Suicide—The Hidden Epidemic

JOHN AND MARYa are in their late 50’s and live in the rural United States in a small house. John is slowly dying of emphysema and congestive heart failure. Mary simply cannot imagine life without John, and she cannot stand the pain of seeing him fade away, one gasping breath at a time. Mary has health problems of her own and has suffered for years from depression. John has been alarmed lately because Mary has been talking about suicide. Her thinking is increasingly confused because of the depression and all the medication she takes. She says that she cannot bear the thought of being alone.

The house is full of medicine—heart pills, antidepressants, tranquilizers. In the early hours one morning, Mary goes into the kitchen and just starts taking pills. She doesn’t stop until John finds her and takes the pills from her. He calls the rescue squad as she slips into a coma. He prays it is not too late.

What the Statistics Reveal

Much has been written in recent years about increasing numbers of suicides among the young—and rightly so, for what greater tragedy is there than the needless death of a young person, full of life and promise? Yet, overlooked in the headlines is the fact that the suicide rate in most countries rises steadily with age. This is true whether the overall suicide rate in a given country is high or low, as the box on the preceding page shows. A glance at those statistics also reveals the global nature of this hidden epidemic.

In 1996 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that the number of suicides among Americans aged 65 and older had jumped by 36 percent since 1980. Some of this increase was due to the greater numbers of elderly Americans—but not all of it. In 1996 the actual rate of suicide among those over 65 also went up, by 9 percent, for the first time in 40 years. Of injury-related deaths, only falls and motor-vehicle crashes killed more elderly Americans. Actually, even these alarming figures may be too low. “Suicide is suspected of being grossly understated in the statistics based on cause-of-death certification,” observes A Handbook for the Study of Suicide. The book adds that some estimate the actual figures to be twice as high as the reported statistics.

The result? The United States, like many other countries, is suffering from the hidden global epidemic of senior-citizen suicide. Dr. Herbert Hendin, an expert on the subject, notes: “Despite the fact that the suicide rate in the United States rises consistently and markedly with age, suicide among older people has received little public attention.” Why is that? He suggests that part of the problem is that since the suicide rate for older people has always been high, “it has not created the sudden alarm accompanying the dramatic increase in youthful suicide.”

A Terrible Efficiency

These statistics, although shocking, are just cold numbers. They cannot convey the loneliness of life without a cherished mate, the frustration of lost independence, the despair of a lingering disease, the emptiness of chronic depression, the hopelessness of a fatal illness. The sad truth is that while young people may attempt suicide as a reckless reaction to temporary problems, older people are usually faced with problems that seem to be permanent and unsolvable. As a result, they often approach suicide more determinedly than the young and carry it out with a terrible efficiency.

“Not only is suicide significantly more prevalent among older persons, but the suicidal act itself reflects important differences between old and young,” notes Dr. Hendin, in his book Suicide in America. “In particular, the ratio of attempted to actual suicides shifts quite markedly among older persons. Among the population as a whole, the ratio of attempted suicides to actual suicides has been estimated to be 10 to 1; among the young (15-24), it has been estimated to be 100 to 1; and among those over 55, it has been estimated to be 1 to 1.”

What sobering statistics! How depressing to grow old, lose physical strength, and suffer pain and sickness! Little wonder so many commit suicide. Yet, there is powerful reason to treasure life—even under very difficult circumstances. Consider what happened to Mary, who was mentioned in the introduction.

[Footnote]

[Chart on page 3]

Suicide Rates per 100,000 Persons, by Age and Sex

Men/Women Ages 15 to 24

8.0/2.5 Argentina

4.0/0.8 Greece

19.2/3.8 Hungary

10.1/4.4 Japan

7.6/2.0 Mexico

53.7/9.8 Russia

23.4/3.7 United States

Men/Women Ages 75 and Up

55.4/8.3 Argentina

17.4/1.6 Greece

168.9/60.0 Hungary

51.8/37.0 Japan

18.8/1.0 Mexico

93.9/34.8 Russia

50.7/5.6 United States

Given a Desire to Live

MARY suffered from clinical depression as well as some other health problems. However, she was not isolated from her family, nor did she abuse alcohol or drugs. Mary’s case well illustrates the point that not all risk factors need to be present for a serious suicide attempt to take place.

For a time it seemed that Mary would become another statistic testifying to the efficacy with which older people end their lives. For days she remained in a coma, unresponsive, in the intensive care section of the local hospital, her vital signs flickering. Her distraught husband, John, was rarely far from her side. The doctors warned John and the family that Mary might not survive and that they could expect her to suffer permanent brain damage even if she did pull through.

Mary was visited daily by a neighbor, Sally, who is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. “I urged the family not to give up hope,” says Sally. “My mother, who is diabetic, was in a coma for weeks a couple of years ago. The doctors told our family that she would never survive, but she did. I would take Mary’s hand and talk to her, as I did with my mother, and it seemed to me that I could detect a feeble response.” By the third day, the response was stronger, and Mary seemed to recognize people, although she could not speak.

‘Could I Have Prevented It?’

“John was so terribly guilt-ridden,” says Sally. “He was sure that it was all his fault.” This is a common response to the suicide or attempted suicide of a loved one. “I reminded him that Mary was being treated for clinical depression. She was sick and could not help being depressed any more than he could help being physically sick.”

Those whose loved ones commit suicide are often tormented by the question, What could I have done to prevent it? Alertness to warning signs and risk factors may avert an attempt. But if not, remember that you are not responsible for another person’s self-destructive act. (Galatians 6:5) This is especially important to remember in those cases where the suicidal family member deliberately seeks to inflict guilt on others. Dr. Hendin, quoted earlier, notes: “It should be kept in mind that fatal suicide attempts are often made by people who are hoping to influence or manipulate the feelings of other people even though they will not be around to witness the success or failure of their efforts.”

Dr. Hendin goes on to point out: “In the case of older people who are suicidal, there are often grown children as well as siblings or marital partners whom the patient wishes to influence, control, or force to assume a more protective role. The demands of the patient are often impossible to meet, the patient is often uncompromising with regard to them, and suicide attempts that are not serious are often followed by attempts that are.”

Family members in these circumstances may feel that they are truly under extreme pressure, beyond their strength. Yet, never forget that Jehovah God raises up the dead and that this might well include our loved ones who because of depression, mental illness, or despair took their own lives.—See “The Bible’s Viewpoint: Suicides—A Resurrection?” in Awake! of September 8, 1990, pages 22-3.

While suicide cannot be justified, it is comforting to remember that the future prospects of our loved ones rest with a God who fully understands that weaknesses and frailties could push one to such desperate action. The Bible says of Jehovah: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, his loving-kindness is superior toward those fearing him. As far off as the sunrise is from the sunset, so far off from us he has put our transgressions. As a father shows mercy to his sons, Jehovah has shown mercy to those fearing him. For he himself well knows the formation of us, remembering that we are dust.”—Psalm 103:11-14.

A Happy Outcome

For two days Mary teetered between life and death, but she survived. Gradually her mind cleared, and John took her home, to a house with all medicine safely under lock and key. Mary now has regular follow-up visits with mental-health social workers and says that she is unable to explain or even remember the dark compulsion that so nearly cost her her life.

Now Sally, John and Mary’s neighbor, has a weekly Bible study with them. They have learned from the Bible that the very problems that seem so insoluble, especially to older ones, will be solved by God very soon. “Of course, by itself, a Bible study is no panacea,” explains Sally. “You have to prove to yourself from the Scriptures that these promises are real, and then you have to apply what you learn. But I think John and Mary are getting a real hope for the future.”

If your future looks bleak and you would like a real hope, why not get in touch with Jehovah’s Witnesses? Let them prove to you, as they did to John and Mary, that there are no problems that God cannot and will not solve in the near future. No matter how bad things may look right now, there is an answer. Please consider with us the sure hope for the future that has provided many with a renewed desire to live.

A Sure Hope

NEARLY 2,000 years ago, Jesus, often called the greatest man who ever lived, was unjustly sentenced to death. While he hung on a torture stake, an evildoer hanging next to him said derisively: “You are the Christ, are you not? Save yourself and us.”

At that, another evildoer who was also being executed rebuked the man: “Do you not fear God at all, now that you are in the same judgment? And we, indeed, justly so, for we are receiving in full what we deserve for things we did; but this man did nothing out of the way.” Then he turned to Jesus and petitioned: “Remember me when you get into your kingdom.”

Jesus replied: “Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise.”—Luke 23:39-43.

Jesus had a marvelous hope set before him. The apostle Paul noted the effect that this hope had upon Jesus, observing: “For the joy that was set before him he endured a torture stake, despising shame.”—Hebrews 12:2.

Included in “the joy” set before Jesus was living with his Father again in heaven and eventually serving as Ruler of God’s Kingdom. Moreover, he would also have the joy of welcoming into heaven proven and trusted followers of his that would rule with him as kings over the earth. (John 14:2, 3; Philippians 2:7-11; Revelation 20:5, 6) What, then, did Jesus mean when he promised the repentant evildoer that he would be in Paradise?

What Hope for the Evildoer?

That man did not qualify to rule with Jesus in heaven. He is not included among those to whom Jesus said: “You are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials; and I make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant with me, for a kingdom.” (Luke 22:28, 29) Yet, Jesus promised that the evildoer would be in Paradise with him. How will that promise be fulfilled?

The first man and woman, Adam and Eve, were placed by Jehovah God in Paradise, a garden of pleasure called Eden. (Genesis 2:8, 15) Eden was on earth, and God purposed that the entire earth be a paradise. However, Adam and Eve disobeyed God and were put out of their beautiful home. (Genesis 3:23, 24) But Jesus revealed that Paradise would be restored and that it would come to include the entire earth.

When the apostle Peter asked Jesus what reward he and his fellow apostles would receive for following him, Jesus promised: “In the re-creation, when the Son of man sits down upon his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also yourselves sit upon twelve thrones.” (Matthew 19:27, 28) Significantly, in Luke’s account of this conversation, instead of saying “in the re-creation,” Jesus is quoted as saying “in the coming system of things.”—Luke 18:28-30.

Thus, when Jesus Christ sits down in heaven upon his glorious throne, along with those who will rule with him, he will establish a righteous new system of things. (2 Timothy 2:11, 12; Revelation 5:10; 14:1, 3) By means of Christ’s heavenly rule, God’s original purpose for the entire earth to be a paradise will be fulfilled!

During this Kingdom rule, Jesus will fulfill his promise to the criminal who died alongside him. He will resurrect him, and that man will become an earthly subject of Jesus. Then the evildoer will be given an opportunity to meet God’s requirements and live forever under the rule of the Kingdom. Surely we can rejoice in the Bible-based prospect of living forever in Paradise on earth!

Life Can Have Meaning

Imagine the meaning that such a grand hope can give to our lives. It can help protect our minds from the disastrous results of negative thinking. That hope was likened by the apostle Paul to a vital piece of spiritual armor. He said that we must put “the hope of salvation” on “as a helmet.”—1 Thessalonians 5:8; Psalm 37:29; Revelation 21:3, 4.

That hope is life sustaining. In the coming Paradise, loneliness will give way to tears of joy as cherished loved ones are brought back to life by “the God who raises up the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:9) Then the frustration of physical frailty, pain, and immobility will be forgotten, for “the lame one will climb up just as a stag does.” A person’s ‘flesh will become fresher than in youth,’ and he will “return to the days of his youthful vigor.”—Isaiah 35:6; Job 33:25.

At that time, when “no resident will say: ‘I am sick,’” the despair of a lingering disease will be merely a fading memory. (Isaiah 33:24) The emptiness of chronic depression will be turned into “rejoicing to time indefinite.” (Isaiah 35:10) The hopelessness of a fatal illness will vanish along with death itself, mankind’s ancient enemy.—1 Corinthians 15:26.