Every once in a while, I come across news or other revelations that help me piece together the puzzle of my dad’s suicide. Even though I’ll never have the puzzle solved, I do find some comfort in this information when I find it. This week, the Huffington Post reported findings of a study that showed a ‘clear rise in the number of suicides globally in 2009,’ one year after the global financial crisis. In the U.S., this impact was felt most heavily in males 45-64.
While my dad, 64, took his life in 2011, I feel these concerns and unpredictability about the future were one of the stress factors in his life. In fact, I think these worries continue to permeate our society today as we are still climbing out of that economic mess. What this tells me is that he wasn’t alone in what he was going through mentally. Of course, it doesn’t justify his decision, but it gives me a glimpse into the weight of his concerns. I don’t necessarily think my dad had much reason to worry about this, but I do know it was something that loomed in the back of his mind and could have contributed to the domino effect of worry and anxiety. I think most head-of-household men carry with them that pressure of being able to provide for their families and lead a comfortable lifestyle.
I don’t have too much more to say about this, but of course, the headline of this article caught my attention. They did reiterate that the increase in suicides after the global financial crisis was not a cause but a correlation.
