The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You

Re:The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You by thaumasiotes on Friday April 22, 2016 @07:38AM (#11548371)

Suicidal ideation (as well as completed suicide, of course) is known to be higher in the indigenous peoples of Canada than in the white population. I have seen it advanced that the eskimo tradition of suicide by walking out into the wilderness if you're a burden on your family probably has something to do with this.

This is mildly in conflict with the finding that there's more suicide in Greenland in summer than in winter, but worth considering.

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Re:The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You by sevenless on Friday April 22, 2016 @10:26AM (#11549432)

It might simply be that being from a hunting culture implies less squeamishness about killing and having the means readily to hand. It's obvious to suspect gun ownership as a factor.

Doctors have a very high suicide rate, and some of that is due to their knowledge and ability to kill themselves properly.

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Re:The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You by dagw on Friday April 22, 2016 @07:56AM (#11548454)

This is mildly in conflict with the finding that there's more suicide in Greenland in summer than in winter, but worth considering.

I've seen some theories that people in general don't commit suicide while under active hardship, but after the hardship lets up a bit and they have time to reflect on it.

Also relative hardship is far more important than absolute hardship. During the winter everybody is a bit miserable and under the weather so you don't stick out so much. When the summer comes and everybody but you cheer up the contrast becomes a lot more noticeable.

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Re:The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You by thaumasiotes on Friday April 22, 2016 @07:08PM (#11553166)

> I've seen some theories that people in general don't commit suicide while under active hardship, but after the hardship lets up a bit and they have time to reflect on it.

When suicide is driven by an established tradition of leaving so that your family doesn't starve, you really expect it to occur in winter. By the time the hardship is gone, so is the justification for suicide.

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Re:The Arctic Suicides: It's Not the Dark That Kills You by dirktheman on Friday April 22, 2016 @07:59AM (#11548466)

Maybe it has to do with the fact that people stay indoors more in the winter, thus being around other people more.

And yeah, this isn't a problem limited to Greenland. There has been a lot of news lately about the suicide strings at Attawapiskat. And Alaskan natives are twice more likely to commit suicide than non-natives.

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