The Biology Of Suicide
The most disastrous consequence of depression is suicide. Not all those who try or commit suicide are depressed, but still, the suicidal thoughts and actions are alarmingly encountered almost everywhere in the world.
In the United States, half of the teenagers say they know someone who at least tried to commit suicide. One out of five teenagers admits they've tried or at least seriously thought about taking their own lives. Suicide is the ninth cause of death in the United States and the third among the 15 to 24 years of age.
The number of people who die because of suicide is larger than the number of those who are murdered. Data reveals that the number of women trying to commit suicide is three times bigger than the number of man who tried the same action, still man are those who managed to do it in a bigger number than women. The explanation may be the following: the huge number of attempts among women may be the result of the increasing incidence of depression they suffer from. The fact that man manage to suicide is the outcome of the method they choose. Women try to use less lethal methods such as cutting their veins or taking an overdose of sleeping pills. Men instead elect different ways such as gunshots, inhaling carbon monoxide or hanging. These are more effective methods but they take a larger dose of courage.
Going further, there are differences between different countries regarding the rate of suicide: the lowest rate is in Egypt, Mexico, Greece and Spain while the higher suicide rate is in Hungary, Germany, Denmark and Japan. The United States, Canada and Great Britain lie between these two extremes.
The most claimed reasons for those who tried suicide where the following: depression, loneliness, diseases, marriage problems financial difficulties or problems at work. Another problem which contributes to the act of self-annihilation is the drug abuse or alcohol addiction. It has been proven that depression combined with alcohol leads to an extremely high risk of suicide because this substance reduces the inhibitions to try impulsive or self-destructive behavior.
There are a series of theories that try to explain the cause of self-annihilation. Most recent theories are centered on biological causes. There is some evidence that suicide is hereditary transmitted, but this may not represent a specific risk, but rather a growing risk for depression or other psychological manifestations. Some other studies have connected the act of suicide to the levels of serotonin. For example, post-mortem studies revealed that the brain of those who committed self-annihilation had a very low level of serotonin. A low level of serotonin is connected with depression and aggressive behavior. (Linnoila and Virkkunen, 1992).
Another connection has been made between suicide and the low levels of cholesterol.(Brunner, Parhover, Schwadt and Bronisch, 2002).
How could a low gradient of cholesterol contribute to suicide? The speculation focuses on the possible link between cholesterol and serotonin. The studies conducted on monkeys show that if they were nourished with low fat foods this would lead to an increase of physical violence. The scientists believe that the decrease in the cholesterol levels produces a chain reaction leading to a decrease in the level of serotonin thus eventually ending in an impulsive and aggressive behavior which, in some cases, may turn into an attempt of suicide.
In the end, the act of suicide is an extremely serious issue that needs to find a remedy as soon as possible. It is very important to understand the source of the destructive behavior in order to help those who show clearly a predisposition to this kind of manifestation.
The causes however, may as well go beyond the biological component and are deep rooted inside the soul, which no one can see or touch. Or maybe there is such a serried connection between body and soul that the problem of suicide must be approached from two different directions: the one of science, which is rigid, and something more flexible and spiritual, which can help these desperate people find a better solution which leads to life rather than death, and which leads to hope rather than the extinction of their own personality.
The Christian perspective brings all the hope one can get. A God who really cares, intervenes in people's lives, a God who came in bodily form - Jesus Christ's, God's Son. Suicide has the deep root of rejection at its core, and this is where God alone can heal! Oh and He does!
He deals with the root of the problem not just the fruit of it. He will give you the motivation to live, fulfillment of being love, a new identity as a member in God's family - more than being the son or daughter of God Himself, who could dream more than that?
Go for it, taste God, see how good He is and you'll fall in love with Him forever... and suicide will be an old forgotten thought...
The number of people who die because of suicide is larger than the number of those who are murdered. Data reveals that the number of women trying to commit suicide is three times bigger than the number of man who tried the same action, still man are those who managed to do it in a bigger number than women. The explanation may be the following: the huge number of attempts among women may be the result of the increasing incidence of depression they suffer from. The fact that man manage to suicide is the outcome of the method they choose. Women try to use less lethal methods such as cutting their veins or taking an overdose of sleeping pills. Men instead elect different ways such as gunshots, inhaling carbon monoxide or hanging. These are more effective methods but they take a larger dose of courage.
Going further, there are differences between different countries regarding the rate of suicide: the lowest rate is in Egypt, Mexico, Greece and Spain while the higher suicide rate is in Hungary, Germany, Denmark and Japan. The United States, Canada and Great Britain lie between these two extremes.
The most claimed reasons for those who tried suicide where the following: depression, loneliness, diseases, marriage problems financial difficulties or problems at work. Another problem which contributes to the act of self-annihilation is the drug abuse or alcohol addiction. It has been proven that depression combined with alcohol leads to an extremely high risk of suicide because this substance reduces the inhibitions to try impulsive or self-destructive behavior.
There are a series of theories that try to explain the cause of self-annihilation. Most recent theories are centered on biological causes. There is some evidence that suicide is hereditary transmitted, but this may not represent a specific risk, but rather a growing risk for depression or other psychological manifestations. Some other studies have connected the act of suicide to the levels of serotonin. For example, post-mortem studies revealed that the brain of those who committed self-annihilation had a very low level of serotonin. A low level of serotonin is connected with depression and aggressive behavior. (Linnoila and Virkkunen, 1992).
Another connection has been made between suicide and the low levels of cholesterol.(Brunner, Parhover, Schwadt and Bronisch, 2002).
How could a low gradient of cholesterol contribute to suicide? The speculation focuses on the possible link between cholesterol and serotonin. The studies conducted on monkeys show that if they were nourished with low fat foods this would lead to an increase of physical violence. The scientists believe that the decrease in the cholesterol levels produces a chain reaction leading to a decrease in the level of serotonin thus eventually ending in an impulsive and aggressive behavior which, in some cases, may turn into an attempt of suicide.
In the end, the act of suicide is an extremely serious issue that needs to find a remedy as soon as possible. It is very important to understand the source of the destructive behavior in order to help those who show clearly a predisposition to this kind of manifestation.
The causes however, may as well go beyond the biological component and are deep rooted inside the soul, which no one can see or touch. Or maybe there is such a serried connection between body and soul that the problem of suicide must be approached from two different directions: the one of science, which is rigid, and something more flexible and spiritual, which can help these desperate people find a better solution which leads to life rather than death, and which leads to hope rather than the extinction of their own personality.
The Christian perspective brings all the hope one can get. A God who really cares, intervenes in people's lives, a God who came in bodily form - Jesus Christ's, God's Son. Suicide has the deep root of rejection at its core, and this is where God alone can heal! Oh and He does!
He deals with the root of the problem not just the fruit of it. He will give you the motivation to live, fulfillment of being love, a new identity as a member in God's family - more than being the son or daughter of God Himself, who could dream more than that?
Go for it, taste God, see how good He is and you'll fall in love with Him forever... and suicide will be an old forgotten thought...
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