The Awl http://www.theawl.com/ Be Less Stupid Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:32:42 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.2 Hot For Recessionary Wednesdays: Suicide http://www.theawl.com/2009/07/hot-for-recessionary-wednesdays-suicide http://www.theawl.com/2009/07/hot-for-recessionary-wednesdays-suicide#comments Wed, 08 Jul 2009 09:32:42 +0000 Alex Balk http://www.theawl.com/2009/07/hot-for-recessionary-wednesdays-suicide What are you so happy about?Using European Union mortality data for a period of nearly forty years, researchers at Oxford discovered that "for every 1 per cent increase in unemployment, both suicides and homicides rose by 0.8 per cent. When employment fell by 3 per cent or more in one go, suicides leapt by 4.4 per cent and homicides by 6.0 per cent." Ruh roh! In other news about topping yourself, a new study "published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, found that people are far more likely to kill themselves in the middle of the week than in the beginning or the end: almost 25 percent of suicides occur on Wednesdays as compared to 14 percent on Mondays or Saturdays, the two days tied for second-highest suicide rates." There is an impressive chart!

This is indeed a chart
Okay, these numbers all seem to check out. Like you might, because today is THE DREADED WEDNESDAY. But wait: "The study also found if you make it through Wednesday, your risk for suicide plummets by more than half the following day; Thursdays have the lowest rate, with only 11 percent of suicides." So try and hold off one more day; tomorrow's "Samantha Who?" is all new!

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]]> What are you so happy about?Using European Union mortality data for a period of nearly forty years, researchers at Oxford discovered that "for every 1 per cent increase in unemployment, both suicides and homicides rose by 0.8 per cent. When employment fell by 3 per cent or more in one go, suicides leapt by 4.4 per cent and homicides by 6.0 per cent." Ruh roh! In other news about topping yourself, a new study "published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, found that people are far more likely to kill themselves in the middle of the week than in the beginning or the end: almost 25 percent of suicides occur on Wednesdays as compared to 14 percent on Mondays or Saturdays, the two days tied for second-highest suicide rates." There is an impressive chart!

This is indeed a chart
Okay, these numbers all seem to check out. Like you might, because today is THE DREADED WEDNESDAY. But wait: "The study also found if you make it through Wednesday, your risk for suicide plummets by more than half the following day; Thursdays have the lowest rate, with only 11 percent of suicides." So try and hold off one more day; tomorrow's "Samantha Who?" is all new!

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See more posts by Alex Balk

8 comments

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