Suicide affects a broad swath of society, so it follows solutions must originate from a broad range of sources. But however they come, come they must, for Utahns desperately need help in the midst of a mental health and suicide crisis that isn’t abating.
The latest examination comes from a Utah Foundation report released earlier this October. It finds suicides in Utah have increased dramatically across all age groups since the turn of the millennium, with more pronounced increases during the last decade. Nationally, Utah ranks fifth for people taking their own lives.
Much effort in this state and across the country has been targeted toward youths vulnerable to bullying or mental health challenges. This is right, as rates of suicide among this age group have steadily increased. But the report paints a broader picture, noting the most severely affected demographic remains working-age adults. The problem doesn’t rest in a single group, and neither should the solutions.
Concrete explanations for any increase in this harrowing phenomenon generally elude experts, but there are curious links that deserve more exploration. Geography is one. The highest suicide rates in Utah appear to cluster in five contiguous counties, all of which are rural and are among those in the state with higher elevations. Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, Idaho, Nevada and Colorado — other Mountain West states with higher elevations and chunks of rural populations — all fall in the top 10 for suicides in the country.
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