~Chesney

I don’t quite understand the phrase, “choosing to participate” but I did learn how to muster of the courage to ask people what they thought of my poster. In fact, it was courage enough to do this project. My advisor did not think I should pursue the subject of “suicide,” but I know it is something that needs to be looked at more. It is also something that needs be talked about. 

I had to participate in this project. All of the responsibility was on me so this forced me to act. Perhaps it was better for me to do this project alone because it did force me to do things that I’ve never done before. This is not to say that I let other people do all of the work, but I wouldn’t normally feel comfortable with giving interviews and I probably would have let someone else who was more technologically capable handle uploading (it probably would have taken them less time too).

Through this project I have learned that I can complete something this big on my own. I know that I have the strength, I just need to keep with it -like I’ve always done before. As Mr. Kawolics says, “You just need to get it done.” I know that I do need that reassure and I have all of the capability inside of me. The only thing that was bad about me not working with a team member however did take away a little from my experience though. I’m still going to need to figure out how to work with others better. Community wise…I’m still enormously shy, at least when it comes to a sensitive issue like this.

I will use what I’ve learned in this experience (interacting with people, uploading, all that jazz) to help me in college. I need to speak out more and I need to become more technologically coordinated. It’s basically a college necessity. I also know that I need to start on a project earlier. That will also be a necessity in college.

As to what issue I might take on next…well I’ve been really interested in the amount of power that government has over us. I’m concerned with the fact that they are trying to take over the banks more. Even though this is not health related, the power of the government over us really does affect our lives and how we live. I have found recently that the government is planning on taking away our right to own a gun and it really concerns me. That is why I am so hesitant to have more gun control because if they begin restricting this right, what is there to stop them from taking it away? The same can be true for any right. I just don’t think the Constitution should be messed with. So yes. The issue of the government and the amount of power they can have over us is an issue I would like to pursue.

I am also interested in finding out more about the power of the EU. I am concerned that they may try to create some funky “New World Order” or something. I do not trust them. I’ve also heard rumors about “One World Currency” and a “North American Union” instead United States, Canada, and Mexico. I know…I’m big on the conspiracy theories. But I just think there’s something skrewy going on and I have been researching many possibilites…instead of doing my homework. Oops. Who knows maybe I’ll get into politics (to protect human rights). Then I’d really have to develop my social skills. My uncles say I’d have to develop an even harder shell too. I have the determination. I just need to do a little more soul searching…yay summer!

Onto the questions of service.

I suppose I did talk about this in some of my other posts but just to clear things up: I truly beleive that suicide is a serious problem. Particularly in other parts of the world like Japan, Russia, Hungary, and Guyana. Something really does need to be done. I felt like a bit of a fool trying to advocate about suicide here because it doesn’t seem to be as big of a problem and it was kind of confusing as to whether I was advocating about the global problems or problems here, but it really does need to been talked about. I just don’t know how to go about doing that and there no teammate next to me offering any ideas or support.

Suicide is so easy to prevent and it would make a huge difference to simply get the word out about it. My mind goes back to the interview with Ms. Helinski when she said, “We should focus on Suicide Prevention because of what’s in the name: Prevention. Suicide is very preventable.” (That’s a rough recap from my memory but you get the idea.) Suicide is preventable.

And from my first interview, Sarah from the Active Minds Organization said we should pursue Suicide Prevention, “Because it can be done… There is so much help that can be done to reduce it and so some many people are impacted by suicides.” So by pursuing the prevention of suicide, we can impact many people…by simply talking about it and by getting the information out there. It’s something that can be easily prevented. All that is needed is information and support.

Unfortunately I’m afraid that I may not have had as great an impact as I should have. I did not send flyers out partly because the whole “going green” thing with Kate’s group. But I do think putting a Suicide Prevention poster in the commons was a good move. Many go in there to get snacks and hang out and since it’s right below the clock, it’s pretty noticable. I think the fact that someone puts a simple poster up with a notice is a pretty laid back way of getting the word out, so anyone who is interested can just look at it. Also part of supporting people and affecting the community in a simple but powerful way is to simply smile at people. I’ve been doing that for years and it helps.

Process wise I was a little sketchy. Okay very sketchy. I had no one else to go over details with which had it’s advantages and disadvantages. There was no one to argue with and no one to help me out. I certainly did not plan well at all. As with almost everything, I rushed to finish the project only near the end of due date (a couple weeks before the deadline). There wasn’t really a method to my madness. I’ve had to force myself to do things basically. But when I do start working on something I can get a lot accomplished. My goal to my project pretty much stayed the same (unlike most of my work) but that’s probably because my only goal was to research and finish…maybe a little earlier than I actually am.

My problem has always been time management and sitting down to do things. Research I’m usually pretty good about, but getting me to sit down and put aside my other personal researching can sometimes be difficult. (My mom thinks I should be a research librarian. She says that I would add some youth to the libraries….)

 One of my major roadblocks was with the videos. I had trouble uploading them mostly. It took hours to upload and then download onto Youtube and –lets just say Flip Phone is not fast in the saving process. It’s handy but not fast. Most of my roadblocks had to do with concentration really. And I never really held an event because, it just didn’t feel right. What do you do during a suicide prevention meeting? I’m not authorized or trained to give therapy or anything and I would hardly think someone would want to watch a movie. It’s a hard subject to broach but it may be more nerves on my part. My job was to simply get the word out. I think I accomplished that much….

In order to get over the problem of concentration, I simply had to make myself go to the library and starting writing right away. I found that I couldn’t get any work done once I got home so I had to just make myself research about suicide. I managed to convince myself that it would be interesting to look up different countries and I actually found that I enjoyed it. I just had to convince myself I would first. Video problems wise, I tried to do a lot of it on my own, minimally suceeded, and then had Mr. Good help cut the video. Problems solved.

I do think that time management factor really hurt me in the end. I needed to make a calendar detailing what I should get done every day or by certain dates or something. I can’t continue that pattern of rushing in the end in college. That is something that I would do differently if I were to redue my project. I would time manage. Also I wish that I had another partner with me. I know I was hesitant with groups because everyone seemed to pair off automatically. I thought about joining Joanna’s group but I knew that they were both hard workers and would take over the project. So I’m still at a bit of a standstill with partnering problems. I diffenitely will try not to let that happen in college though.

Overall this was a real learning experience and I’ll take this experience to college.

~Chesney

According to an army report by Sgt. Sara Woodrom : http://www.armymedicine.army.mil/news/releases/20070816suicidereport.cfm, “the Army’s suicide rate for 2006 was 17.3 suicides per 100,000 Soldiers. This compares to the overall U.S. population rate, for the same age and gender group, of roughly 19 suicides per 100,000 people.”

The army says that it takes the death of any soldier seriously so they are now,  ”committed to applying the resources and developing the policies and adapting our programs and policies to support Soldiers, Civilians and their Families.” (http://www.army.mil/-news/2008/01/31/7222-army-responds-to-rising-suicide-rates/)

According to said article above, the reason behind most of these suicides do not have to do with the number of deployments (although they are watching the number) but have to do with “strained relationships.”

One example is of the following provided by the 2008 army paper, “Lt. Col. Ran Dolinger, a chaplain at G-1, said that while he was deployed one of his Soldiers attended suicide-prevention training and seemed fine, but within an hour had received a call from his wife and killed himself. He stressed the importance of programs like Strong Bonds in building and maintaining healthy, strong marriages.”

In order to combat this problem of stressed relationships interviews were conducted by experts and 55 recomendations are now going through the process of developing “suicide prevention training and care.” The previous information training was unhelpful and others soldiers generally want to help their peers.

Through the revamping of the training and informative centers there should be a decrease of suicide to come. Col. Elspeth Richie, the Army’s top psychiatrist, ended her interview by saying that, “We’ve got the multiple portals to care through chaplains, through primary care, through behavioral health, through leadership. We also need to make sure that Family members know who to call if they’re worried about their Soldier. We need to involve the whole Family and the whole community in this effort.”

If all of these steps are taken, then suicides among soldiers should decrease. I will remain hopeful that the same decrease in suicide will spread around the world. The key is for people to be more aware of the issue and for people to know how to deal with it. We all need to help one another.

With that being said, here’s an article (http://www.zurinstitute.com/teenviolence.html) which addresses teen violence and suicide rates. It discusses Facts, Myths, What to Do, and What Not to Do.

With Hope

~Chesney

Starting the long task of making a poster... In the Beginning: there's a First Layer.

Green following red, Backwards style.

The "Apple" blend because "Life is colorful."

Life takes concentration...and lots of work.

Close-up on the rough edges.Varying textures and styles combine.

Fire burning downward, "Because life can be backwards."

 

But have a little fun in life...

 

...Because all textures and emotions will come with time.

So that’s my little tribute. To Life.(!)

Hope that this information has helped clear up the orgins and effects of suicide around the globe more.

Love and Light

~Chesney

Between 1990 and 2003 the suicide rate in Russia almost doubled to almost 57,500 per year. I mentioned in one of my earlier blogs that part of the problem of suicide in Eastern Europe may be because of the fall of the Soviet Union. The following quote from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/jul/09/russia.nickpatonwalsh supports this theory: “Zoya Khodkina, of the Institute of Social Economic Population Problems, said: ‘The main source of suicide during the last 10 years is social and economic problems linked to people not being able to adapt to the new conditions [since the fall of Soviet Union].’” It is from the shut down and lack of jobs.

Zoya Khodkina also mentioned that the women’s role in society has also suffered. She said that, “Despite women’s high level of education here, it is still very hard for them to find dignified work, if any work at all. Women became the first victim of market reforms.” This may explain the rather high suicide rate for women but it still pales in comparison to the amount of men in Russia who commit suicide.

Many also link these large  suicide rates in Russia to high alcohol abuse. When we take into acount the affects of alcohol on the Hungarians, there appears to be a trend. (Personally I think there should more focus in the United States on this factor rather than the gun factor. But maybe it’s different here…) In fact, WHO (World Health Organization) blames alcoholism for the extremely high number of suicides. The above link also mentions that Russians drink approximately 4bn litres per year.

See this powerpoint that a couple of students made in 2008, it will discuss of the contributing factors, such as Russia history and what is going on right now:  “http://74.125.95.132/search?http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:CeKFiSMYFkAJ:www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/creees/outreach/curriculum/noformat/outreach/PDF/suicide_ppt.ppt+suicide+Russia+2008&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

It mentions some interesting things such as the fact that the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev began an anti-alcohol campaign by trying to say it was un-patriotic and un-soviet. It actually did help to lower the mortality rate to 23 per 100,000. I thought it was an interesting twist to add.

If the link to the powerpoint doesn’t work type in “suicide Russia 2008″ and it will pop up as about the second option. There’s an html version and a powerpoint version. I recommend the powerpoint because of the pictures. It’s really well put together and it goes over all of the topics pertaining to the contributing factors to Russia’s suicide level.

~Chesney

GLOOMY SUNDAY

Sunday is gloomy
My hours are slumberless
Dearest the shadows
I live with are numberless
Little white flowers
Will never awaken you
Not where the black coach
Of sorrow has taken you
Angels have no thoughts
Of ever returning you
Would they be angry
If I thought of joining you?
Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy is Sunday
With shadows I spend it all
My heart and I
Have decided to end it all
Soon there’ll be candles
And prayers that are said I know
But let them not weep
Let them know that I’m glad to go
Death is no dream
For in death I’m caressing you
With the last breath of my soul
I’ll be blessing you
Gloomy Sunday
Dreaming, I was only dreaming
I wake and I find you asleep
In the deep of my heart here
Darling I hope
That my dream never haunted you
My heart is telling you
How much I wanted you
Gloomy Sunday GLOOMY SUNDAY

Sunday is gloomy
My hours are slumberless
Dearest the shadows
I live with are numberless
Little white flowers
Will never awaken you
Not where the black coach
Of sorrow has taken you
Angels have no thoughts
Of ever returning you
Would they be angry
If I thought of joining you?
Gloomy Sunday
Gloomy is Sunday
With shadows I spend it all
My heart and I
Have decided to end it all
Soon there’ll be candles
And prayers that are said I know
But let them not weep
Let them know that I’m glad to go
Death is no dream
For in death I’m caressing you
With the last breath of my soul
I’ll be blessing you
Gloomy Sunday
Dreaming, I was only dreaming
I wake and I find you asleep
In the deep of my heart here
Darling I hope
That my dream never haunted you
My heart is telling you
How much I wanted you
Gloomy Sunday

To read more about it’s history try this site: http://www.geocities.com/kasperhauseredux/vasarnap.html. I’m sure there are plenty of other sites too. It’s up on Youtube in both languages, maybe even in Swedish or others too. It’s been translated and remade over the years most recently by popular bands like  Sarah MacClachlan, Bjork and The Bronski Quartet.

~Chesney

Apparently Hungary is viewed as one of the gloomiest (if not the gloomiest) places to live. In fact there are an alarming amount of mental health problems. According to this article by Gloomy Sunday:  http://www.phespirit.info/gloomysunday/article_02.htm , suicide is only one symptom of their mental health issues. About twenty-five percent of the population suffer of anxiety illnesses, and a very large part of it coupled with depression. “There is a growing number of mental disorders and the rate of alcoholism and smoking is also alarmingly high, experts say.” The article also adds that,

“Hungary now leads world statistics in liver sclerosis, 8500 cases a year, an illness directly linked to alcoholism, Dr Buda says. In 1995 there were 8500 cases of liver sclerosis death, in the previous year there were 7300. This was far the highest rate in any country in the world, according to Buda. ‘This dramatic elevation shows that in the last years there must have been a continuous heavy drinking in many hundreds of thousands people in Hungary’.”

They contribute this to the lessening of the suicide rate. It seems that with less suicide there have been more mental disorder cases and more drinking. But Buda countered this lowering of the suicide rate by saying that, “‘suicidality’ itself has not decreased but merely manifests itself in alcoholism which leads to earlier death. In other words, many potential suicidal victims die before reaching the suicide age.” This means that life expectancy is extremely low. In fact, Hungarians have the lowest life expectancy in all of Europe. It’s population is decreasing by thirty to forty thousand every year meaning it’s population will be at ten million by the next century if this trend continues.

The problem with suicide probably stems from the fact that it is viewed as a heroic act in Hungary. Many famous people in Hungary have commited suicide and so it is viewed as a good solution more than anything else. To quote the article, “Psychiatrist Dr Bela Buda says one problem is that Hungarians regard suicide in a very different way to people in other countries. ‘In the unconscious popular mind suicide is a positive pattern of problem solution, it’s a formula which is actualised in times of crisis because everybody has experiences with other persons who committed suicide and who were regarded not as failures but as brave people daring to restore their self-esteem and dignity by this desperate and heroic act’.”

Gloom and suicide is basically a tradition in Hungary. A repeating cycle throughout histroy which drags it’s people into alcoholism, health problems, depression, and suicide. It really doesn’t help that people like Istvan Szechényi who was a politician revered as “The Greatest Hungarian” commited suicide. Or people like Pal Teleki, a war time prime minister, Attila Jozsef the poet, and Zoltan Latinovits the actor who died at the same train station as the poet. In fact many people still try to kill themeselves at the same train station.

A voluteer worker at a helpline station says that he gets many calls about suicide because, “Somehow it is in our culture that there is way to solve a problem easily, to quit in this way,” he explains, “sometimes people want to punish somebody with whom they have a difficult relationship.”

Peter Muller, the Gloomy Sunday playwright, says that the rate of suicide and gloominess runs deeper than failed aspirations. The problem with Hungary is that it is trying to be seen as Western but keeps being pushed back to being Eastern. It even has more to do with the problems of being occupied by different groups of people. The key problem is with the idea of Individualism. He describes it as a kind of limbo, that, “‘…we don’t belong to anybody, it’s a kind of loneliness. We have somehow lost our Oriental roots without finding another one – and if you are in trouble, if your life is difficult it is the root that can save you.’”

According to the “Hungarian Monthly Report Digest” of 1997, “Many Hungarians, however, will insist that they are not really gloomy, let alone pessimistic. The fact that they complain readily and frequently, Dr Buda says, is merely a mechanism by which they cope with problems or try to elicit help. And many Hungarians will also emphasise that they really are a merry people, and they point to their many humorists, cabaret figures, and their passionately merry gypsy music. Peter Muller explains this by saying that the Hungarians have an essentially antagonistic spirit, a ‘double feeling’ in their mentality. Beside their gloom, there is always a determinism to survive, a “but” factor, in Muller’s words.”

I think that really is the key. Hungarian are “Individualists” therefore they are afraid to get help. They have prove that they are in fact happy when really they are just trying to survive. I have to amile a little at that because there are times where I’ve said the same thing to myelf, even in dreams. It’s a repeated mantra, “I just need to survive.” The word “but”  is also something I’ll be more conscious about in my verbal vocabulary.

I think it’s important to emphasize that Hungarians have a problem with cultural identity and that is why they feel they have no roots to tie them down when there is nothing else to hold onto. I can understand that.

love and light

~Chesney

According to the study the most common people to commit suicide in Guyana are young males who are East Indian and/or Hindu. The 1999 research found that 8 out of 10 suicides were male and 3 out of 4 were East Indian. Also found was that 52.7% of all suicides in Guyana occured in Berbice.

In order to explain the high suicide rate, the article delved in the “Shadow of Death” article and wrote the following with some observations:

The study speaks of suicide as “a constant threat to society” as “everyday in Guyana people are attempting suicide…a spirit… a shadow that hangs over the Guyana society presenting an unknown and absolute option for the individual who feels there can be no other.” Alcoholic spirits copiously utilised in Guyanese communities does not ease the pain and frustration but instead liberate their expression in which death sometimes becomes preferable to life, the study summaries. It appears to be seasonal and is especially noticeable during the months of August, September and October. Persons who attempt suicide, the study said, “embrace this act of ultimate personal intimacy to escape a pained existence occasioned by hopelessness, depression and uncontrollable anger. Women and youth are trapped in their homes by a culture of chauvinist control, some subject to emotional and physical abuse and incest.”

Overall it were these factors which drives the Guyanan people to escape the misery of their lives through suicide. The men felt unfulfilled by their unsuccessful careers and the women felt prison to the men. Even those with unsuccessful suicide attempts were left scarred.

According to this article by Carribean Voice the study also lists 31 perceived reasons why these people commit suicide.  Among those listed were mental disorders, HIV/AIDS infection, alcohol and drug problems, catastrophic loss, opposition to love affairs, family problems, criticism by the community, cultural and socialization problems, murder, and from someone else commiting suicide.

Suicide is said to be so high among East Indians because their culture is different. The way that suicide is portrayed in Indian movies is also mentioned as a factor as well as the pressures from their families to marry inside the Indian culture. If an Indian woman got pregnant outside of her marriage, she might commit suicide due to the disgrace this would bring.

So that’s a little detailing as to why Guyana’s suicide rate is so high.

~Chesney

In 2007 Japan problem reached so high that it was brought to the attention of the government who made it illegal to put forth a nine step plan called the “counter-suicide White Paper.” According to this Online Times article: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2852762.ece, Japan has 90 suicides per day. Even with this high number, Japan only comes in at number 9 in the list of countries with suicides per 100,000. The “White Paper” says that Japan usually deals with the issue by ignoring. This probably what one of the big problems are. The Japanese usually ignore the problem and do not talk about it so the problem of suicide only intensifies. By simply knowing and looking for the signs of suicide or depression, this will help prevent so many suicides from occuring. According to the “White Paper” Monday is the most common date for “co-workers or loved ones to end it all.” Besides this sounding like a bizzare statement, I suppose this makes sense….

Part of Japans avoidance of the issue is because, for a very developed control, their suicide rate is far above the average. This has caused Japan to push the issue to the background out of embarassment. Even though their economy has exploded, the rate has continued to grow. A rather alarming conclusion for the government to come to. Times Online says,

“The White Paper comes as Japan is approaching its tenth successive year in which more than 30,000 people have taken their own lives. The statistic gives Japan a higher per-capita rate than nations blighted by civil war, desperate poverty or long periods of the year without sunlight.” Apparently there are also trends in “web suicide” now in which, “several strangers – usually in their twenties – meet on the internet and arrange to die together.” Another pretty bizzare concept.

For more information check out the “White Paper” and the link above.

There are some really interesting facts at the end of the article that might explain why the suicide rate is so high…

~Chesney

Here are my videos!