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

Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD) is only legal in 11 US states.

At best, it requires a diagnosis for a terminal illness with 6 months left to live.

Individuals with an Alzheimer’s or Dementia diagnosis are precluded from being able to make that choice, even if the diagnosis is recent and they still have most of their faculties.

We could be doing so much more to allow people to go out on their own terms and die a good death. It doesn’t have to be traumatic for family members, whoever discovers the body, or those who will inevitably clean up the aftermath.

Ever see the show Shameless? Very dark comedy throughout, mostly light hearted content. One episode had me balling. One of the main characters is having memory issues. They were sort of working their bucket list that reunited them with a friend that also had memory problems. The friend mentioned their spouse dying. Main character asks how they remembered. They had it written down on a post-it note on the fridge.

If I had to relive my wife dying every day because I forgot, just put me down.

My wife has a dementia patient for the past year who doesn’t remember being married and having children. She says he proposal to her about once a week. Maybe it won’t be as bad as you think?