Depressing December

[82Rigger]

I took 911 calls and dispatched FD for over eight years here in NW Florida.

Every single year we ran on more suicide calls in December than all the other months combined.

Just wondering if you emergency service folks in other parts of the country had the same experience.

Airborne! Steve / 82Rigger

[39mto39g]

we serve about 80,000 people in the city of Sugar Land, and another 60,000 in out ETJ, we have 2 maybe 3 suisides a year. December doesn't stick out. But I can see how it would.

Ron

[Keith_Hixson]

December is Bi-Polar (no pun intended).

It is either the saddest month of the year or the happiest month of the year.
Nationally, the three or four days before Christmas and through the three or four days after New Years has the greatest amount of Suicides. When I was doing EMS we had the statistics and I believe it was that 1/4 or all suicides occur during the period of Thanksgiving through New Years. Or, better known as the six weeks of hell for EMS.

Those going through rough times this time of the year experience downs that are really down.

Keith

[Boats]

Like Keith said the Holiday season is when people really look for family ties. Though many have outlived most of their friends or they have moved away they feel truly lost and alone.

Many become reclusive and go under cover and try to ignore everything or anyone. These are the signs of a person in need or a friend.

My Dad got that way when he got older and he lived so far away from anyone and we (me too) didn't make enough of an effort to get him more involved. Then he got sick and couldn't drive anymore and that compounded the problem because now he was grounded. It didn't take too much time after that and he passed away.

Kids from broken homes - bad parents - or just being a little shy often times find themselves alone. Holidays are truly good days when your occupied by friends or family but once you draw yourself into a reclusive position you often times need medical help or like I said a good friend to help you through these times.

I get depressed every now and then because most of my family (the older ones) have passed on. I know with time I too will become one of those who once were. I don't like that sound of it but its true and I can't stop it.

Winter months are gray and overcast and gloomy in most cases for older people. Younger ones go out and interact with the weather and so things year round. As you get older you wonder if you will break a bone and never be able to function again.

That's why those who can move South to avoid being closed in or worrying about whether or not they can get through another brutal winter in the North.

It's a social problem that we all have to address when we see the need and I know there are many in need (elderly) who really need a friend.

[Andy]

For about 10 year I had the wonderful job of doing our department?s stats for the FBI. It?s a terrible job, the paperwork is ridiculous. Almost 50% of our suicides took place from Thanksgiving day to the day after New Years. Have read the FBI crime reports (more than once), December has always been the top month for suicides. For some reason I?m sure why, December 23rd was the most popular day. Guess by then a lot of people realize that another Christmas will pass and it won?t be like the ones on TV. A deep depression sets in and they end it all.

What is sick, really sick is that someone leaves a suicide note, that is the last words of a sad angry man (or woman). Remember one that read, ?I guess you can have a merry Christmas now that I?m gone. Tell the kids I still love them.? That, of course, was from a guy who got a divorce, the wife had moved on with her live and the guy crawled into a bottle. Never showed the note to the wife or kids - screw him.

Stay healthy in all ways,
Andy

[Boats]

Andy,

The truth is what it is - and as terrible as it is - we all know it happens to so many each any every year. It does not the wind out of the sails to hear things like that and to be that lonely has got to be the worst.

Thanks for your words even though they are the toughest to report.

[Andy]

I have always believed that suicide is only an option when you have a fatal disease and pain is involved. Several years ago, when I was told I had 6 months or less to live, suicide was not an option, there was no pain. Children of people who commit suicide are at greater risk of committing suicide themselves. I couldn?t do that, not to my kids.

Yes, some good people bail out early, they include the best man at our wedding and two of my uncles. But in the example I posted it was a guy who had many bad Christmas? himself and his last act in this world was to try to ruin Christmas forever, for his ex (ok I understand that) AND his children. If your last act in this world is an attempt to screw with your kids, I just lost all respect for you, if I had any.

Far too many vets take their own lives - a very sad thing. But unless you are all alone and I mean all alone, your causing pain for others. Maybe if people stopped and thought about family and friends, maybe if they got the help they needed the alarming number of suicides would decline. Sorry if I came across as being too much of a hard ass. Must be that time I spent with Packo.

Stay healthy,
Andy

[ArtySgt]

Andy, you did what you thought was the right thing in this case. It saved a lot of grief that was unnecessary for his children. I don't know that I ever did the same but I think you did the correct thing. IMHO

[DMZ-LT]

If I had a fatal disease and pain I would still believe in homicide not suicide.

[MORTARDUDE]

My father's family has a history of suicide, drug abuse, and depression. Needless to say I have run smack into two of these....thankfully never abused drugs or alcohol. I had a wonderful childhood and the period from Thanksgiving to Christmas evokes a lot of good memories. However, if I had had a different childhood and other personal and psychological problems, the 6 weeks from Thanksgiving to New Years would be an incessant hammering of "everything is wonderful"...and "you are such a failure"..... I implicitly understand all that has been discussed from both sides. I have no answer, except trust in the Lord and do the right thing. That is almost never suicide.

Larry

[reeb]

Thought of this:

Just where do you think most of us Vets would be now days, If it werent for the New Found Friends and Buddies in the service to keep you company for the first Xmas/Thanksgiving/etc days you were away fom your long life friends/family ??

Just a thought !!!

enough........

[Boats]

Yep, it sure helps to be in contact one way or the other. Good Thought - I appreciate all of the fine words of wisdom that I hear on this site and keeps the old gray matter from shrinking further and further - Say What?

[exlrrp]

As one of those who has never considered suicide at all, ever, I am always surprised by people who do it. A sad form of voluntary population control.
Guess I just like to mess with people too much, the notion of me not being here is not one I'm anxious to hurry. One thing I learned for sure in the war is that life is short and youre going to be dead for a long long time--why rush it?
I think that there is too much of a build up for the holidays , it leads to unfullfilled expectations. The ads all show the good life but if youre not liveing the good life, as many of us are not, these constant reminders can be a bummer. Ive had the experience of being too broke to buy presents and it was not fun..
But its not about presents in my family,its just fun to be together

Thats was a good deed, Andy, not showing the family the note. Sometimes you have a trmendous opportunity to make a difference in someone's life and you took it that time.
God bless. all and a Merry Christmas especially to our cops and firemen working out there today

James

[Margaret Diann]

There was a recent TV report in our state of Alaska that we have more suicides per capita than other areas and it was going to be studied.

We had a suicide in our small town of Valdez about 2 weeks ago. It was a 35 year old native man who had lots of family in the nearby area.

Of course I don't know what will be concluded, but this young man most likely worked on the Exxon Valdez oil spill cleanup. I'm going to ask his family when the time is right.

Of course we have lots of days with little sunshine in the winter and that can cause a type of depression.

But what I think should be factored in is what exposure these had to 2-butoxyethanol because it damages the central nervous system causing depression and suicidal tendencies along with the all-the-time-fatigue and many, many other 'gulf war syndrome' type ailments.

Since I started my study on ethylene glycol monobutyl ether (its more common name) I learned that everyone in our country is at risk ... from grandmas who use Lysol Tub 'n Tile (registered pesticide with EPA) to the guys who paint and on and on and on and on.

Oh, and they are saying on one of the Gulf War Vet's discussion forums that suicide is up among our current troops. No wonder. We never learned anything from the Gulf War Syndrome vets did we? Even with all the millions of dollars spent on study; they may someday conclude it was the solvent exposure they never studied at all.