Worrying Rise In Thai Youth Suicides

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Worrying rise in youth suicides

By THE NATION ON SUNDAY

Published on January 3, 2010

Suicide has become the fourth major cause of death from injury as young people increasingly take their own lives.

Paijit Warachit, permanent secretary of the Public Health Ministry, said yesterday that the Bureau of Epidemiology's injury watch in 2008 found that 30 major hospitals' emergency rooms had admitted 7,237 people suffering from self-inflicted injuries with the intent of committing suicide.

They accounted for 2 per cent of the year's 366,400 patients from all injuries.

Altogether, 439 people succeeded in taking their own lives, making up 7 per cent of all fatalities from injuries.

Citing reports from 2004-2008, Paijit said there was a growing trend of people hurting themselves in suicide attempts every year.

In 2008, more women tried suicide but men were twice as successful.

Most of the suicidal were aged 20-24 at 22 per cent, followed by those 15-19 at 20 per cent and 25-29 at 17 per cent. Over a third were workers, followed by students at 17 per cent and the unemployed at 12 per cent. About 82 per cent tried to kill themselves at home, and mostly from 6pm-10pm.

Swallowing dangerous chemicals or poison was the most common method at 23 per cent, followed by overdosing on painkillers at 16 per cent and drinking pesticide at 15 per cent.

The reasons most cited were economic or social problems, stress and copying suicide news, he said.

Stressing that suicide was not the right solution to any problem, Paijit asked family members to take good care of each other, be more loving and caring and communicate more. Then youngsters would have someone to consult with about their problems and would be less likely to consider ending their life.

People should exercise more to alleviate stress and make their bodies produce endorphin, the hormone of happiness.

Besides the call service for mental health issues at provincial health offices, people could also ask for advice at the ministry's toll-free 1667 hotline around the clock, he added.

-- The Nation 2010-01-03

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[LaoPo]

"Most of the suicidal were aged 20-24 at 22 per cent, followed by those 15-19 at 20 per cent and 25-29 at 17 per cent. Over a third were workers, followed by students at 17 per cent and the unemployed at 12 per cent. About 82 per cent tried to kill themselves at home, and mostly from 6pm-10pm."

Teens’ lack of sleep linked to suicide thoughts

By Bloomberg News | January 2, 2010

Late nights may make teenagers more prone to depression and suicidal thoughts by depriving them of sleep, according to a study by researchers at Columbia University.

Teens whose parents let them go to bed past midnight were 24 percent more likely to be depressed and 20 percent more likely to have contemplated suicide than peers whose parents set bedtimes at or before 10 p.m., the researchers said yesterday in the journal Sleep. Earlier set bedtimes may be protective because they increase the likelihood of getting enough sleep, they said. The study is the first to show that sleep deprivation may cause depression and suicidal thoughts in adolescents. Previous research has shown a link, though the relationship was not clear because insomnia can be a symptom of depression.

“Our results strengthen the argument that lack of sleep can cause depression as opposed to simply being a symptom of depression,’’ James Gangwisch, the study’s lead author and an assistant professor at the university’s medical center, said in an e-mail. “Adequate quality sleep could therefore be a preventative measure against depression and a treatment for depression.’’

About 4,400 Americans between the ages of 10 and 24 commit suicide each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gangwisch and colleagues studied data from 15,659 US students, who were in grades seven to 12 between 1994 and 1996, and their parents. Seven percent of the teens were found to have depression and 13 percent said they seriously contemplated suicide during the preceding 12 months.

Bloomberg

LaoPo

[geriatrickid]

The US study suppositions may not be appropriate for the results in Thailand. They are no more applicable than the possible causation factors for the high rate of suicide in Sweden. Different social factors are implicated for Thailand. However, what is common is that females are more likely to attempt suicide as a means of bringing attention to themselves as are males. When a male chooses this route, the outcome is already decided upon.

what a lovely way to start my Saturday morning. I wave my buddy off to his university seminar and settle in to reading up on suicide. Yup. Goes with the overcast sky here in Phuket.

[slapout]

I think it is Sunday in CM, and clear skies, but yes (suicide) seems to be some peoples way of getting out of circumstances in which they feel helpless to determine an outcome which they desire. I can partially understand those terminally ill, the chronic depressed, mentally disturbed, etc (for want of better terminology), its the young (teenagers) that take this route, my heart goes out to them and their families as I do not have an inkling as to prevention.

[Scott]

Suicide is such an unnecessary waste of a life. Now I don't feel so guilty about letting students sleep through class. I've always maintained the world would be a much better place if we all took a nap in the afternoon.

I never thought that lack of sleep was a problem in Thailand because I often see people sleeping in the oddest places.

[geriatrickid]

I think it is Sunday in CM,.

oops sorry. I've been off rotation and clueless since Jan. 1. Thanks. My friend usually has his seminars saturday but yesterday was a holiday. Sunday is the day I call my parental units and let them know I am still alive. :}

[Scott]

Don't worry Geriatrickid, I haven't finished Saturday yet either, even if it is Sunday.

[KKvampire]

Last semester a M5 girl in my class committed suicide because her father found she had a boyfriend and her school results were not very good. Actually he only found out about her boyfriend because a Thai teacher told her father. The girl drank a poison liquid the next day

Edited January 3, 2010 by KKvampire

[sharecropper]

Last semester a M5 girl in my class committed suicide because her father found she had a boyfriend and her school results were not very good. Actually he only found out about her boyfriend because a Thai teacher told her father. The girl swallowed drank a poison liquid the next day

What a terrible story.

What did the Thai teacher feel about the result of his meddling?

[fiercesnake]

Last semester a M5 girl in my class committed suicide because her father found she had a boyfriend and her school results were not very good. Actually he only found out about her boyfriend because a Thai teacher told her father. The girl drank a poison liquid the next day

Almost unbelievable but no it sounds true. The idea that Thai teachers here are some sort of moral guiders so that the average Thai will comply with societal demands makes me understand why there is still such a big divide between Thai teachers and Farang teachers. Clearly large cultural and societal differences exist and for a farang teacher to become involved in personal matters of a young love affair would be considered atrocious for this very reason!

I have found that when the Education department invites foreign teachers to give teacher training courses for Thais the result is clear contempt for what is suggested. Usually they have to be virtually forced to attend and although they are polite with the usual smiles, the underlying theme is why the heck is this foreigner telling us how to teach? Though the department may attempt to want a change, changing culture in the Thai education system will be extremely difficult and take a long time to improve.

It doesn't surprise me why so many better off Thais want their kids to go to international schools under the guidance of teachers from the developed world. I've noticed here if an average Thai moves into better social status or increased money, as middle classes are on the increase, especially in Bangkok, one of the first things they do is to move their kids to upmarket international schools. In this I find the parents here, in general, will struggle just to give their children the best opportunity to get ahead even if they struggle to pay the fees.

I am appalled at the interference of a teacher into a personal matter which led to the suicide of a young lass . This issue should have been dealt with in a much more understanding manner! Sadly there is still a long way to go to bridge the gap between the good points of Thailand and the good points of the developed nations.

[bina]

parental units

geez geriatric kid, i know u are supposed to be young but WE used that phrase 'way back when in the 1970/80's' ) ...

for the OP- curiously enough there is a thread in the buddhist forum about budhism and suicide and the thai attitude towards suicide. anybody know? (burial outside the fence, like for jews- eternal damnation for christian sects, etc)

and as far as poison vs. pesticides? isnt pesticide a poison? what other poisons would a teen use? here the main method seems to be pills or slitting wrists among the teenage and young adult groups. the males shoot themselves here as weopons are easily come by (there are soldiers in every family). interesting that poison is the method of choice...

bina

israel

[noahvail]

The US study suppositions may not be appropriate for the results in Thailand. They are no more applicable than the possible causation factors for the high rate of suicide in Sweden. Different social factors are implicated for Thailand. However, what is common is that females are more likely to attempt suicide as a means of bringing attention to themselves as are males. When a male chooses this route, the outcome is already decided upon.

what a lovely way to start my Saturday morning. I wave my buddy off to his university seminar and settle in to reading up on suicide. Yup. Goes with the overcast sky here in Phuket.

Agreed, cultural mores may dictate some of the reasons why people are drawn to taking their own lives. And yet, there are certainly cross-cultural reasons as well.[/i]

slapout Posted Today, 2010-01-03 10:25:57

I think it is Sunday in CM, and clear skies, but yes (suicide) seems to be some peoples way of getting out of circumstances in which they feel helpless to determine an outcome which they desire. I can partially understand those terminally ill, the chronic depressed, mentally disturbed, etc (for want of better terminology), its the young (teenagers) that take this route, my heart goes out to them and their families as I do not have an inkling as to prevention.

Among the young, there are those who are terminally ill, are chronically depressed, have major mental illnesses, etc. Being of youthful age has no bearing on tragic afflictions. In addition, the young are often not experienced in dealing with the difficulties of life, so instead of some insidious ailment, they can overwhelmed by a single (or number of) situational event(s).

As an aside, older males have a disproportionate rate of successful suicide (but that's another topic, one which the BIB seem to have hitched onto).

It would be easy to conjecture the red flags that may have come up prior to this young woman's tragic suicide, that might have shown a potential intent. Imho this is not the place.

R.I.P.

[samuitone]

Not showing 'Suicide News' might be a start !!

[tjansen]

Good, I get to ask two silly, unrelated questions at once.

What is or what does BIB stand for?

What does IMHO stand for?

Not showing 'Suicide News' might be a start !!

[samuitone]

Good, I get to ask two silly, unrelated questions at once.

What is or what does BIB stand for?

What does IMHO stand for?

Not showing 'Suicide News' might be a start !!

IMHO = 'in my honest opinion'

BIB = Sorry, i dunno either !!

[way2muchcoffee]

BIB = Boys in Brown also known as police

[Scully]

Good, I get to ask two silly, unrelated questions at once.

What is or what does BIB stand for?

What does IMHO stand for?

Not showing 'Suicide News' might be a start !!

IMHO = 'in my honest opinion'

BIB = Sorry, i dunno either !!

Boys in blue, however it still makes no sense.

[tjansen]

Thanks. I hope I can remember those. They appear fairly frequently.

Good, I get to ask two silly, unrelated questions at once.

What is or what does BIB stand for?

What does IMHO stand for?

Not showing 'Suicide News' might be a start !!

IMHO = 'in my honest opinion'

BIB = Sorry, i dunno either !!

Boys in blue, however it still makes no sense.

[bina]

BIB - boys in brown-the thai police uniform is brownish. -- referring to alleged corruption/the dark forces side of life in thailand that males can get involved with: 'make it look like a suicide' type stuff; or-- the amount of farang males that seem to find themselves 'dead by suicide' that make our news here...

as opposed to suicides due to family pressure/loss of honour (pregnancy or whatever), mental illness, etc.

bina

[Brunus]

Sadly this doesn't surprise me. Major depressive disorder and other mood disorders are the cause of most of suicides. Unfortunately, if I remember well, depression is the major cause of morbidity worldwide for people aged 20-40. Usually this disorder and other mental disorders are associated with social isolation, problems with the family (especially parents divorced), child abuse (physical or emotional) and other causes I don't remember well. No wonder that a society where ancient local values are so important, but has to face the globalization challenge, the risk of these kind of diseases will raise.

[wasabi]

Up until about 5 years ago I felt depressed very often and did consider suicide from time to time though never acted on it. A deep dark depression is hard to crawl out of. The pain is very real though it may start mentally. There is a total lack of energy or appetite. Days just seem to go on without anything really worth getting up for.

For a Thai person stuck in a menial job and perhaps in an abusive relationship I could see suicide seeming like a viable option. It is quite sad and I am not condoning it, only sympathizing. The high Sweden suicide rate is interesting, is that due to a lack of sunlight or too much? I do think extremes of either effects you and that is a second factor that effects me but that is one advantage Thai people do have, sunny warm weather year round.

I really admire the smile that the majority of Thai's keep on their faces in spite of adversity. Particularly your average Issaan rice farmer who knows they only have a life of toil ahead of them. Sometimes you just have to find peace in the smallest things, a cat sleeping in the windowsill, a hot cup of coffee. I encourage anyone ever considering suicide for depression reasons to seek console in a relative or friend, because depression can be overcome for me coming To Thailand did it. For those that wish to end their lives due to chronic illness or pain I think that is very understandable and wish we had more compassionate laws for Euthanasia. I remember when I first heard that I thought it meant Youth in Asia. I guess in this thread that's a bit ironic.

Edited January 3, 2010 by wasabi

[DegenFarang]

400 suicides in a year does not sound like a lot to me for a country with 60,000,000 people - I would venture to guess that the USA has a far higher rate of suicide and especially Japan will be exponentially higher per capita.

[Brunus]

Wasabi

I am happy that Thailand has helped you out with your problem. As far as I know lack of sunlight or too much is not a cause for these problems, but maybe in the future somebody will find a link.

Unfortunately I think those smiles often are a facade used to cover big problems.

Anyways, good luck to you and to people in a similar situation.

[sharecropper]

Up until about 5 years ago I felt depressed very often and did consider suicide from time to time though never acted on it. A deep dark depression is hard to crawl out of. The pain is very real though it may start mentally. There is a total lack of energy or appetite. Days just seem to go on without anything really worth getting up for.

For a Thai person stuck in a menial job and perhaps in an abusive relationship I could see suicide seeming like a viable option. It is quite sad and I am not condoning it, only sympathizing. The high Sweden suicide rate is interesting, is that due to a lack of sunlight or too much? I do think extremes of either effects you and that is a second factor that effects me but that is one advantage Thai people do have, sunny warm weather year round.

I really admire the smile that the majority of Thai's keep on their faces in spite of adversity. Particularly your average Issaan rice farmer who knows they only have a life of toil ahead of them. Sometimes you just have to find peace in the smallest things, a cat sleeping in the windowsill, a hot cup of coffee. I encourage anyone ever considering suicide for depression reasons to seek console in a relative or friend, because depression can be overcome for me coming To Thailand did it. For those that wish to end their lives due to chronic illness or pain I think that is very understandable and wish we had more compassionate laws for Euthanasia. I remember when I first heard that I thought it meant Youth in Asia. I guess in this thread that's a bit ironic.

Thank you for sharing that thoughtful. personal post.

[OxfordWill]

would like to know what if any links to drug use these suicide stats have.

[LaoPo]

Data from World Health Organization in 2008:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_count...by_suicide_rate

Suicides per 100,000 people per year

Thailand: 7,8 (2002)

That's less than in my own country in Europe: 9,4 (2004)

and also much less than the USA: 11,1 (2005)

OR

Germany: (let's not forget about the Eastern Germans, living in poorer conditions than their Western citizens): 13,0 (2004)

New Zealand: 13,2 (2008) (Maori ?)

Denmark: 13,7 (2001) (maybe suicides from Greenland citizens I suppose; but thats an assumption not fact)

Belgium: 21,7 (1997)

quite a few countries from Eastern Europe in the VERY HIGH numbers of suicide, above 20 suicides per 100,000 people/year.

Lithuania leads the way with 38,6 (2005)

LaoPo

LaoPo

Edited January 4, 2010 by LaoPo

[Brunus]

would like to know what if any links to drug use these suicide stats have.

The DSM precludes a diagnosis of major depressive disorder for those presenting with "the direct physiological effects of a substance" because sedative hypnotic drugs such as alcohol and benzodiazepines increase the risk of a syndrome that is similar to major depression. This increased risk may be due in part to the effects of drugs on neurochemistry, such as decreased levels of serotonin and norepinephrine.^[18][77] Alcoholism or excessive alcohol consumption significantly increases the risk of developing this syndrome.^[78][79][80] Chronic use of benzodiazepines, a class of medication that is commonly used to treat insomnia, anxiety and muscular spasms, also increases the risk.^[81] Chronic, severe depression can develop as a result of chronic use of benzodiazepines or as part of a protracted withdrawal syndrome.^{[18][82][83][84]}

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_depressive_disorder

[djlest]

Its sad i do agree...

However it is far less than our european and western countries - thats for sure.

Thais are way way way more happier than us -

that's just a fact because they are easily amused by slapstick comedy and cartoons...

and exactly why we all sit here and prefer it here than back home... lets face it - we can be like peterpan again here...

However, as this whole country becomes more capilaist and materialistic everyday.

Bangkok becomes more and more fake and pretenteous everyday,

and the rats will follow the pied piper playing his merry merry tunes....

The old tradional thai ways dont mix well with the new ways - and there is friction in the schools.

After teaching in Chulrungkorn for a few years i can tell you - the kids there are seriously depressed and the rich families are more concerned with business and status and just let the maids bring up most the children... For sure somehthing aint right!!!

But this is what has to happen as a generation fights its strict repressed outlooks...

Thailand is a changing - and whether for better or worst, someone will die for not standing up and fighting...

Its simple - they either end it because they didnt stand up and fight..

or they grow some balls and stand up!

Nothing is worth dying for - except for dying naturally...