Suicide

HISTORY

In ancient China, people committed suicide by eating a pound of salt.

Seven suicides are recorded in the Bible.

In 165AD, the Greek philosopher Peregrinus Proteus committed suicide in flamboyant fashion after giving his own oration then cremating himself on the flames of a funeral pyre at the Olympic Games.

In Ancient Rome, suicide was never a general offense in law, though the whole approach to the question was essentially pragmatic. This is illustrated by the example given by Titus Livy of the colony of Massalia (present day Marseilles) people who wanted to kill themselves applied to the Senate, and if their reasons were judged sufficient they were given free hemlock to do so.

The Death of Seneca (1684), painting by Luca Giordano

When Roman statesman Cato the Younger attempted suicide in secret in 46 BC to avoid capture by Caesar, his sword missed any vital organs, slicing open his stomach. When he awoke to a doctor stitching him up, Cato pushed him away, tore out his intestines with his bare hands, and died on the spot. 

In the early fifth century, St. Augustine wrote the book The City of God, which included Christianity's first blanket condemnation of suicide. His biblical justification for this was the interpretation of the commandment, "thou shalt not kill", as he saw the omission of "thy neighbor", which is included in "thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor", to mean that the killing of oneself is not allowed either.

Suicide used to be regarded as shocking and blasphemous, and a coroner's verdict of 'felo de se' – literally crime against oneself. In Tudor England those who committed suicide while accused of a crime were forbidden a Christian burial, which was deemed necessary for entry to the Kingdom of God.

For hundreds of years, a suicide usually resulted in the body being buried at a crossroads, with a stake through the heart, and with no religious ceremony.

In Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's 1774 book The Sorrows of Young Werther, the title character kills himself due to a love triangle involving Charlotte. The novel inspired many copycat suicides in Europe.

Charlotte (pictured at Werther's grave. 

If you attempted to commit suicide in England in the 1800′s, and were unsuccessful, you would face the death penalty.

In 1803, the Igbo people (an ethnic group from present day south Nigeria) managed to take control of their slave ship. They committed mass suicide instead of submitting to slavery in the United States. 

For centuries, India practiced sati, where widows were obliged to commit suicide upon their husband's death, often by self-immolation on their funeral pyre. The British banned it in the 19th century.

During World War I, suicide rates dropped in Europe in those countries involved in the fighting and those that were neutral. Following the armistice, the national rates returned to pre-war levels.

The British Anglican priest Chad Varah established Samaritans as the world's first crisis telephone support to those contemplating suicide. He started the hotline in the crypt of his church in 1953. He was prompted to do so after the first funeral he conducted early in his career was for a 14-year-old girl who took her own life after having no one to talk to when her first period came and believed she’d contracted an STD. The phone line, MAN 9000 (for MANsion House), received its first call on November 2, 1953. 

Varah190 Wikipedia

When Kokichi Tsuburaya Japan "only" won bronze for Japan at the 1964 Olympics, he promptly committed suicide because he felt he had let down his country.

In 1970, Billy Joel wrote a suicide note and attempted to commit suicide by drinking furniture polish, stating it looked "tastier than bleach". He later published his suicide note as a song in his first album, Cold Spring Harbor. The song would be titled, “Tomorrow is Today.”

When famous Japanese pop star Yukiko Okada suddenly committed suicide on April 8, 1986, many of her fans were so devastated that it resulted in numerous copycat suicides, the process has since been dubbed "Yukiko Syndrome."

Dr. Jack Kevorkian used his suicide machine for the first time on June 4, 1990 when Alzheimer's patient Janet Adkins gave herself a fatal injection by pressing a button on the euthanasia proponent's death machine. 

The writer Hunter S. Thompson died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on February 20, 2005. He killed himself while on the phone with his wife. She mistook the cocking of the gun for the sound of his typewriter keys and hung up as he fired.

Roh Moo-hyun, President of South Korea from 2003 to 2008, killed himself on May 23, 2009 by jumping off a cliff. His left-wing party chose to delay the opening of parliament until the right-wing government of the time accepted responsibility for his suicide.

Following the suicide of a the famous Korean actress Choi Jin-sil on October 2, 2008, the frequency of suicide in Korea increased by 162,2% for three weeks confirming the "Werther effect," that a suicide can cause others to also commit suicide.

Portrait photograph of the South Korean actress, Choi Jin-sil

A restaurant manager at Disneyland Paris killed himself in 2010 and scratched a message on a wall saying "Je ne veux pas retourner chez Mickey" which translates to "I don't want to work for Mickey any more."

The day after Robin Williams's suicide on August 11, 2014, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline fielded the greatest number of calls in its history.

Suicides nationwide increased by 10 percent after Robin Williams’ death; researchers found a convincing parallel between the increase and sensationalized coverage/headlines of his death that violated CDC guidelines, focusing on the method of death.

STATISTICS

A study titled "Where Are They Now?" in 1978 followed up on 515 people who were prevented from attempting suicide using the Golden Gate Bridge from 1937 to 1971.  About 90% were either alive or had died of natural causes, concluding "suicidal behavior is crisis-oriented" rather than inexorable.

As a suicide prevention initiative, the sign below promotes a special telephone available on the Golden Gate Bridge that connects to a crisis hotline

Wikipedia

Several studies have shown a significant decrease in suicides on Japanese railway station platforms after the installation of blue LED lights. The exact percentage reduction varies between studies, but it's generally around 70-80%. The theory behind this is that blue light can help to regulate mood and reduce impulsive behavior. While the specific mechanism isn't fully understood, the positive impact of this simple intervention is clear.

Over one million people die by suicide worldwide each year. 

The global suicide rate is 16 per 100,000 population.

On average, one person dies by suicide every 40 seconds somewhere in the world. 

1.8% of worldwide deaths are suicides.

In the United Kingdom, 5,675, 5,608, and 6,045 people aged 15 and over committed suicide in 2009, 2010, and 2011 respectively.

According to a health survey, March 16, 2001 was the only day between 1993 and 2002 when nobody in the United Kingdom killed themselves.

Suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States.

The precipitating circumstances for suicide from 16 American states in 2008

Men commit suicides 3.8 times more than women in the West, and 1.8 time more globally.

2.5% of all men in the US commit suicide, it is the 7th leading cause of death for men

Suicide is the second leading cause of death among those aged 15-29 worldwide.

For many doctors, the constant stress of their work can lead to crippling depression. 300 - 400 doctors kill themselves each year, a rate of 28 to 40 per 100,000, more than double that of general population.

1 in every 5 people in Greenland attempts to kill themselves at some point in their lifetimes.

25% of suicides happen on a Wednesday, 11% more than the next highest day. 

The Suicide by Édouard Manet 1877–1881

On average there are 25 attempts at suicide for every single success. The elderly are more successful at 4:1. While for younger folks (aged 15 - 24), the odds are between 100 and 200 to 1 against.

SUICIDE FACTS

If you commit suicide in Japan by jumping onto an oncoming train or killing yourself in an apartment building, the train or building company can/will sue your family for clean up fees, loss of income and negative publicity brought on by your suicide.

There is a "Suicide Forest" in Japan where about 100 suicides occur every year.

Blue LED lights are installed at certain Tokyo railway stations to deter suicides. Research found the presence of blue lights resulted in an 84% decrease in suicides. Although the exact reason is unknown, it is theorized blue light has a positive calming effect on mood. 

In an effort to reduce the high number of suicides on South Korea's Mapo Bridge, it was unofficially renamed the Bridge of Life. It was decorated with positive affirmations and even sympathetic sculptures. Suicides increased sixfold the following year.

The "suicide palm" recently discovered in Madagascar flowers itself to death. The plant grows for decades before exploding with nectar-rich blossoms that deplete the plant's nutrients and cause it to die.

British woman Amy Dallamura was banned from being within 50 meters of the sea after she unsuccessfully tried to commit suicide by throwing herself into the ocean fifty times - costing emergency crews over £1m.

Chen Si is a Chinese man who has spent every weekend since December 19, 2003 voluntarily patrolling the world's most popular suicide site. As a result, he has prevented over 400 people from jumping over the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge.

Don Ritchie (June 9, 1925 – May 13, 2012) was an Australian who talked at least 160 people out of committing suicide at Watson's Bay by offering them a cup of tea and someone to talk to. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for his efforts.

The irrational feeling of wanting to jump off a high building or to swerve your car into a tree has a name - L'appel du vide (call of the void).

Source Suicide