This is astonishing. At the same time, I think it probably could be related to a woman's change in life. "Mid-life crisis" conjures thoughts of divorce, sports cars and trophy relationships. But, suicide? This leads me to believe that women at risk lack a support structure, keep things to themselves (as women tend to be more secretive about their most pressing issues) and experience a feeling of hopelessness.
Perhaps the hormonal imbalance brought on by menopause is a contributing factor to the suicide rate among women. Depression is a known contributing factor to suicides among both men and women. In the age group cited, I can see how one's sense of getting old would bring on the depression. Job loss and gender discrimination seems to hit this group harder than younger workers, I think.
I hesitate to attribute the stats on suicide to drug use among the middle-aged. However, wasn't there a time when valium abuse was fairly common among the middle-aged?
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This is astonishing. At the same time, I think it probably could be related to a woman's change in life. "Mid-life crisis" conjures thoughts of divorce, sports cars and trophy relationships. But, suicide? This leads me to believe that women at risk lack a support structure, keep things to themselves (as women tend to be more secretive about their most pressing issues) and experience a feeling of hopelessness.
Perhaps the hormonal imbalance brought on by menopause is a contributing factor to the suicide rate among women. Depression is a known contributing factor to suicides among both men and women. In the age group cited, I can see how one's sense of getting old would bring on the depression. Job loss and gender discrimination seems to hit this group harder than younger workers, I think.
I hesitate to attribute the stats on suicide to drug use among the middle-aged. However, wasn't there a time when valium abuse was fairly common among the middle-aged?
February 20, 2008 - 5:58pmThis Comment
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