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People pretend like this is a new startling development. But we are not even close to the youth suicides numbers of the 1880s. Luckily now we are talking about

by tokai 3y ago

People pretend like this is a new startling development. But we are not even close to the youth suicides numbers of the 1880s. Luckily now we are talking about how we feel and try to get better, compared to the rest of human history. To me there is obviously no new epidemic, but just finally an acknowledgement of issues that has always been present.

chasd00 3y ago
> ..To me there is obviously no new epidemic.. another thing to look at is mental health medicine that has came on market around 2010 or so. If 50 different pills all started getting marketed to everyone for anything remotely not flowers and sunshine then that could be a contributing factor too.
haswell 3y ago
> But we are not even close to the youth suicides numbers of the 1880s … To me there is obviously no new epidemic Do we have any reason to believe that the suicide numbers in the 1880s are at all correlated with systemic factors that still persist? i.e. were people committing suicide for the same reasons people are today? Without this answer, it seems very difficult to support the conclusion that there is “obviously no new epidemic”. It’s also worth noting that: 1. The mental health epidemic people are increasingly concerned about isn’t just about suicide rates 2. Regardless of centuries past, current concerns are based on local trends, indicating that something is indeed changing Yes, we’re talking more about mental health now more than ever. But this is not enough to account for recent trends. I’d be curious to learn more about the time period you’re referencing and how you’re comparing the systemic factors to reach the conclusion that these are the same issues we’ve always faced. At a minimum, it must be acknowledged that the context has completely changed, and even if we’re dealing with the same underlying psychological factors, the world context in which they’re surfacing must affect people in new ways that were not possible in the 1880s.

by tokai 3y ago

chasd00 3y ago

> ..To me there is obviously no new epidemic.. another thing to look at is mental health medicine that has came on market around 2010 or so. If 50 different pills all started getting marketed to everyone for anything remotely not flowers and sunshine then that could be a contributing factor too.

haswell 3y ago

> But we are not even close to the youth suicides numbers of the 1880s … To me there is obviously no new epidemic Do we have any reason to believe that the suicide numbers in the 1880s are at all correlated with systemic factors that still persist? i.e. were people committing suicide for the same reasons people are today? Without this answer, it seems very difficult to support the conclusion that there is “obviously no new epidemic”. It’s also worth noting that: 1. The mental health epidemic people are increasingly concerned about isn’t just about suicide rates 2. Regardless of centuries past, current concerns are based on local trends, indicating that something is indeed changing Yes, we’re talking more about mental health now more than ever. But this is not enough to account for recent trends. I’d be curious to learn more about the time period you’re referencing and how you’re comparing the systemic factors to reach the conclusion that these are the same issues we’ve always faced. At a minimum, it must be acknowledged that the context has completely changed, and even if we’re dealing with the same underlying psychological factors, the world context in which they’re surfacing must affect people in new ways that were not possible in the 1880s.