Suicide Growing Among Thais

[Chads]

imo most cannot afford the iPad/iPhone plus the amout of skin bleeching required to be white enough to be in the 'cool group'. since 90% of people on TV have these things and are 'white' while most of the population can only dream, their selfworth will continue to fall.

only dark skinned people on tv are commedians.

O K I was with you up until

only dark skinned people on tv are commedians.

What are you talking about.

You don't think so? Who was the last lead/semi-lead actor or popstar you've seen on Thai tv that was a darker shade of Thai?

[hellodolly]

imo most cannot afford the iPad/iPhone plus the amout of skin bleeching required to be white enough to be in the 'cool group'. since 90% of people on TV have these things and are 'white' while most of the population can only dream, their selfworth will continue to fall.

only dark skinned people on tv are commedians.

Err.. what?

He is being sarcastic. And the stereotypes he's used have some truth in them.

2011 suicide rate is 6.03 per 100,000 persons Thailand

2009 suicide rate is 6.9 per 100,000 persons United Kingdom

2008 suicide rate is 11.8 per 100,000 persons United States

2011 suicide rate is 21.4 per 100,000 persons Russia

Looks likes Thailand is not the only country in need of more Apple products and skin cream

Thanks for the statistics. Suicide may be rite or it may be wrong but it is final.

In some countries it is legal under certain conditions. Two of them have been mentioned here. Fatal illness with no hope and not wanting to be a burden on others.

It is interesting that the more Westernized Thailand becomes the higher the suicide rate gets. Perhaps instead of trying to Westernize Thailand the Western world should have been looking at how to Easternize some of their belief system.

Instead they have been slowly but slowly been changing the Thai culture to put material things ahead of personal value. Slowly but shurley they are getting the people to think more about a new more modern telephone or other electronic equipment. Most of which the majority of the Thai's can not afford. So it is just another reason to feel down on their selves.

I really don't know why it is so important to look white but it is to a lot of them. They don't realize that makes no difference the color of your skin it is what is in you that counts. That is what they held dearly to until the white man showed up with his new way of materialistic living.

[TomTao]

Forgive me if my reply seems a little naive on this subject, but I wonder if the suicide rate has anything to do with the way the young people are not taught how to handle failure, in school if a student fails an exam they get to do it again and again and again till they pass, I was even told by one teacher that "no student fails, they are helped until they pass", this does not prepare them for the reality of life, where for example, if they fail a university entrance exam they don't get in, they fail, something that had never happened before.

[Sharp]

Enough to throw yourself to the Crocodiles then.

Yeah I read that bit drastic I might add.....ouch ouch ya twisting me neck with ya dam rollin....

Sent from my iPad using ThaiVisa app

[Nisa]

yes i wonder about the reincarnation belief and the potential for recklesness which is its corrolary too...nice comment Thai Rich

Reincarnation is viewed closer to a punishment than any kind of reward and committing suicide would ensure you come back in very low status. I think the the Biblical community would be more inclined to off themselves in terms of afterlife rewards but again suicide is usually viewed as a no-no. But to be clear the ultimate goal of a Buddhist is to not be reborn.

I think the point is that they believe they will be reborn so death is not final. Like taking a mulligan in the game of life.

If a mulligan means playing the game as a cockroach sure. My point is relating suicide to beliefs is not logical as a suicide is going to get you a terrible life or afterlife and even if reborn, you don't remember your previous life, so it is final. Not worrying about death is something very different as if you have led a good life you will move closer to not being reborn or in biblical beliefs go to heaven which is a far much better place than earth. Generally speaking, people who are suicidal are not thinking clearly and to relate it to Buddhist beliefs isn't logical ... especially considering the rates are not higher than in many biblical countries.

People of all claimed faiths kill themselves all over the world every day. To attribute a religious belief for having a greater increase in suicide in a country where the suicide rate is lower than others doesn't make sense.

[snowflake]

Today as I went for my extra class teaching a bunch of teachers, they told me they were late because they had attended the funeral of a 15 year old student who hung herself last week. Today was the final day.

I asked why and they told me that her grandfather had raped her and she could not live with the shame..

Grandfather goes free- she is dead. How is that for justice... Very sa story and I think that the government shoul do alo more to work against suicides... 11 years I have been here, several campains against smoking and drinking, aids and cancer- nothing about suicides... Really not good enough...

Boys are only told to "suck it up and be quiet", girls with depressions are often put there by family and constant pecking from relatives and peers...

Just thought I would share...

Sent from my GT-S5660 using Thaivisa Connect App

[squarethecircle]

It'd be interesting to see why exactly Thais or other Asians might commit suicide; I know the suicide rate is higher in Japan/Korea, but those are much higher-paced and (at least from my observation) more stressed out than Thai society. I'm told that "losing face" can cause even a peaceful Thai to commit homicide; I wonder if something related to "face" might also cause them commit suicide. I doubt that depression plays out in the same way over here, though certainly chemical inbalances (dopamine/serotonin related?) must come into play here as well. Are there any experts on Thai culture here?

[FarangTalk]

2011 suicide rate is 6.03 per 100,000 persons Thailand

2009 suicide rate is 6.9 per 100,000 persons United Kingdom

2008 suicide rate is 11.8 per 100,000 persons United States

2011 suicide rate is 21.4 per 100,000 persons Russia

Looks likes Thailand is not the only country in need of more Apple products and skin cream

No link therefore I can only assume you made those statistics up.

Remember statistics are only as accurate as the country providing them. And we all know Thailand is incompetent and unreliable when it comes to accurately recording or reporting.

Here's a link that shows Thailand above the UK and US for suicide numbers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate

[tonglen]

I have to wonder about some of you guys.

Suicide and depression are major issues which affect not only the victim but also their family and friends. Death is usually sudden, unexpected and unannounced.

It is fine to use humour in any situation, but at least make the humour in good taste when addressing this issue.

Also, It is another thing entirely to trivialise the matter by making inane comments.

Agreed. I have been guilty of making off-the-cuff comments before, but this is no laughing matter.

The fact that someone felt they had no options other than to take their own life is a very sad thing.

[FarangTalk]

Yet another site confirming Thailand having a higher suicide rate than either the UK or US.

http://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/cause-of-death/suicide/by-country/

[Soi Sauce]

Somebody promised the peopke everything. They are beginning to realise they will get nothing. In the meantime, Thailand's rich move up on the Forbe's scale, and the reds get nothing.

All that sacrifice for nothing. Realization is the source of this.

[Nisa]

2011 suicide rate is 6.03 per 100,000 persons Thailand

2009 suicide rate is 6.9 per 100,000 persons United Kingdom

2008 suicide rate is 11.8 per 100,000 persons United States

2011 suicide rate is 21.4 per 100,000 persons Russia

Looks likes Thailand is not the only country in need of more Apple products and skin cream

No link therefore I can only assume you made those statistics up.

Remember statistics are only as accurate as the country providing them. And we all know Thailand is incompetent and unreliable when it comes to accurately recording or reporting.

Here's a link that shows Thailand above the UK and US for suicide numbers.

http://en.wikipedia....by_suicide_rate

Did you look at the dates or even the data to see it is exactly what I posted above except for have taken the 2011 stats from Thailand in the OP and not the 2002 stats listed on the link.

But why bother debating as if you don't like the numbers you can just says Thailand doesn't report the truth which makes me wonder why even bother coming to a thread which reports such numbers.

[doodle]

2011 suicide rate is 6.03 per 100,000 persons Thailand

2009 suicide rate is 6.9 per 100,000 persons United Kingdom

2008 suicide rate is 11.8 per 100,000 persons United States

2011 suicide rate is 21.4 per 100,000 persons Russia

Looks likes Thailand is not the only country in need of more Apple products and skin cream

No link therefore I can only assume you made those statistics up.

Remember statistics are only as accurate as the country providing them. And we all know Thailand is incompetent and unreliable when it comes to accurately recording or reporting.

Here's a link that shows Thailand above the UK and US for suicide numbers.

http://en.wikipedia....by_suicide_rate

Did you look at the dates or even the data to see it is exactly what I posted above except for have taken the 2011 stats from Thailand in the OP and not the 2002 stats listed on the link.

But why bother debating as if you don't like the numbers you can just says Thailand doesn't report the truth which makes me wonder why even bother coming to a thread which reports such numbers.

[jbrain]

Suicide growing among Thais

Another proof that everything is so rosy in Thailand,don't you think.

[doodle]

Hi Nisa,

I don't know why you bother with this lot. I think most of them don't actually read the posts properly. Your original post, with these statistics, should have effectively closed the thread or at least moved it in a more sensible direction.

[bina]

empiraclly speaking (sp) i can say that what christian missionary groups here in israel that help the thai workers have told me that a large percentage of the workers here suffer from chronic depression; alcoholism and yaba add to the physcial and mental breakdown of the men (mostly men working here away from home), super long work hours *(sometimes up to 14 hours for very little money) seem to contribute as well as problems at home that they are unable to do deal with: wife runs away with a farang, stealing all the money the guy has been working for; deaths in family and unable to go back to home visit (employers fine/charge for plane flight etc ); ill children and the helplessness of being away and ot being able to really see what problems are at home; hiearchcy in the workers' villages here (usually there is a pu yai baan, veteran workers get better beds, softer conditions, access to things and ability to have the employer 'let things slide' when screwing up; horrible debts here to the thai mafia (hi/lo and ya ba).. the lists are endless;

the thing is, is that most thais (at least the males) have no friendship network for discussing 'inner feelings'. they just dont. bsically if u dont have something good to say, then dont say anything. they also dont have anywhere outside the village/pi/nong/worker area/neighbhorhood to turn to speak to .

in addition, thais seem to be noncompiant when getting meds; so even getting anti depressants doesnt help cause its for short perdiods of time, or there is no followup or the person doesnt do the follow up.... because they msotly arent raised in a culture where self care (doc appointments, followups, blood titers, re evaluations) is promoted like it is in the west.

my husband went in to depression last winter and it was a miserable winter for me as well. the only help came from a chinese male friend who would take him out a bit (sans alcohol, we really worked hard to get hime to do sports and not drink anything alcoholoic, get him out of the house and active, and to talk... but it was a really difficult mission.) as it turns out, women friends of mine with thai husbands mentioned they had similar situations. suicide was not, i think, an option, but self destructive behavior, or non concern for self certainly was (driving car carelessly, sort of 'tempting fate'...).

my chinese friends, being christian, felt that not having a particular focal point of belief mde it more difficult to deal with life and problems (god helps, god loves, blabla). having a particular religioun also means community and help from within. here there are no monks. in thailand, i suspect that once monks DID play a big part in mental health care, but now they dont, but there is nothing toreplace the lack thereof. so more suicides. also younger teens are less apt to go to a monk for help.

i know tha tmy husband's trigger was his age, and lack of me giving birth to a child of his, not owning his own house here or in thailand, a run after money that we never seem to catch up to, and friends seem to goad him on (you are israeli now, u should have tons of money, why dont u get a mia noi to have a child, etc.... and then offer him a glass of vodka rather then rallying around to show him what he DOES have in life.

these of course are my own impressions and those of several friends here in israel that work with the mostly male, mostly issaan thai very extensive labourer community here (chinese woman who is a pastor here for chinese mostly male ocmmunity, and trained in counselling== asian style obviously; and also by another pastor who lived for 20 years in thailand/speaks issaan fluently... who also does counselling here . )

have not heard of suicides here but plenty of alcohol /pill/induced almost deaths or deaths here.

bina

israel

[Woodcaulk]

Here's a theory that makes about as much sense as all the "expert" analysis on TV.....Its about Cambodia.

Cambodia has this awesome temple...I think its called "Preah Vihear .....and then of course they have a really kick-ass Casino-Hotel Resort ....Naga World.

What does Thailand have?.....Alcatraz and Lady boys on every corner........depressing enough to make some Thais want to feed the crocodiles. ........

[Rob8891]

Nisa

Good on you, and other like-minded posters who are trying to talk sense to what are apparently some very ignorant and unsympathetic people. A lot of phrases spring to mind...."casting pearls before swine", and "peeing into the wind" are just two.

I suspect that nothing anyone says or does will change their minds, no matter how hard you try, and no matter how eloquently and lucidly you do it. I also suspect that, (heaven forbid) should they find themselves at the end of their tether with life's rocky road, they could well be looking for a friendly shoulder to lean on, a sympathetic ear to hear their story, but all they find are people of a like ilk. How sad it would be if no one was there for them at a time when all they could see was a lonely, black, yawning gulf in front of them.... the long goodnight.

We all have choices that influence our present and our future. Some call it karma; some would acribe to "do unto others, etc", but others may only be able to recognise it as "what goes around comes around". Trolling is not smart. Belittling others is not funny or admirable. Think how you would feel to be the target of such cr@p. At least you'll be able to appreciate the kisk the perpetrators would be getting out of belittling you.

"There's none so deaf as them as doesn't want to hear."

[DeepInTheForest]

2011 suicide rate is 6.03 per 100,000 persons Thailand

2009 suicide rate is 6.9 per 100,000 persons United Kingdom

2008 suicide rate is 11.8 per 100,000 persons United States

2011 suicide rate is 21.4 per 100,000 persons Russia

Looks likes Thailand is not the only country in need of more Apple products and skin cream

No link therefore I can only assume you made those statistics up.

Remember statistics are only as accurate as the country providing them. And we all know Thailand is incompetent and unreliable when it comes to accurately recording or reporting.

Here's a link that shows Thailand above the UK and US for suicide numbers.

http://en.wikipedia....by_suicide_rate

I never wish to criticize my fellow posters, but the content of their posts sometimes must be addressed. This post beggars belief.

Simply put, the facts are presented are incorrect.

From the very link you provided (M, F, total, per 100,000):

Rates for US: 19.0, 4.9, 11.8

Rates for Thailand: 12.0, 3.8, 7.8

This directly contradicts your assertion, does it not?

And by the way, at the top of the wiki page you cite is the warning: "This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please help to ensure that disputed statements are reliably sourced."

And we want to criticize Thailand for being incompetent and unreliable in reporting statistics...

Incidentally, the wiki page consists of data from "the most recent available year", (a single year, and not the same year for all countries) which in a number of instances was over 10 years old. This is not very useful data. One suspects that for suicide, data will generally be suspect, even in the most developed countries.

Haiti occupies pride of place in the list as well.

[KRS1]

imo most cannot afford the iPad/iPhone plus the amout of skin bleeching required to be white enough to be in the 'cool group'. since 90% of people on TV have these things and are 'white' while most of the population can only dream, their selfworth will continue to fall.

only dark skinned people on tv are commedians.

How stupid can one man named Paul be?

[simple1]

Yes, this is the result of an easy education system that allows students to perform poorly and still graduate. This is the result of a society that has children everything is always sanook, never time for seriousness and the things they ask their parents for are usually given to them. Then as adults they are hit with the harsh reality that life is not all fun and games, that very rarely is it ever sanook, that most of the time we don't have all the things we want and these people have not been taught how to deal with these situations and the reality of life and they just can't handle it.

Part of me also thinks it has a little bit to do with the belief of reincarnation.

Personally I don't agree. The caveat being for for practicing Buddhists, since the first precept is to refrain from the destruction of life, including one's self, suicide is seen as a negative form of action. More info at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_suicide#Buddhism

[webfact]

update

TEEN SUICIDES

Health official sounds alarm

Duangkamol Sajirawattanakul

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- Suicide is the No 3 cause of Thai teenagers' deaths, with 852 teen suicides from 2007 to 2011, or an average of 170 cases per year, Mental Health Department deputy chief Thawee Tangseri said yesterday.

He presided over an opening ceremony at Bangkok's CentralWorld of the campaign to mark the September 10 World Suicide Prevention Day.

More than 3,500 Thais committed suicide per year and last year there were 3,873 suicides, Thawee said.

Teenagers are especially vulnerable because they lack experience in facing big challenges and have a greater risk of mental-health problems.

Last year, the suicide rate among Thais aged 15 to 19 was at 3.43 per 100,000.

Male teens are three times more likely to kill themselves than female teens, who are three times more likely to injure themselves than males.

With 51.1 per cent of Thai teen suicides of schooling age, Thawee urged parents to watch their children, especially during stressful the General Aptitude Test (GAT)/Professional Aptitude Test (PAT) period.

Like adult suicides, hanging was the most-used method among teens at 75.29 per cent followed by drinking pesticide at 16.47 per cent. Teen suicides mostly occurred suddenly due to a crisis, such as school pressures or a relationship, rather than from long-existing mental problems.

About 16.8 per cent of suicides were committed by those with a prior history of self-injury.

Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai had the most teen suicides respectively. Thawee also expressed concern about Bangkok teens, whose suicide rate was 2.9 per cent, not counting unreported cases.

-- The Nation 2012-09-07

[bangkokjase]

Not surprising. Any culture that rapidly transitions from community-based economy to pay-or-die capitalism, that erodes family and community emotional and wisdom support, that abandons a healthy diet for a sugar-ladened, chemical-contaminated, nutrient-stripped diet, and that replaces a balanced pace of life with a caffeine-fueled hyper speed, anxiety-ridden way of life is going to experience steadily increasing incidence of depression, hopelessness, fear, mental-imbalance, physical disease, and suicide. It's a integral part of consumer culture. Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States. It's just part of the price that humans pay in their quest to order their lives to match the consumer templates that they're fed by their media devises, and unfortunately modern society accepts this price all too willingly.

[jerrysteve]

Psychologist tell us there are signs people display that maybe contemplating suicide.

Being able to recognize changes in behavior, eat habits , talking about dying.

Severe depression and a hose of other signs.

Changes in sleeping habits.

Changes in personality.

Recent loss of someone close.

Lack of hope for the future.

Loss of control. Loss of control.

Being astute enough a freind of someone showing signs like that maybe time to help get professional help.

As it turns out research statistics indicate that men seem to have a higher rate of suicide than women.

[theblether]

geriatrickid was correct when he said that accurate reporting would would be a factor in the increase of reported cases, however over and above that there are now pressures on people that weren't there before.

Thailand has / is moving swiftly from an agrarian economy where village life and family life was the core, to a concrete jungle / money chasing / keeping up with Joneses hell for many people.

Debt levels are ridiculous and endemic, loan sharks are everywhere, families are being split all over the country as people chase the dream, and the pressure to succeed is getting worse.

It's a heady and poisonous cocktail......and unfortunately it's going to get worse again.

.

[Nisa]

And again to put things in perspective ...

Global suicide rates among adolescents in the 15-19 age group

, according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) Mortality Database, were examined. Data for this age group were available from 90 countries (in some cases areas) out of the 130 WHO member states.

The mean suicide rate for this age group, based on data available for the latest year, was 7.4/100,000

(or about double the latest reported rate in Thailand)

. Suicide rates were higher in males (10.5) than in females (4.1).

World Psychiatry. 2005 June; 4(2): 114–120. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1414751/

[maidu]

Kids look to their elders (older siblings, parents, teachers) for examples of 'how to be.' and also for solace and to calibrate their moral compass.

When their elders are decrepit, then it's no surprise there are problems with those they influence.

There are many factors leading to suicides. From observing Thailand for a quarter century, I wouldn't doubt gender insecurities are a factor in many confused youth.

Some suggestions: (a) more 'outdoor time' and sports at schools. (b.) Less soap opera watching on TV (watching emotionally shipwrecked characters, always crying, yelling, getting angry/vengful, ad nauseum). © more honesty and less heavy drinking by elders (d) more reading to kids by parents, and (e) Less 'DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO' attitude by elders, especially those who smoke, drink, yell, and giggle about cheating on taxes (guess who that refers to).

As important as anything else, is elders taking time to listen to kids, and not responding with blustering; "I HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS. THIS IS HOW YOU HAVE TO BE"

[jackr]

imo most cannot afford the iPad/iPhone plus the amout of skin bleeching required to be white enough to be in the 'cool group'. since 90% of people on TV have these things and are 'white' while most of the population can only dream, their selfworth will continue to fall.

only dark skinned people on tv are commedians.

It's only Thais so we can trivialize it, right!

With the culture of face being all important, the likelihood of suicide here is probably higher than most places. Couple that with a deteriorating lifestyle--in no small part through a dodgy government and unabated cost of living--and you have a recipe for disaster among have-nots. Kids here are also under immense pressure from parents to perform. Just keeping up to speed with the whole monetary system itself is enough to push people of sound mind over the edge, anywhere, but throw depression into the mix...

I also imagine the concept of suicide for Thais (no chance of achieving nirvana) makes it all the more difficult.

[teacher17]

It's a serious problem here. In my BF's village, a family member has recently hung herself (she was 86 years old) because her husband (88 years old...) was always verbally abusive to her. There might have been other reasons as well...but everyone was surprised she committed suicide. While here for a year and a half, in the village alone there were 3 suicides...which seems like a lot. I expect it will take a long time for Thai people to recognize depression as a disease...makes me wonder what they do with the actual seriously mentally ill people....and what mental institutions are like (if they even have any).

[hellodolly]

It'd be interesting to see why exactly Thais or other Asians might commit suicide; I know the suicide rate is higher in Japan/Korea, but those are much higher-paced and (at least from my observation) more stressed out than Thai society. I'm told that "losing face" can cause even a peaceful Thai to commit homicide; I wonder if something related to "face" might also cause them commit suicide. I doubt that depression plays out in the same way over here, though certainly chemical inbalances (dopamine/serotonin related?) must come into play here as well. Are there any experts on Thai culture here?

Not really but there is a lot of criticizers of it.

It would be interesting to hear from a expert.