Swedes to catch Y2K's soaring suicides October 28 1999 at 03:33PM

ADDY: http://www.iol.co.za/news/newsview.php3?click_id=3&set_id=1&art_id=qw941117580165M455

Mariam Isa

Stockholm - Swedish health authorities are bracing for an expected rise in suicides at the turn of the millennium after a new study showed that the number of men who kill themselves leaps more than ten-fold on New Year's Day.

Given the added significance of January 1 2000, there is concern that the isolation and loneliness that depressed people feel on New Year's Eve will be greater this year, researchers at Sweden's Centre of Suicide Research and Prevention say.

"I am very afraid that the number will rise this year," said Danuta Wesserman, a psychiatrist at the centre.

"We have asked our regional networks for suicide prevention to be on alert and have extra people working."

Statistics show that an average of four people a day, usually men, kill themselves in Sweden, a country of nearly nine million people.

Wasserman has just completed a study showing this figure normally leaps to 50 on New Year's Day.

"We knew that the number of suicides goes up on significant dates but I would not have believed the difference would be so great," she said.

"The reason is that on New Year's Eve you are usually not with family; you are supposed to be with someone you are close to. If you are alone and don't have friends, the discrepancy between how you feel and how others feel is so huge that it can be unbearable."

Sweden and its Nordic neighbours used to have the highest suicide rates in the world, with blame placed on factors ranging from the long dark winters to high income taxes and a perceived Nordic tendency to depression.

But Wasserman said recent studies showed that Sweden's suicide rate had dropped significantly during the 1990s and was now in line with the European Union average.

Russia and the Baltic states have moved to the top position, with an average of 80-100 suicides per 100 000 people.

Sweden now has 24 suicides per 100 000 while Greece has the lowest rate in Europe with a mere five suicides per 100 000.

"I think this shows that culture is very important, and the role of family, which is much greater in Mediterranean countries," Wasserman said. "If we look at the Baltic states and Russia, they are societies in transition. This always leads to big changes in suicide mortality."

Wasserman's study, carried out at Sweden's presitigious Karolinska Institute, covered 6 000 men aged 19 to 26 who killed themselves between 1969 and 1996. She only looked at male data as most suicides are by men - 70 percent of Sweden's total.

Women do not kill themselves as often as men do because they are generally better at communicating with people, she said.

"What this study tells us is that even if we know there are several mental disorders behind suicide, such as depression or misuse of alcohol or drugs, the main cause is loneliness and the feeling of being outside human relations." - Reuters

This is why we prepare, Polly; so we don't have to end up with the ultimate exit.

-- Patrick (pmchenry@gradall.com), October 28, 1999

Answers

I guess that means there will be plenty of swedes to eat just when we can use them the most...

-- Y2KGardener (gardens@bigisland.net), October 28, 1999.

Gardener,

Why not compost them? They would make excellent "swede-a-lizer", due to the fact that they're high in Nitrogen. Let's also not forget the vast mountains of Russky-lizer to be harvested as soon as they hit the crapper (pun intended).

-- cavscout (soylentgreen@is.people), October 29, 1999.

You guys give a whole new meaning to Swedish meatballs. Swede and sour, anyone? Then there are bound to be those on a diet who want artificial Swedener.

-- Old Git (anon@spamproblems.com), October 29, 1999.

And remeber, use the Russky-lizer for night time gardening due to the fact that they will likely 'glow'

-- BH (silentvoice@pobox.com), October 29, 1999.

I think we will see a rise in suicide in America and around the world as things go bad next year and people unaccustomed to want are faced with their usual lives so dramatically interrupted.

-- Elaine Seavey (Gods1sheep@aol.com), October 29, 1999.