Youth suicide in New Zealand

@jamesabbott horse before cart
Another view

Suicide is odd in that it's not rational, so prevention must also be not rational. Suicide is many different things to different people. Some want to die because of some thoughts about death (what dreams may come, and all that). Some have a temporary issue they know to be temporary, but still feel that death is a release from temporary pain. Others have a long-term pain. Some are real. Others are imagined.

A rational suicide is having a degenerative condition and wanting the freedom to choose how and when to leave this world.

However, Life is a degenerative condition. There's not a single person yet who has survived it, aside from those born in the last 120 years, but they are all terminal as well.

Also, suicide is very delicate. I've seen anti-suicide campaigns that emphasized that it doesn't end your problems, but puts them on your friends and family. Of course, the "fix" for that is murder-suicide. Women murder-suicide tend to involve killing the children in the manner of the suicide (driving a car into the water with everyone well-belted in is a common one I've heard of), while the male murder-suicide is more often killing the partner/wife, then themselves.

It fixes the problem of the left-over family, but not in a good way. Which is one of the problems with suicide being irrational, rational campaigns against it don't work well.

The biggest problem with it is death-envy. Suicides are often clustered. One person does it, and then others follow.

The only thing I've seen that breaks the clusters is to talk about suicide with everyone in the potential cluster. When one person in a school commits suicide, it's often addressed by ignoring it and pretending it didn't happen. But everyone in that school should be asked "how does that make you feel" and be given chances to talk about suicide, and the recently deceased. Such things are being done more, and are helping to reduce the suicide rates.

The reports show that suicides are dropping. They are increasing comparatively, as the others are shrinking faster, but there isn't a trend of growing suicides that needs to be turned around. From the reports @tane linked to:

2009-2013 suicide rate: 8.47,
2003 suicide rate: 12.09

Suicide rates dropped 30% in 10 years. Sure, a faster drop would be better, but it's not a growing crisis; it's a shrinking problem.

I haven't had great experience with mental health issues in NZ, but from my experiences elsewhere, a mental problem follows you forever.

I had a stroke 4 years ago. Forevermore, on all medical questionnaires, I'll be ticking "yes" next to some box. Mental illnesses are similar. Anyone ever diagnosed with depression in the US must forever disclose that. So if you seek help for a problem, you are punished. If you ignore it and soldier on, you will be worse off, but able to tic "no" when asked if diagnosed with depression. This affects insurance and other things, sometimes it's asked on job applications (where legal). Smart people will not seek help for mental problems. It will brand them for life, increasing live insurance costs and such.

For suicide, the ability to talk without consequences and judgment is highly beneficial. Suicide hotlines and such really do work. It helps to have hope. Things improve. Though improvements sometimes need help.

self harmful use of drugs is another symtom not a cause. The "war" being waged on (approx) 42% of the population is cause not a symptom. People need hope and a reason to be.

@fredlook @jobooth "anything that saps that motivation to make something worthwhile out of your life should be discouraged, in community."

Yes, so rewarding folks for an honest days work, good ideas, providing jobs, or a UBI which has been shown to encourage rather than discourage doing something worthwhile should be encouraged, in community

Yes, so rewarding folks for an honest days work, good ideas, providing jobs, or a UBI which has been shown to encourage rather than discourage doing something worthwhile should be encouraged, in community

Thats it. :) #SpeakLife

I have access to a system where I can generate a report that will calculate EVERY single suicide that goes through 111.
I can also break it down by age, region and weather or not its DOA or just an attempt. I can categorically say that this report will be the most accurate and up to date statistical output of suicide - Something that no other organisation will have.
If TIP is interested in this I can provide quarterly reports for the party.

@blairrobson1 That sounds great! How do you think this information could be best used?
( @fredlook @pilotfever @grantkeinzley @MJMarsom @chrisyong )

I think we need to modernize mental health treatment facilities with alternative therapies, because just giving people sedatives doesn't help them emotionally, It just makes the doctors feel safer.

I have been listening to lot's of meditation videos on youtube recently, and discovered something called the Solfeggio scale.

"The Solfeggio frequencies were lost because throughout history different tuning applications have been used. Ancient tuning practices used a system of tuning known as “Just Intonation.” The method of Just Intonation featured pure intervals between every note that were mathematically related by ratios of small whole numbers leading to a much purer sound."

They have an immediate calming effect, and can be listened to for long periods of time without irritation.. infact the longer you listen to better you feel.

So for people having a mental health crisis I imagined like a colourful room with this solfeggio music playing, like an isolation chamber.. and people can stay in them for as long as they feel like. I really think it could be a powerful tool to help people during a mental health crisis... even listening on studio headphones is enough.

Here are some examples from youtube:

This one is very "light"...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lORjt_LG4Hs

But there are deeper ones like here...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0g28QAgYpo

... what one is best to listen to will depend on your mood at the time..

According to this ( https://attunedvibrations.com/solfeggio/ ) website:

"174Hz – reduce pain
285Hz – influence energy fields
396Hz – turn grief into joy
417Hz– facilitate change
528Hz – transformation & miracles
639Hz – reconnecting, relationships
741Hz – expressions/solutions
852Hz – return to spiritual order
963Hz – awaken perfect state"

You can read more about it here:
https://attunedvibrations.com/solfeggio/
https://attunedvibrations.com/solfeggio-scale/