I refer to the 9 people who committed suicide together in Japan.

By and large these suicides particularly in Japan seem to be on the increase but what is causing people to do this?

Could it be that people are been overworked and suffering from stress? Or perhaps another reason.

These people were extremely young and should be enjoying life at this age.

These so called suicide websites should be shutdown but what else can be done to discourage people from committing suicide?

Mostly in japan it is down to a lot of strange "cult" activity.
In general its because the world is a complicated place to exist these days and some people can't take it. I can see where they are coming from..

OK, it's not directly related but I saw a programme on Discovery Science (I think it was) the other night about teenage Japanese murderers. The rate of murders being committed by teenagers in Japan is also increasing.

The programme described how average teenagers have to attend "cramming" school AFTER their normal school hours in order to try to keep up and pass their exams. They rarely have time for their homework in an evening because they're attending "cramming" lessons. One teenager said he could understand how these teenagers snap because he felt under enormous pressure himself. Of course that doesn't justify murdering someone, but I had no idea how much pressure these kids and teenagers are under. They feel such pressure to succeed and pass their exams, but even when they pass there's fierce competition for the jobs as the Japanese economy is struggling (according to the Head of Tokoyo's juvenile crime division).

All in all it sounded like a stressful lifestyle for these teenagers to cope with.

This is a useful link about suicide. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/conditions/suicide.shtml) A couple of American sites point out that 1 third of young (roughly under 25) deaths is due to suicide.

Unusually, Japan's life insurance companies pay out in cases of suicide which, when a family business or home is in jeopardy because of debts, allows a man to restore his reputation by sacrificing his life.

The largest insurer, the Postal Life Insurance Service of Japan, said that it covered the suicide deaths of 9334 people in 2002.

Suicide is seen as a legitimate and dignified solution to life's woes. Culturally it can be traced back to ancient samurai history when death was seen as preferable to defeat. In times of business failure, personal disgrace, financial debt, illness, school stress or relationship breakdown, large numbers opt for it.

The Government has shown virtually no interest in prevention while depression is barely acknowledged as a health issue.

Blimey, I'm really surprised to hear about Japanese life insurance companies paying out in cases of suicide. I had no idea of the cultural views of suicide in Japan. It's very interesting to see the differences between a Western society's views of suicide compared with the Japanese view.

Suicide has always been a major cause of death among young males. I read somewhere that it was a major issue in Victorian England. It's not a new phenomenon.

Well i have a friend who now has suicidal depresion due to severe bullying throughout his school years and frankly i wish that i could find the people who did this too him and i think that if i allowed myself to let out my anger on them some would not be walking home.

I find it truly disgusting that bullying can cause someone to have suicidal depresion and this has resulted in him having three hours of counselling a week and he seems to be severly depressed sometimes. all because of what a few people did, because they saw him as weaker than them.

people like that should be, i dont know what should bne done to them but it should be a severe punishment as this person will be affected by this for the rest of his life.

The second biggest killer of men in the uk under 25 is suicide! That is scary, to think that young men of that age can be so desparate. Viper when your friend is really low tell him to ring/ email, or call in at the Samaritans, they are there for anyone no matter what their problem. try them at this link. They are there 365 days a year.

http://www.samaritans.org/

cheerz owdlad. i try to talk to him as much as i can but i still get texts nd things from him every now and then saying that he just feels really down, i usually phone him and talk for a good while if possible, if not i just try to arrange a time when me can meet to talk for a bit or something. thats what i feel i can do to help him.

Viper, he would really benefit from some proper councelling on this, and maybe if you could get him to speak to the Samaritans they would be able to direct him to the appropriate place to get this help, it's good to see your supporting him and just knowing you're there when he needs you most will be an enormous help. Just keep listening. Also get him to have a look at these sites.

http://www.bullying.co.uk/parents/olderpeople.html

http://www.bullyonline.org/

thanks for that, i'll pass them on, as i mentioned earlier he is already having counselling sessions but i will definetly pass the links along,:thumbsup:

How's he doing? My mum committed suicide in November 2003, aged 41. She'd had no health problems all her life and was mentally and physically sound and well. She had a good job, nice house etc and a loving husband and family. Yet when my little twin sisters went off to uni and she changed her job, I think things just got on top of her.

We talked to her and tried to help her. She saw the doctor and counsellors, but I think her problem was she was able to hide her true feelings from them. Not wanting to elaborate too much, I'll just say that it was the fact that she was aware of her state of mind changing and the fact she realised she felt different to usual that meant she felt ashamed of herself for being depressed - something she couldn't help. A lot of people that become depressed just accept it as part of their lives, but she couldn't live with it even though we were a close and very supportive family.

She felt that she was a burden on us, which is completely untrue, but even our reassurance couldn't make her feel better. They often say people who are depressed appear happier and to be getting better before they commit suicide, and I think that was true to an extent for my mum. My sister found her in the garage in an old car of ours, she had died that morning by carbon monoxide poising from the engine fumes. It was such a shock because until literally 2-3 weeks before her death she had been happy and well. She was always so bright and bubbly, nobody would ever have thoyught something like that could happen to her.

It just goes to show that these days we have so much stuff on our minds that if we worry about it too much it can easily escalate out of control. There's always going to be suicide amongst teens and young adults I'm sorry to say as hormones can be so powerful at a young age, but I think the rate is on the increase for other age groups as the pressures of life pile up. Sorry for ranting on there people, but I just wanted to say froma personal point of view that suicides aren't just done by teens or druggies or mentally ill people.

Depression can strike anyone and we should try to lose the stigma associated with it - people are so ashamed to talk about it, and it's this feeling that makes people suffering from it feel even worse.

I agree with you babygem, society needs to take a long hard look at how we approach people with depression, after all it is just as much an illness as a broken arm, but unlike the broken arm, depression can't be seen and that is where the problem lies.
We need to get it over to those who suffer with depression that they will not be looked down on as some sort of freak to be made fun of, but that we will give them the same care and attention that we would give to anyone suffering with a physical illness.

After all the mind is only a part of the body, and is just as prone to going wrong as any other part of the body.

There does seem to be an attitude that depressed people just need to 'cheer up'. Unfortunately one of the problems is that depressed people themselves often can't accept that they have an actual illness, and their inability to 'snap out of it' is not the sign of some character weakness. Since I became seriously ill I have noticed that people at work find it very difficult to look at me in the eye, or talk to me without soundly falsely bright. As a result, my sense of isolation is increased and the feeling of 'freakiness' compounded. I still get suicidal some nights, especially after I've sat in silence all day at work and then I have a another long, empty evening and night ahead of me. Hurrah for the Shef Forum on those nights!