Suicide Boom

We led the sexual revolution and the cultural revolution. Now, we're topping a not-so-pretty chart.

The middle-aged are now the most likely Americans to kill themselves. While people 80 and older have in the past been most likely to commit suicide, people 45 to 54 took this unfortunate lead beginning in 2006. The latest figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that in 2007, this same cohort had a suicide rate of 17.6 per 100,000 people. (In all, more than 25,000 people kill themselves each year.)

According to the New York Times, Paula Clayton, MD, the medical director of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, thinks this increase may be due to a combination of factors including easier access to tools of self-destruction and a higher incidence of depression among midlifers.

Blogging about the story, Stephanie Mencimer of Mother Jones proposed another theory: situational depression caused by the loss of jobs, savings and, sometimes, homes in the past couple of years. She wrote, "In hindsight, the suicide numbers look like a warning sign about the coming collapse of the economy."

Commenters to her post chimed in, adding their stories of economic hardship and personal frustration. One person noted that suicide was common during the Depression.

But, for everyone who takes his own life, there are thousands who confront the same circumstances and do not. Some people are more resilient, more able to pick themselves up after a blow, readier to fight back against adversity. Science shows that the most important factor in resilience is social support.

Some of us put friendships and interests on hold while we raised our families and competed at work. And, as we enter middle age, with all its changes, we may lose some familiar sources of this support. Kids leave the nest; we may move; our sex lives may sputter; we may divorce. The workplace, with all its struggles, offers camaraderie, as well, so getting laid off can be more than a financial blow.

If you've lost one or more of these social supports, it's time to find a replacement. Reaching out to others can help them — and help ourselves even more.