Alberta suicide rate soars by 30%

[polak]

I see some people on their high horse here assuming that everyone is just living outside of their means. The reality is most people don't just rack up debt without concern. Most people usually have a plan and they think they're making a smart decision.

Unfortunately, anyone who entered the workforce 10 years ago or later, wouldn't know what a true downturn is. I sure as hell can't remember anything like this. I have friends, who are otherwise smart guys, that thought oil was where it was at and that housing or oil would never see a sharp decline. Combine that with low interest rates and you have a bit of debt disaster waiting to happen. Yes we all heard the stories about the 80's but it's completely different to actually live through it. On top of all this, Calgary had an astronomical cost of living and believe it or not, every person doesn't make massive salaries just cause they happen to live in Alberta. It takes a lot of financial gymnastics to live here on even an average 50K salary.

So I'd hold off on calling people out for making some mistakes financially. Lots of people are experiencing something like this for the first time. Lots of people have probably only came into some money in recent years and weren't prepared for it, can you blame them? We teach kids advanced trig in high school but financial planning isn't touched on. Lots of people might have just been trying to get their feet under them, had a plan in place and it blew up in their face.

You're lucky that you're in a position to judge. You're lucky that your "plan" worked out. Not everyone whose plan didn't work out is some laissez-faire, spendy mcgee that was making it rain at the bar every night. There are many honest people who make honest mistakes or have bad luck or are haunted by mistakes they made in their youth.

Maybe this isn't the thread to be calling them out.

[SportsJunky]

Originally Posted by habernac

I bet the numbers are astronomical in my hometown. A lot of people up there went into debt big time when oil was $100 / barrel, expecting it would last a long time.

Ft. McMurray, right? I do a little business up there and it is half of what it was a year ago. Lots of scared folks in Ft. McMurray.

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

would Christmas have to do with it too? Christmas is a big deal to a lot of people and to be struggling at this time of year would make it much worse.

Yes, but not in the way you are thinking. The 'worst' time for suicides tends to be mid-late January, when the bills FROM Christmas start showing up. Christmas is a difficult time in itself for suicides, as folks tend to feel alone and isolated, true. There is an uptick through December because of that. But the worst time of the year is mid-late January.

[GirlySports]

polak is right, there really needs to be a finance class in HS, not accounting that doesn't count.

[peter12]

Originally Posted by rubecube

I feel like so much of this stuff wouldn't happen if we had more access to mental professionals. Often you can clear a lot of things up by just going to a few counselling sessions, but they're very cost prohibitive and if you're out of a job, it's hard to make that a financial priority.

I have a bit of support training that I picked up through my work with an organization that helps survivors of sexual assault. Obviously two completely different circumstances but there fundamental stuff that can be applied to most situations, so if anyone feels a need to vent, or put down the baggage for a bit, please feel free to PM me.

Calgary Counselling Centre will pro-rate your payments based on your income level.

[DoubleF]

A shout out to those who volunteer at the distress centre and other support programs in the city. A shout out to peers who support those in need as well.

An extra thanks to these individuals is never too much.

I was very surprised by the content of this article. I did not realize that not only did the suicide rates go up, our suicide rate is generally 30% higher than the national average.

I was planning to nab a watch, but I have decided to take the money difference and put it into some of the great organizations we have in our city instead. I've also been trying to call up a few friends whose family are not in Calgary and inviting them to a few small shindigs.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

polak is right, there really needs to be a finance class in HS, not accounting that doesn't count.

There is. It's called CALM (Career and life management). It was mandatory. I dare say though that most individuals don't even remember taking that class let alone learning something in it.

[PaperBagger'14]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

That was mentioned in the CBC article as well however I disagree.

Do you honestly think in this specific scenario access to mental professionals would help? I don't think these suicides are exactly due to mental issues or clinical depression. Certainly not saying it's the correct action, but drowning in debt with no job options isn't exactly solved by talking it out or going on meds.

A huge part of depression is having a negative and cyclic thought process. "I can't afford to spend money on Christmas gifts for my kids, I'm a bad parent. I can't get a job, I'm worthless to a company. I'm worthless to my family if I can't provide. If I had any worth I could buy Christmas presents and have a job." Whatever it takes for someone to break that thought process, be it counselling or meds, is a worthy endeavor.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

There is. It's called CALM (Career and life management). It was mandatory. I dare say though that most individuals don't even remember taking that class let alone learning something in it.

What do they teach nowadays, i'm too far removed.

Do they teach about RRSPs, Pensions, Credit Cards, Student Loans etc..?

Originally Posted by PaperBagger'14

A huge part of depression is having a negative and cyclic thought process. "I can't afford to spend money on Christmas gifts for my kids, I'm a bad parent. I can't get a job, I'm worthless to a company. I'm worthless to my family if I can't provide. If I had any worth I could buy Christmas presents and have a job." Whatever it takes for someone to break that thought process, be it counselling or meds, is a worthy endeavor.

yeah depression is the toughest to break. It's fixing a damaged brain using that damaged brain.

[polak]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

There is. It's called CALM (Career and life management). It was mandatory. I dare say though that most individuals don't even remember taking that class let alone learning something in it.

I remember CALM. All you did is make resumes, cover letters and a portfolio.

Yes. A high school kid needs to learn how to make a ####ing portfolio of all of his great career accomplishments. I've never heard of anyone bringing in a portfolio into an interview.

[peter12]

Yeah, I have always been pretty safe with my finances. I had a 6 month cushion, I had savings, I kept my spending low, but I went from a consulting job to a public sector job that saw my income decrease by probably 40%. Our household has very little overhead, and we can hunker down easier than most, but getting used to the decreased expectations was difficult. There were a few months of credit card debt after the transition just as you tried to pay down what it was that you were used to spending.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by polak

I remember CALM. All you did is make resumes, cover letters and a portfolio.

Yes. A high school kid needs to learn how to make a ####ing portfolio of all of his great career accomplishments. I've never heard of anyone bringing in a portfolio into an interview.

My guess is it's a great course, but wrong stage of a kid's life. It's just not very applicable at that age. They take their allowance and spend it and that's everything they know regarding financial literacy. High school isn't quite the right timing to teach this stuff. Maybe in university, but it seems silly to have pay to take such a course in university.

Budgets and financial literacy was taught as well, though the latter sort of glazed over. I remember the guest speaker saying it was hard to teach high schoolers about managing money they didn't have. Most kids take their allowance and spend the whole thing.

CALM also had sessions regarding drug abuse, sexual health and stress management which ranged wildly from stress from studying, depression and suicide.

I'm not sure why most individuals don't take very much out of it. Maybe it had too much content in it. Maybe it was so broad, it never had much depth. Maybe it was a bit weird and uncomfortable. Or possibly the way it was executed (a circle of chairs in an isolated room/library like we were at those AA meetings in the movies) just made you feel like it wasn't a serious thing to begin with.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

What do they teach nowadays, i'm too far removed.

Do they teach about RRSPs, Pensions, Credit Cards, Student Loans etc..?

None of the above when I was in school. RRSPs and Pensions to high schoolers is silly. Credit cards and student loans seems like topics worth pursuing. They might have glazed over credit cards by saying not to spend too much on it, but without a proper detailed explanations and examples, kids aren't going to learn much.

If I reacall financial literacy was mainly it was budgeting and telling kids to put aside some of their allowance to spend later. Owing to the stage in life, the ability to put out a good program wasn't great. It's a better course in uni, but no one wants to waste time and money on a course like this.

[CaptainCrunch]

Financial reasons to me are like a match to a fire that's already set up and ready to be ignited. A lot of times, people that have thoughts of hurting themselves are moving towards that point long before money even enters the equation. It becomes another reason why Life isn't worth living.

Its recognizing those steps that important when your talking to friends or neighbours or work mates.

When you talk to people, its important that if you see certain signs that you either act to engage them, or get someone else involved

- Anger or sadness or a constant basis. Mood swings
- they indicate that things are hopeless in their lives, beyond the ability to control, or there is no chance of change.
- Withdrawing from social circles, this can be combined with a sense of finality or a feeling that this is the last time your friend is going to talk to you.
- Changes in how they're looking or acting. It might not even be dramatic, just little changes that seem to be out of character.
- Self destructive behavior. Are they taking risks, drinking more then they usually do for example.
- They suddenly go from frenetic to calm. I talked to him two weeks before and he told me that he felt his life was out of control. Now he's calm and nothing bad is bothering him. This usually comes after a lot of other signs.
- making preparations. If your friend suddenly gives you something because you indicated that you liked it, if your friend suddenly becomes obsessed with things like house cleaning or paying off bills and the expense of other things. Or here's a big one, if they have kids and they're suddenly with his or her encouragement spending a lot of time at friends and neighbors places for extended periods like sleep overs, that's a big warning sign as they're making preperations for life after mommy or daddy.
- This one rarely happens, but if your friend confides in you about suicide or starts becoming fascinated with death.

At this point, you don't have a lot of options, outside of having a tough conversation. Hey man, I'm worried about you, are you alright, you seem to be depressed about things.

Usually when these signs start happening, they happen pretty quickly like a machine gun firing, be prepared to make the tough call if you see it happening and your conversations are going nowhere. If you have reason to think that a friend is going to hurt themselves, there's nothing the matter with calling in the police, or reaching out to the distress line yourself to ask for help and advice.

I can also state this, suicide is a trigger for depression in others. If you have a friend that hurts themselves, its going to dramatically effect your mental state if they go through with it, so don't be afraid to do what you think is right even if it does cost you the friendship over the long term. At least your friend or family member will still be alive.

[Otto-matic]

Originally Posted by polak

I remember CALM. All you did is make resumes, cover letters and a portfolio.

Yes. A high school kid needs to learn how to make a ####ing portfolio of all of his great career accomplishments. I've never heard of anyone bringing in a portfolio into an interview.

Unless you work in the multimedia/arts industry, portfolios are industry standard. I know I need to keep my portfolio updated almost monthly.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

That was mentioned in the CBC article as well however I disagree.

Do you honestly think in this specific scenario access to mental professionals would help? I don't think these suicides are exactly due to mental issues or clinical depression. Certainly not saying it's the correct action, but drowning in debt with no job options isn't exactly solved by talking it out or going on meds.

I'm going to jump on with a few others here, because it's important that this post is highlighted for how representational it is of the complete lack of knowledge and awareness surrounding mental health.

You are wrong. Suicides are ALWAYS due to mental issues or clinical depression. Mentally healthy people do not commit suicide. If they did, the suicide rate would be a lot higher. What these people are going through in their lives isn't unique or extremely dire. It's bad, but countless people in and out of Alberta deal with bad EVERY day. Serious thoughts of suicide are a key indicator of mental illness or depression.

One of the best things people with a mental illness can receive is "talking it out," whether that be through a professional or someone close to them. The thought process is often skewed in some way, and even having someone to talk through your issues and help you re-align your process has proven to be immensely helpful.

Right now the wait time to see a psychiatrist is 6+ months, but there is always access to emergency services and cost friendly services. As a province, we need to increase that availability and be loud about mental health so that sentiments like yours aren't shared by people in need. They need to know that talking does help.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by polak

I see some people on their high horse here assuming that everyone is just living outside of their means. The reality is most people don't just rack up debt without concern. Most people usually have a plan and they think they're making a smart decision.

Unfortunately, anyone who entered the workforce 10 years ago or later, wouldn't know what a true downturn is. I sure as hell can't remember anything like this. I have friends, who are otherwise smart guys, that thought oil was where it was at and that housing or oil would never see a sharp decline. Combine that with low interest rates and you have a bit of debt disaster waiting to happen. Yes we all heard the stories about the 80's but it's completely different to actually live through it. On top of all this, Calgary had an astronomical cost of living and believe it or not, every person doesn't make massive salaries just cause they happen to live in Alberta. It takes a lot of financial gymnastics to live here on even an average 50K salary.

So I'd hold off on calling people out for making some mistakes financially. Lots of people are experiencing something like this for the first time. Lots of people have probably only came into some money in recent years and weren't prepared for it, can you blame them? We teach kids advanced trig in high school but financial planning isn't touched on. Lots of people might have just been trying to get their feet under them, had a plan in place and it blew up in their face.

You're lucky that you're in a position to judge. You're lucky that your "plan" worked out. Not everyone whose plan didn't work out is some laissez-faire, spendy mcgee that was making it rain at the bar every night. There are many honest people who make honest mistakes or have bad luck or are haunted by mistakes they made in their youth.

Maybe this isn't the thread to be calling them out.

I disagree. I'm of the opinion that far too few actually have a plan. At least in this city. I'm not on a high horse here as I'm guilty as charged although not as bad as some as I've decided not to go for the big house or luxury car even though they are things I could accumulate easily through more debt but there is no question that I have not put nearly enough emphasis on paying my debts down faster and being smarter with my money. Not painting every single person with the same brush but you are out to lunch if you think it's only a small amount of Calgarians that are poor with their money.

[Harry Lime]

I've never taken a handout in my life. Until recently, by choice.

When I lost my job, I didn't receive any EI benefits do to a technicality in timing and processing of my paperwork. Someone from the EI office calls me and explains why I wouldn't be receiving any funds. Based on a line of policy that meant that my application expired during the three months processing time, I no longer qualified, although I did at the time of my original dismissal.

I asked her how I could have known about some technicality, and reacted to it, and she told me that all of the knowledge is online, and that makes it my responsibility. I told her that I've been steadily sliding into debt during this time, and taking classes to upgrade my skillset had eliminated my savings. I asked her if there was any branch of the government, any recourse, that could help me, as I had no reason to not expect financial support until this moment.

She gave me the number for the suicide prevention hotline, and ended the conversation.

I ended up taking a retail position, earning less money than I have in my life, which just pounds down your sense self-worth even farther. I'm sure that there are a lot of people in my situation. I'm not surprised that people who have fallen from higher heights that I did are beyond their ability to cope. I never would have considered suicide an option until the EI officer immediately suggested it. It kind of drives home how big the problem has become, if suicide prevention is the fallback position for public support staff.

Asking for EI was enough of a self-esteem issue for me, as it would be for many people, but not receiving it and the only response being, "Ok, well try not to kill yourself" did nothing but eliminate (in my mind, at least) any public avenue of support.

How many people end up the same way, with no visible support, and decide to take option #2? A growing number, by the look of it. It's taken me two years to get back to a living wage. I have to willfully ignore my debt and previous professional aspiration, to make it work. If I had kids, or didn't have a way to meet my basic needs during this time, I couldn't even imagine the stress.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Harry Lime

I've never taken a handout in my life. Until recently, by choice.

When I lost my job, I didn't receive any EI benefits do to a technicality in timing and processing of my paperwork. Someone from the EI office calls me and explains why I wouldn't be receiving any funds. Based on a line of policy that meant that my application expired during the three months processing time, I no longer qualified, although I did at the time of my original dismissal.

I asked her how I could have known about some technicality, and reacted to it, and she told me that all of the knowledge is online, and that makes it my responsibility. I told her that I've been steadily sliding into debt during this time, and taking classes to upgrade my skillset had eliminated my savings. I asked her if there was any branch of the government, any recourse, that could help me, as I had no reason to not expect financial support until this moment.

She gave me the number for the suicide prevention hotline, and ended the conversation.

I ended up taking a retail position, earning less money than I have in my life, which just pounds down your sense self-worth even farther. I'm sure that there are a lot of people in my situation. I'm not surprised that people who have fallen from higher heights that I did are beyond their ability to cope. I never would have considered suicide an option until the EI officer immediately suggested it. It kind of drives home how big the problem has become, if suicide prevention is the fallback position for public support staff.

Asking for EI was enough of a self-esteem issue for me, as it would be for many people, but not receiving it and the only response being, "Ok, well try not to kill yourself" did nothing but eliminate (in my mind, at least) any public avenue of support.

How many people end up the same way, with no visible support, and decide to take option #2? A growing number, by the look of it. It's taken me two years to get back to a living wage. I have to willfully ignore my debt and previous professional aspiration, to make it work. If I had kids, or didn't have a way to meet my basic needs during this time, I couldn't even imagine the stress.

Amazing post, thanks for sharing.

[Locke]

Wow.