If we take a step back, the statistics that suicide rates went up and the road fatalities went down in Europe makes sense, regardless of how sad it still is.
Think about it: financial woes puts all kinds of burdens and issues onto people who might normally already be depressed. And without much money and a rise in unemployment, it makes sense that people are driving less:
“The countries facing the most severe financial reversals of fortune, such as Greece and Ireland, had greater rises in suicides (17 percent and 13 percent, respectively) than did the other countries, and in Latvia suicides increased by more than 17 percent between 2007 and 2008.”
While suicides increased, there was a substantial decline in road deaths in the EU, especially in new member countries with previously high road death rates. For example, the road death rate in Lithuania fell by almost 50 percent, the authors noted.
The overall decline in road deaths was likely associated with reduced car use due to higher levels of unemployment, Stuckler and colleagues said. They pointed out that road deaths in the United States fell by 10 percent since the start of the economic downturn.
We wish there was a simple solution for turning around the economies of the world, we really do. It’s just terrible that either way there is going to be an increase in deaths in some way or another.
If you’re feeling suicidal for any reason, regardless of being in Europe or not, seek help. Problems that usually seem insurmountable usually aren’t. Take a chance on help first, even a small chance of it helping is chance enough!
Image via AP Images.]