

Why the Happiest States Have the Highest Suicide Rates - mikeleeorg
http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/25/why-the-happiest-states-have-the-highest-suicide-rates/

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evoloution
@jayfuerstenberg They don't touch the Japan issue because there are
traditions, viewpoints and religious believes connecting the need to commit
suicide in case of failure to restore family honor especially in old
established families. On the other hand suicide rates are almost close to zero
in societies that are very religious and their religion forbids suicide by
banning them from a proper burial.

A) I have lived in Sweden for some months, and I have some conclusions (just
my personal opinion). People while caring for community are more independent
than most other nations at a truly admirable level. They close in to
themselves and deal with their own problems, they won't easily bother you with
them. If they feel lonely for example they won't pester other people until
they become accepted, they are proud and conscious (except when they are
drunk). They are like fully autonomous units functioning in a coordinated
society. Furthermore they usually don't blame their mistakes on others and
because their society functions relatively well they cannot blame the system.

So maybe it is a mixture of self-awareness, pride and loneliness.

B) If you are fighting for survival, you don't have time to reflect on your
problems. Everyday issues occupy your thinking time. Imho it is dangerous to
prescribe inequality as a remedy for suicides, the goal (from a social
standpoint) is to reduce despair not suicides. A U.S. citizen cannot afford to
suicide and leave the rest of his family to a living hell, a Swede can.

C) The green box at the end gives another excellent point there are no
miserable beings to look down to and feel better.

D) Something that is wrong in the article is about the research on the
baboons. If I remember correctly (i have affiliation to the field) the alpha
male has very high levels of stress hormones as do the low tier counterparts -
because he needs to be on the lookout for possible usurpers, the best place to
be is 2nd or 3rd, not first if you are a baboon concerning about your health.

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jayfuerstenberg
Odd that Japan got no mention in this article.

Japan is ranked 5th worldwide for most suicides per 100,000 people according
to Wikipedia.

(
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_ra...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate)
)

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Dubhead
I guess that's because Japan is a counter-example for that "more happiness ==
more suicides" hypothesis.

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ryanbraganza
because all the sad people are dead?

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jerrya
Yes, I think this is what happens when you take the mean of a one tailed
distribution.

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DiabloD3
This study doesn't seem to compare it to anti-depressant use. I wonder what
the average percentage of people in Utah and Hawaii that use anti-depressants
vs New York is.

