Suicide in America
An awful hole
令人发指地无底洞
Why more Americans are killing themselves
为何越来越多美国人自杀
BEING depressed is like having a terrible headache, says one Atlanta businessman. Except that a few days of rest do not stop the pain: “You're just expected to keep going.” Trying to “man up”, he sought little help for his condition, choosing to hide it instead. “It all gets so debilitating that you don't want to go on,” he explains.
亚特兰大的一位商人觉得，压抑苦闷和剧烈头痛一样，这种痛苦休息几天都无法消失：“你只想坚持下去。”虽然他努力变“man”一点，但却没有想办法解决问题，反而想藏起来。他解释
道，nokia6220“所有的一切让人筋疲力尽，很想放弃。”
超市品类管理He tried to kill himself more than once; fortunately, his attempts came to nothing. But the same cannot be said for a growing share of Americans. The suicide rate has risen from 11 per 100,000 people in 2005 to 13 seven years later. In the time it takes you to read this article, six Americans will try to kill themselves; in another ten minutes one will succeed.
他曾不止一次想要自杀;幸运的是，他的尝试都是徒劳的。然而，美国可没有那么幸运，因为自杀率攀升。自杀率从2005年10万人中的11%增加到2012年的13%。在你读这篇文章的时间里，6位美国人将会自杀，而且十分钟之后会有一个人自杀成功。
Over 40,000 Americans took their own lives in 2012—more than died in car crashes—says the American Association of Suicidology. Mondays in May see the most incidents. The rates are highest in Wyoming and Montana, perhaps because guns—which are more effective than pills—are so common there (see chart). Nationally, guns are used in half of all successful suicides.
台海问题据美国自杀协会研究，2012年，在美国自杀人数超过4万，多于死于车祸的人数。自杀多 发在五月的星期一。怀俄明州和蒙大拿州的自 杀人数最多，原因或许是支的普及(开自杀比吃药来的快)。全国范围而言，开成功自杀的事件占到所有自杀事件的一半。
What drives people to self-destruction? Those who suffer from depression are, unsurprisingly, most at risk. The suicide rate also rises when times are hard. During the Depression it jumped to a record 19 per 100,000. It grew after the recent financial crisis too. “Even just uncertainty over employment” makes people worry a lot, notes Yeats Conwell, a psychiatrist at the University of Rochester Medical Centre.
究竟是什么原因让人自杀?毫无疑问，那些苦闷压抑的人正是自杀高危人。日子不好过也会促使人自杀。大萧条时期，自杀率攀升至10万人19%，创历 金属铜是什么颜史新高。近期金融危机之后，自杀人数也增多。罗切斯特大学医学中心精神病专家叶芝·康威尔表示，“甚至就业难”也会让人们陷入烦恼中。
The over-75s have historically been most likely to kill themselves, especially if they are lonely or ill. But now it is the middle-aged who are most at risk. In 2012 the suicide rate for Americans aged 45-54 was 20 per 100,000—the highest rate of any age group. For th
hal
ose aged 55-64 it was 18; for the over-65s it was 15. The middle years can be stressful, because that is when people realise that their youthful ambitions will never be fulfilled.
一般说来，如果75岁以上的人孤苦伶仃、罹患疾病，则很可能自杀。然而，如今，自杀高危人则是中年人。2012年，美国45-54岁的自杀率是 10万人20%—成为美国国内年龄段之最。而55-64岁则是18%，65岁以上的则是15%。人到中年，压力大;因为人到中年才幡然醒悟，年少梦想永无 实现之日。
Women make nearly four times as many suicide attempts as men, but men succeed four times as often. Men favour bloodier methods: most use a gun, whereas less than a third of women do. Women may be better at asking for help; overall, they are two and a half times more likely than men to take anti-depressants. Whites are nearly three times as likely as African-Americans to kill themselves. Blacks are five times more likely to be murdered with a gun than to kill themselves with one; for whites it is the other way round.
有自杀企图的女性人数是男性的四倍，但是男性自杀成功率确实女性的四倍之多。男性倾向更加暴力的自杀方式：大部分用(不到33%的女性也用)。美国航天飞机爆炸
女性或许更加善于寻求帮 助;总体来说，女性服用抗抑郁剂的几率是男性的2.5倍。白人自杀的几率是非洲裔美国的3倍。黑人用自杀的几率是被谋杀的五分之 一(白人反之)。 Military veterans are especially prone to suicide. Data from 48 states suggest that 30 out of 100,000 veterans kill themselves each year—a rate far higher than among civilians. Many find it hard to overcome the trauma of combat, or to adjust to civilian life. A survey by Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy group, found that 31% of veterans had considered taking their own lives. Congress is mulling a bill to overhaul how the Department of Veterans Affairs handles the problem.
退役军人尤其倾向自杀。48个州的数据显示，每年10万名退伍军人中有30名自杀——其自杀率远高于平民。许多老兵很难从战争创伤中恢复过来，也很 难适应退伍生活。一项由参加伊拉克和阿富汗战争的美国退伍老兵(一个倡导性组织)发起的调查发现，31%的老兵考虑过自杀。国会正在考虑一项法案，改革退 伍军人事务部处理此类问题的方式。
Activists say the government does too little to prevent suicide. Christine Moutier of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention complains that only $40m of federal funding
will go to anti-suicide programmes this year. This does not include the billions the government spends on mental-health problems more broadly.
激进分子称政府没有采取措施防止自杀。今年，联邦仅拨款4000万美元投入到自杀预防项目中，美国自杀预防基金会的Christine Moutier对此表示不满。款项不包括政府在精神疾病以及其他疾病的拨款。
Some treatments, such as anti-depressants, are often quite effective. More than 20 studies have found that when anti-depressants are more widely available, fewer people end their own lives. For example, between 1991 and 1996 Swedes swallowed 240% more anti-depressants and the suicide rate fell 19%. But it is hard to prove a causal link. And other studies suggest that certain anti-depressants lead young people to think more about suicide.
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