We have a big problem about how we discuss suicide. It’s not just a Trinidadian problem it’s a gender issue and its prevalent worldwide. I have just read Caroline C Ravello’s column in the Trinidad Guardian – “Depression is dreadful; suicide’s never an option” and it reeks of that problem, which we will come back to, at the end. But first let’s discuss some of the perspectives over the last few years on suicide in Trinidad & Tobago.
In another Trinidad Guardian Article, “Suicide a growing concern in T&T”. Quoting the Central Statistics Office for 2007, “data on suicide is from 2007 and showed that 111 men and 20 women died from self poisoning and hanging”. A more recent Trinidad Guardian Article “Psychiatrist: T&T emotionally volatile” (April 28, 2013) deals with the issue more from the perspective of Prof Gerard Hutchinson (head of Clinical Medical Sciences, UWI). Prof Hutchinson’s expertise leaves out some very critical information about suicide that appears to be deliberate throughout academia, the media, political will and hence any solution these stakeholders are likely to develop. The table at Wikipedia’s “List of countries by suicide rate”, paints an accurate picture of what suicide is largely a MALE affliction. Men commit suicide at a rate typically 3 to 5 times that of women. The figure of Trinidad and Tobago – although outdated shows a male suicide rate that is almost 5X that of the female rate. Professor Hutchinson’s article in the Guardian only had this to say –
Females attempt more, men complete more.In suicide demography, females are more “attempters” than males. Females would not drink gramoxone but will drink bleach or kerosene, Hutchinson said. “So you find males do more serious things,” he said. Currently, there are close to 15 patients on the ward who are being managed; nine of them have tried to kill themselves. He said in the last three weeks there had been three deaths from gramoxone/paraquat poisoning and they were males.
It should be pointed out that Professor Hutchinson appears to have a predilection for Paraquat cases. In 2010 he published a paper with Hubert Daisley on the “High Rates of Paraquat-Induced Suicide”, in the American Association of Suicidology. The Authors were criticized by several, when their article was peer reviewed for blaming Trinidad’s social problems on the Agrochemical. From the Paraquat paper’s abstract Professor Hutchinson appears to have cleverly masked the male issue of suicide. They claim that in 1996 Paraquat Suicide accounted for 81% of all suicides – 39 out of 48. But in their own submission they declare that the rate per 100,000 was 8.0 – which quite obviously with a population of over 1M people does not add up. According to data from WHO the overall rate for suicide (males and females, all method’s) 1995 (closest year) was 14.5/100k. These figures does not corroborate.
In a much earlier paper “Suicide in Trinidad and Tobago: associations with measures of social distress” (Journal of Social Psychiatry Winter 1997) using data from 1978 to 1992, Professor Hutchinson wrote about a 319% increase in male suicide while female rates remained stable. He draws significant conclusions from several ‘associations’, including the increasing crime rate and rise in employment. That older article appears quite telling of the real issue – that several changes in the social environment was probably responsible for crime, and male suicide was at the center of these issues. Why did Professor Hutchinson change his perspective from this to “Females attempt more, men complete more”? Several authors around in the world over make suicide into a kind of male bashing issue – there is the notion that’s it indicative of the Macho man that won’t seek help and that females are better at caring for themselves. These statements contribute to our ignorance of the problem – there are issues with men that have changed in the past several decades that tie in to the larger social picture and we are pretending they don’t exist with these unhelpful statements. We will come back to a better analysis of what the implications of these issues in a wider sense in another post – but it should be clear, that we are failing boys and men when it comes to suicide, and by extension we are failing society as you cannot disconnect male suicide from the impact on wider society. Here’s the problem – all the data we have, not just Trinidad & Tobago – but throughout the western world – suicide is largely a MALE ISSUE. Sure some women do it – but when Professor Hutchinson asserts that “women attempt” – let’s be clear – that’s not suicide. It’s unreasonable for me to say, claim the Nobel Particle Physics award, because I made more attempts than anyone else to discover the Higgs Bosson particle, anymore that women attempting suicide is as important as the men whose acts actually end in their deaths. Many researchers don’t consider failed attempts at suicide to be ‘suicidal’ at all – you can do your own research on this. It is widely accepted that Depression type afflictions affect women at twice the rate compared to men. Men commit suicide when they have nowhere ‘to go’ in life – the cost/benefit analysis is in favor of dying. Usually it’s when they are out of a job, with significant debt, OR they are in serious trouble with the law, OR they feel they cannot live because a woman has turned down their advances, OR been diagnosed with a terminal or painful condition. These are serious issues – it has NOTHING to do with depression. Of course they can become ‘depressed’ over these issues – but blaming depression is like blaming the bullet they used to blow their brains out. Robin Williams, it was found out that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, and that’s probably the reason he killed himself. In his cost/benefit analysis he calculated that his life was not worth living.
This brings us back to how we ignore the problems men face in society – experts like Gerard Hutchinson, Caroline Ravello – make the problem more difficult to address – they mask these male issues with some kind of pseudo-scientific bunk that will never solve anything other than make a few bucks for their respective industries. Ms Ravello unequivocally states about depression “It’s a biological disease with social and psychological implications…”. Unfortunately this, like most ‘theories’ touted by the Mental Health Industrial Complex are not scientifically proven. If one looks at the synopses of biological etiology for depressive disorders, from the gene environment interaction to the monoamine hypothesis, one would see a pattern of non-acceptance in the wider scientific community. The Guardian should look over Ms Ravellos credentials as an expert in mental health issues as most of the articles she has written are about mental health.
Everyone trumpets this “get help”, “go see a therapist”. Unfortunately these forms of help cannot change the circumstances in these men’s lives. However, talking about it with a friend can provide the same ‘therapeutic’ effect. Or better, finding someone who might know of a way to change your circumstances. Be it financial or about some romantic endeavor – men need to find real solutions to their problems. Many suicides are related to relationship issues. We are told as males very early in life that we must find the right woman and “settle down”. We have a host of ‘scientific’ literature hyping the virtues of marriage – from health benefits, happiness and longer life. However as Psychology Today author and advocate of living single, Bella DePaulo realized from analyzing the data more closely in most of these pro marriage studies – they committed one serious sin – they count divorced persons with the single. Most of these studies actually show that happily married people have about the same life outcomes as people who remain single all their life. However, failed marriages (and by extension, relationships especially where there are children increase the risk of suicide in men by 5 to 10 times. In short Marriage KILLS men! I don’t have the space in this post to expand on why this is so. Here’s the problem. Everyone tells men, that in order for him to be worth anything, he must marry and have kids. The Mental Health industrial complex turns everything single people like, sex, the internet, porn, gambling, eating, etc into a pathological disorder so that they can treat you. As well their focus is on what women want – they want commitment, kids, intimacy and your money. They have turned your needs into pathologies and her needs into ‘social norms’. My advice to men. If you wish to live long – NEVER marry and ensure that you can account for every one of your sperm. Focus on your career, earning a good income and take care of your physical health. Single life has never been better and it will get better.
References:
1. Trinidad Guardian – Depression is dreadful; suicide’s never an option – http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2014-08-27/depression-dreadful-suicide%E2%80%99s-never-option
2. Trinidad Guardian – Psychiatrist: T&T emotionally volatile: http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2013-04-28/psychiatrist-tt-emotionally-volatile
3. Trinidad Guardian – Suicide a growing concern in T&T http://www.guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2012-09-12/suicide-growing-concern-tt
4. Hutchinson GA1, Simeon DT. Suicide in Trinidad and Tobago: associations with measures of social distress – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9483454
5. WHO – Suicide Rates by Gender Trinidad & Tobago 1955-2006: http://www.who.int/mental_health/media/trin.pdf
6. Wikipedia – Suicide Rates by Country: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate
7. Letters to The Lancet – Hubert Daisley, Gerard Hutchinson, Paraquat Poisoning: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2805%2960796-9/fulltext
8. Letters to The Lancet, Martin Wilks – Paraquat Poisoning: http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2805%2974910-2/fulltext
9. The American Association for Suicidology, Gerard Hutchinson, Hubert Daisley – High Rates of Paraquat-Induced Suicide in Southern Trinidad: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1943-278X.1999.tb01055.x/abstract
10. Psychology Today – No, Getting Married Does Not Make You Live Longer, Bella DePaulo: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/living-single/200902/no-getting-married-does-not-make-you-live-longer
Men Against Feminism - Trinidad & Tobago 