Jules Europe

A quick opinion would suggest that people in eastern Europe and Scandinavia are more likely to commit suicide than someone from either western or southern Europe. In western Europe there is more diversity with exciting things to do. In southern Europe there is a sunny climate and a stronger family unit, things that the north and east have less of. One could even suggest, that when a country is economically poor but the climate and family unit are strong (Most latin amercan countries) then the rates are much lower as well. In fact most of the countries on the list, excepting those of eastern Europe, are economically strong countries like Japan where people spend most of their time working and have little free time, or countries like Finland where when not working, they drink heavily and are faced with many hours of darkness in the winter months.

The most conclusive summary, would show that where the climate is good and the family unit is strong then the chances of suicide are far less.

Jules Europe

An interesting perspective, which could demonstrate that the current population in the UK to be extremely selfish. For example, if I`m miserable I`ll make sure everybody else is as well..........whereas say in Finland, that same person would just go off and do what they had to do to end it all.

kporte

Suicide just isn't cricket. That's the simple answer.

Jules Europe

I know I was making it sound all either black or white, but it was just a quick analogy on what is a very delicate subject matter.

kporte

I was blase but simply, suicide is more unacceptable in the British psyche than the others, so happens less. This is only an opinion of course

Jules Europe

I think certain races are less susceptible to suicide than others, therefore environment plays a key factor in all of this. In Japan which is high on the list, there is a Samurai tradition of Seppuku.

elfman

I tend to think the opposite - in some ways suicide is the ultimate selfish act

Jules Europe

Its another perspective, especially the damage that it can cause to those left behind, but I think the fact that somebody who does take their own life, is usually in such a severe state of depression that things such as selfishness are often the furthest things from their mind anyway. I think the best person to answer this, would be a person that has suffered from severe depression and has thought about this as an escape, which is really what suicide is.

Ciderman

Hmmm....that's ironic; high standard of living seems to equal higher suicide rates. Maybe when everything is apparently so wonderful then boredom sets in....anyway you know what they say:

"There's lies, damn lies and statistics"

Cuppa10

In the past.
I don't think that people are thinking of samurai's in day to day life..

Jules Europe

It was used as a reference, to show that Japan has a tradition of suicide throughout its history, whether somebody sticks a sword into their stomach, swallows a bottle of pills or jumps off a cliff, the result is largely the same.

Jules Europe

Its not necessarily just connected to a high standard of living either, as the ex-Soviet states which are high on the list, don`t have that high standard of living. On the other hand, neighboring Scandinavia does and it is also high on the list! I think the link is the monotony of everyday life, feelings of negativity and hopelessness along with the weaker family values that these countries often have. All this is then shaped by the grim and grey environment in eastern Europe, or in Scandinavia`s case the long grim winter months. Admittedly, its not as obvious as all this, because if memory serves me correctly Belgium was also high on that list and Belgium is not a grim or grey country.

quoll

I dunno, Australia amongst the highest suicide rates in the world - and the figures that are usually quoted are estimated to be around 30% lower than the actual figures according to some recent reports. Youth suicide and mental health problems here are very bad but of course no one publicises that as there is a bit of an embargo on talking about suicide. I guess our youth suicide stats have improved over the past 5 years but still nothing to write home about.

Tr1boy

I often heard it said that Oz has the highest suicide rate in males between 15-25 age bracket.

Favoured methhod of the Ronin wasn't it?

Sally Redux

Better TV.