# Biggest drop in suicide rate in 40 years - 6% in 2020 amid pandemic
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084
**Category:** The Quarantine Zone
**Tags:** covid-quarantine
**Created:** [April 15, 2021, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084 "2021-04-15T14:48:12Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/1 "2021-04-15T14:48:12Z")
Continuing the discussion from [Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2021 Breaking News](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1101):
> [@Coronavirus COVID-19 (2019-nCoV) Thread - 2021 Breaking News](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/coronavirus-covid-19-2019-ncov-thread-2021-breaking-news/929428/1101):
>
> US suicide rates apparently dropped about 6% last year. The attached article has some speculation about why that might be, but increased support during the pandemic is a reasonable guess. (plus see below)
> [US suicides dropped last year, defying pandemic expectations](https://apnews.com/article/pandemics-suicide-prevention-coronavirus-pandemic-d8d9168403baa6660e5125c040b2ae81)
This is a big deal to me for a couple reasons. One of the reasons is because it was unexpected. Another reason is that Andrew Yang (2020 Presidential candidate) ran on the idea that the rate of suicide has been climbing for 40 years. His idea was that UBI would help the rate of suicide decline. I’m wondering if the stimulus checks and the unemployment increase did have an effect on the suicide rate.
I saw this similar article to the linked article that **Maserschmidt** noted.
> **[US sees biggest drop in suicide rates in 40 years despite Covid pandemic](https://metro.co.uk/2021/04/09/us-sees-biggest-drop-in-suicide-rates-in-40-years-despite-pandemic-14386442/)**
>
> Suicide numbers dropped nearly 6% in 2020, preliminary government data shows
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### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/2 "2021-04-15T15:06:05Z")
Obviously just speculating here… but I wonder if one of the reasons could be because with groups being locked in together, there’s less opportunity for a suicidal person to feel alone, abandoned, forgotten, overlooked, etc. Instead of being the one person who is left out and miserable while everyone else is happily living their lives, they are locked in with or at least can look around and see that others are miserable, too.
Someone who is determined to kill themselves will do it and find a way, but for people who might do it on a whim or when in a despondent mood, the pandemic has possibly made those opportunities less plentiful and less compelling.
My uncle committed suicide about five years ago (gunshot 😢), but I think he was worried about deteriorating health and “didn’t want to be a burden.” No note, but that’s what his partner and I have come up with. I don’t think the pandemic would have made any difference to him. But for someone whose act was more spontaneous/opportunistic, I can imagine that a suffering/locked-down world might cause them to look at their lives differently.
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### Author:  [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/3 "2021-04-15T15:13:53Z")
Don’t overlook the ‘relief factor’ for a lot of people in not having to go to a workplace and interact with people who irritate them as much.
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### Author:  [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/4 "2021-04-15T15:15:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> Obviously just speculating here… but I wonder if one of the reasons could be because with groups being locked in together, there’s less opportunity for a suicidal person to feel alone, abandoned, forgotten, overlooked, etc. Instead of being the one person who is left out and miserable while everyone else is happily living their lives, they are locked in with or at least can look around and see that others are miserable, too.
Just thinking out loud here as well. I agree with you. But then I’m wondering about those people who were locked down by themselves. Wouldn’t they be more prone to kill themselves, perhaps offsetting the people who were locked down with others?
I haven’t seen any demographics of the statistic yet. That’s what I’m hoping to learn more about in this thread.
> [@StarvingButStrong](#):
>
> Don’t overlook the ‘relief factor’ for a lot of people in not having to go to a workplace and interact with people who irritate them as much…
For sure. I’ve been reading that everywhere online during the pandemic.
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### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/5 "2021-04-15T15:20:20Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#):
>
> Just thinking out loud here as well. I agree with you. But then I’m wondering about those people who were locked down by themselves. Wouldn’t they be more prone to kill themselves, perhaps offsetting the people who were locked down with others?-
I would say possibly yes, with no real basis, just a guess. And my own experience of being totally alone the last year. Not suicidal, but I can understand the despondency of feeling utterly abandoned.
Or, as suggested by @StarvingButStrong they might feel better because they _don’t_ have to see family members.
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### Author:  [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/6 "2021-04-15T15:26:12Z")
This information must be wrong because I’ve been assured by numerous talking heads on the television that the pandemic has caused a national mental health crisis. Everybody knows that people are incapable of staying home for the health and safety of themselves and their families without going stark raving mad. I’m sure that thousands and thousands of suicides must have been misclassified as homicides in order to have such a low number.
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### Author:  [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/7 "2021-04-15T15:28:16Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#):
>
> But then I’m wondering about those people who were locked down by themselves. Wouldn’t they be more prone to kill themselves, perhaps offsetting the people who were locked down with others?
Maybe the people who reacted like that are cancelled out, or more than cancelled out, by the people who found it a relief not to be having continuously to deal with others who they found it either unpleasant or hard work to be around.
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### Author:  [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/8 "2021-04-15T15:31:17Z")
One factor might be a reduction in the feeling of relative deprivation. That’s where you compare yourself to others and feel bad if you perceive others as doing better than you. If everyone is struggling, then there isn’t that differential between you and others so you don’t feel worse off in a relative sense.
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### Author:  [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/9 "2021-04-15T15:33:28Z")
I wonder if the suicide numbers are being jumbled up because of the significant increase with overdose deaths.
> **[Coronavirus Disease 2019](https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/p1218-overdose-deaths-covid-19.html)**
>
> CDC provides credible COVID-19 health information to the U.S.
> **[Overdose Deaths Have Surged During the Pandemic, C.D.C. Data Shows (Published...](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/14/health/overdose-deaths-fentanyl-opiods-coronaviurs-pandemic.html)**
>
> The latest numbers surpass even the yearly tolls during the height of the opioid epidemic and mark a reversal of progress against addiction in recent years.
> **[The Spike in Drug Overdose Deaths During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Policy...](https://www.commonwealthfund.org/blog/2021/spike-drug-overdose-deaths-during-covid-19-pandemic-and-policy-options-move-forward)**
>
> Since COVID-19 first started upending life for Americans in March 2020, public health officials have been sounding the alarm about a potential surge in drug overdoses.
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### Author:  [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/10 "2021-04-15T15:45:31Z")
Just found this.
> **[No rise in suicide rates in richer countries during first months of pandemic](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/no-rise-in-suicide-rates-in-richer-countries-during-first-months-of-pandemic-1.4536582)**
>
> Some countries recorded a drop in suicides, according to Lancet study
This phenomenon didn’t just apply to the US. Apparently, it was true in other richer countries in the world from April through July of 2020. Suicides did not increase during those months in other countries as well.
> [@](#):
>
> Researchers including [University College Cork](https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_organisation=University+College+Cork) professor [Ella Arensman](https://www.irishtimes.com/topics/topics-7.1213540?article=true&tag_person=Ella+Arensman) examined suicide rates in 21 “high-income and upper-middle-income countries” countries between April 1st and July 31st and compared them with previous years.
>
> It found suicide numbers remained largely unchanged or showed a decline on previous years.
They gave some tentative possible reasons.
> [@](#):
>
> The authors of the Lancet study put forward several hypotheses for why suicide rates did not increase during the pandemic, including the increase in the provision of mental health services in many countries to mitigate the impact of lockdown measures.
>
> Financial measures to “buffer” the impact of job losses and business closures may have also played a role.
>
> The pandemic may have also heightened other factors known to protect against suicide including increased community supports for vulnerable people, new ways of connecting with others online and “strengthened relationships through households spending more time together”.
>
> #### Everyday stresses
>
> A collective feeling of “being in it together”, as well as a reduction in everyday stresses for some people, may also have helped, they said.
Give people some financial buffers, more mental health services, other ways to connect and a shared experience and people kill themselves less. Who’da thunk?
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### Author:  [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/11 "2021-04-15T15:49:28Z")
So you think the U.S. did a good job of providing financial buffers and mental health resources?
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### Author:  [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/12 "2021-04-15T15:54:08Z")
> [@FigNorton](#):
>
> So you think the U.S. did a good job of providing financial buffers and mental health resources?.
No, but it’s relative. There were slightly more financial buffers and slightly more emphasis on mental health services. It was a really, really low bar to meet.
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### Author:  [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/13 "2021-04-15T15:57:47Z")
But in other wealthy countries your article quote says the suicide rate “was largely unchanged” but the U.S. had the biggest drop in 40 yrs.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/14 "2021-04-15T16:00:42Z")
I could be wrong but I think there’s a general inverse correlation between suicide and being immersed in a disaster. Suicidal inclinations erupt when one is safe but the safe life feels like a life sentence and you feel like you’re a pathetic failure for not being able to make a better life for yourself or not being sufficiently loved and included by others or for not being able to enjoy what you do have. Direct threats distract you from making that kind of assessment — of course the quality of life sucks, we’re being freaking invaded by a conquering army / the volcano is erupting / the ship is sinking / the plague is wiping us all out, etc! One does not blame one’s self for that or feel like a personal loser because of it.
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### Author:  [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/15 "2021-04-15T16:10:16Z")
You guys are all coming up with good, plausible explanations. The pandemic has had surprising effects on society.
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### Author:  [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/16 "2021-04-15T16:10:57Z")
> [@FigNorton](#):
>
> But in other wealthy countries your article quote says the suicide rate “was largely unchanged” but the U.S. had the biggest drop in 40 yrs.
I haven’t looked at the numbers, but theoretically, that makes sense. In countries where there’s already social safety nets, the suicide rates might have already been low so there wasn’t much room to go down. In the US, where the suicide rate has been increasing, any change for the better could trigger a bigger drop in the rates.
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### Author:  [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/17 "2021-04-15T16:22:49Z")
That’s a theory but I wouldn’t say it makes sense without any numbers.
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### Author:  [@Skypist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skypist)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/18 "2021-04-15T16:50:14Z")
This is what I came to post. Maybe I should take it to the Pit as it’s political.
I have more to say on this subject but I’ll shove it for now as I’m getting angry and on the verge of a rant.
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### Author:  [@FigNorton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FigNorton)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/19 "2021-04-15T17:00:08Z")
You’re mad that “talking heads” were concerned that job losses and isolation might increase suicides?
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### Author:  [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Heffalump_and_Roo)
#### Post date: [April 15, 2021, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biggest-drop-in-suicide-rate-in-40-years-6-in-2020-amid-pandemic/940084/20 "2021-04-15T17:04:16Z")
> [@FigNorton](#):
>
> I wonder if the suicide numbers are being jumbled up because of the significant increase with overdose deaths.
It’s possible, but the overdose rates looks to have some additional causes that don’t apply to suicides.
from your linked article
> [@](#):
>
> But the pandemic unquestionably exacerbated the trend, which grew much worse last spring: The biggest jump in overdose deaths took place in April and May, when fear and stress were rampant, job losses were multiplying and the strictest lockdown measures were in effect.
>
> Many treatment programs closed during that time, at least temporarily, and “drop-in centers” that provide support, clean syringes and naloxone, the lifesaving medication that reverses overdoses, cut back services that in many cases have yet to be fully restored.
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