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I hate to get analytical here, but is anyone tracking the suicides of founders? Is it higher than average or are we just seeing more news bubble-up after Swartz

I hate to get analytical here, but is anyone tracking the suicides of founders? Is it higher than average or are we just seeing more news bubble-up after Swartz?

NyxWulf 14y ago
When I was in high school one of the students committed suicide. There was a lot of discussion and outreach at the school at the time. One of the things they talked about was that once one student commits suicide it greatly increases the chances that others will follow. My mother is also a social worker at the VA Hospital, and she's had some of her patients opt out so to speak. It does appear to have a very strong pull on other people who are suicidal to choose that path. So if anyone reading this is having those thoughts, please, please talk to someone professionally. Call the suicide hotline in your area. There are very real things that can be done to help you through this.
- duaneb 14y ago
  > One of the things they talked about was that once one student commits suicide it greatly increases the chances that others will follow. I've observed this myself. The effects of suicide are insidious but brutal: if you think nobody will be affected you're deluding yourself.
Pyrrhuloxia 14y ago
I don't have a lot of data on this, but I recall reading that one significant factor involved in increased incidence of suicide is when there is a great discrepancy between personal expectations and actual achievements. Along with this it was mentioned that there is a higher rate of suicide in wealthier societies than poor ones, and among graduates from prestigious universities than average ones. As a result I suppose it would not be an unreasonable hypothesis that entrepreneurs (who might have very lofty goals) might be more likely to commit suicide if they are either unsuccessful at sustaining a business or are successful, but never achieve the level of success that they had expected of themselves.
robg 14y ago
The sad bit is that suicide is very common. More people die of suicide than by car accidents or murder. Suicide is the leading cause of death on a college campus. And those are just U.S. stats. In Asian countries the suicide rate is almost 5x what it is in the U.S.

I hate to get analytical here, but is anyone tracking the suicides of founders? Is it higher than average or are we just seeing more news bubble-up after Swartz?

NyxWulf 14y ago

When I was in high school one of the students committed suicide. There was a lot of discussion and outreach at the school at the time. One of the things they talked about was that once one student commits suicide it greatly increases the chances that others will follow. My mother is also a social worker at the VA Hospital, and she's had some of her patients opt out so to speak. It does appear to have a very strong pull on other people who are suicidal to choose that path. So if anyone reading this is having those thoughts, please, please talk to someone professionally. Call the suicide hotline in your area. There are very real things that can be done to help you through this.

duaneb 14y ago
> One of the things they talked about was that once one student commits suicide it greatly increases the chances that others will follow. I've observed this myself. The effects of suicide are insidious but brutal: if you think nobody will be affected you're deluding yourself.

Pyrrhuloxia 14y ago

I don't have a lot of data on this, but I recall reading that one significant factor involved in increased incidence of suicide is when there is a great discrepancy between personal expectations and actual achievements. Along with this it was mentioned that there is a higher rate of suicide in wealthier societies than poor ones, and among graduates from prestigious universities than average ones. As a result I suppose it would not be an unreasonable hypothesis that entrepreneurs (who might have very lofty goals) might be more likely to commit suicide if they are either unsuccessful at sustaining a business or are successful, but never achieve the level of success that they had expected of themselves.

robg 14y ago

The sad bit is that suicide is very common. More people die of suicide than by car accidents or murder. Suicide is the leading cause of death on a college campus. And those are just U.S. stats. In Asian countries the suicide rate is almost 5x what it is in the U.S.