The U.S. suicide rate will increase in 2022. This was revealed by a new report released by the National Center for Health Statistics. Aside from this, NCHS also claimed that men who took their own lives is higher compared to women.
This just shows that suicide cases in the United States are getting worse. Americans who committed suicide reached almost 50,000 in the previous year; most of them are males.
What's more alarming that is NCHS officials warned that the numbers they provided are provisional, meaning that the real suicide rate in 2022 might be higher than estimated.
US Suicide Rate Drastically Rises in 2022
According to Fox News' latest report, in 2022, over 23 men committed suicide in every 100,000 population. Meanwhile, more than 5 women took their own lives per 100,000 population.
NCHS said that the average rate for all Americans was more than 14 (14.3 to be exact) per 100,000 per population; this is considered the highest suicide record in the U.S. since 1941.
The National Center for Health Statistics released its data a few days after the Department of Veterans Affairs revealed its own report showing a spike in suicide cases among American service members.
VA officials said that American veterans who committed suicide increased by over 11% between 2020 and 2021 (6,392 suicide cases were reported in 2021).
"It's a disturbing trend that after going down for two years, we saw a spike. After COVID and the Afghanistan withdrawal ... it's probably not surprising that we saw an increase in veteran suicide," said Mission Roll Call Executive Director Cole Lyle.
"Anecdotally, we saw a lot of evidence that both of those events were negatively impacting the mental health in the veterans community and suicide rates," added Lyle, who is also a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
How To Help Suicidal People
Western Michigan University explained that suicidal people need all the help they can get, especially from their partners, families, relatives, as well as close friends.
If you suspect that your partner, a family member, or a friend is suicidal, here's what you can do:
- Check for warning signs of suicide risk and depression.
- When listening to them, take their suicidal statements seriously.
- Sometimes, suicidal people don't need your opinion. All they need is for you to actively listen.
- Instead of giving cliche advice, try encouraging them to seek professional help.
- If ever you suspect an individual at high risk for suicide, never leave them alone.
