“I just can’t do this anymore,” the woman whispers softly. She is lying in her hospital bed, illuminated by the glaring lights of the intensive care unit. Mrs. Jones is a woman in her late 50s. Despite her hospital gown, she is neatly groomed and appears more ready to go out with friends than sit here in this place and have this conversation with me. She looks very much like your neighbor or someone you might see sitting at a coffee shop with a table or friends. Except for the bandage wrapped around her neck. Underneath is a deep, self-inflicted stab wound.
“Just can’t do what?” I ask gently, moving my chair closer to hear her.
“Life,” she offers, giving a weak smile, giving her hand a quick, dismissive wave. She goes on to tell me of a life once filled with friends and family, two children and a handful of grandchildren, and an active circle of friends. But then, five years ago, her husband died unexpectedly and her friends, mostly married couples, slowly drifted away. “I don’t go out much anymore. The kids are busy. . . .” Her voice fades. “I just don’t see a reason to get out of bed in the morning. There is no reason.”
***
The story of Mrs. Jones — and those who tragically never make it to the hospital — is playing out across America as suicides increased by an alarming 24 percent between 1999 and 2014, with the greatest increase seen in girls and women, ages 10 to 14 and 45 to 64. While the rate of suicide increased for both men and women, women saw a staggering 45 percent increase overall. For middle-aged women, suicide remains among the top 10 leading causes of death. This marked rise, revealed in a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this month, has left us scrambling to understand what could be driving this wave of suicides.
A look at the trends has led to a variety of ideas:
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[…] Meghan Riddle with the University of Washington, who writes for Women’s Voices for Change, published an article in 2016 about the increase in female suicides from 1999 to 2014, pointing out that women ages 45 to 64 […]