In these difficult economic times, millions of people around the world are struggling to make ends meet. This kind of stress can have a profound effect on the mental health of people in the US and Europe as they attempt to pull their countries out of recession.
New research emerging from these times of financial crisis show that people’s wellbeing is affected to the stage that the suicide rates are greatly increased. Figures show that these add up to over 1,000 more suicide deaths than normal in the UK alone, and some other countries are seeing suicide increases of up to 60 percent, such as in Greece where the economic crisis has hit hardest.
Research was carried out at the University of Cambridge, noting suicide rates and indicating that more figures were needed from the US in order to widen the analysis. These figures were published in The Lancet medical journal.
Focusing on mortality rates between 1999 and 2010, the research panel correlated unemployment data with suicide rates, and noted a great increase in the rates of suicide whilst the rates of unemployment increased. This seems to indicate that the economic crisis has a strong effect on the wellness and mental health of the people affected.
Whilst suicide remains a rare outcome from someone suffering from a mental illness, the data did show that the rates of those suffering from anxiety and depression has increased significantly, particularly in countries such as Spain and Greece. Shockingly, the research seems to show that there are an estimated 4,750 excess deaths during the one year period studied, which may be attributed to the recession. It also showed that for every percentage point that unemployment rose, the suicide rate also increased by 0.99 percent too.
The research also noted that some countries have managed to avoid an increased suicide rate, despite the difficult economic times, by taking care of the unemployed with active labour market programmes and appropriate social support.
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