma, the very last thing you should do is give them a gun.

Fortunately for the gun-lobby, the only people gun owners seem to care about is themselves, no matter now many of their children blow their brains out with daddy’s poorly secured firearm that he bought to “keep his family safe”.

I don’t give two fucks what your statistics or science say about it,

it was obvious to all of us :)

So you’re saying that if I wanted to suicide I won’t if I don’t have a gun. What an odd take.

I would just jump off a building.

So you’re saying that if I wanted to suicide I won’t if I don’t have a gun. What an odd take.

its not that odd. pressing a trigger is much easier than hanging yourself or cutting yourself or jumping. this is a fact. plus many people attempt suicide and fail and some of them dont attempt anymore. with a gun the chances of not being successful are very low.

no its not a fact, its the opposite, world wide suicide is well documented and not a unique American problem it is a fact America does not even make the top 20.

So you want to claim “suicide is a complex problem with many factors” when people mention suicide by firearms but the moment you want to pull out some statistics, all those complex factors are brushed aside without a second thought so you can claim “look, most guns doesn’t mean most suicides”.

Without a statistics from a parallel universe where America has gun laws that make even a token effort to work, those numbers are meaningless.

What we can do is look at every other form of means reduction that has ever been enacted, and watch how the number of people committing suicide doesn’t just drop for that method, it drops for all methods, with results comparable to psychotherapy and medication.

You’re going to have to choose which matters to you more: suicide prevention or being a simp for right-wing, pro-gun Americans and the lobby group that programs them.

“with a gun the chances of not being successful are very low.”

This is a wild statement anything the back of this one up. I might learn something but I’m not going to take your word for it. I need a source.

www.gvpedia.org/gun-myths/more-lethal/

Till you provide a source I’m going with this source

MYTH: Gun suicide is not more lethal than other means - GVPedia

FACT: Attempted suicides by firearms have an 82.5% fatality rate, versus a fatality rate of 4% for all suicide attempts.

GVPedia