> 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 sui

> 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.