Suicide Rates Are Up: Are Some Online Posts Warning Signs?

While overall suicide rates for younger age groups have decreased in the last year, the 2022 suicide rates for individuals 35 and older have increased (Curtin et al., 2023). The largest overall percentage increases are for those 55-64 and those over 75. Men are much more likely to commit suicide than women; in fact, men are four times more likely to die from suicide than women. Single, unemployed men are at higher risk of suicide. In exploring reasons that men take their own lives, identified factors include divorce, loss or absence of a job, serious illness, substance abuse, financial stressors, and other significant life stressors/transitions (Fowler et al., 2022).

Trying to manage significant stressors can take a significant toll on a person’s emotional well-being, equilibrium, and physical health. In a study of older adult veterans, frailty was found to be the biggest predictor of suicide (Kuffel et al., 2023). The authors note that physical frailty is frequently associated with diminished emotional resilience, which can result in a greater likelihood of suicide attempts. Because men are more likely to use more lethal means of committing suicide, they are more likely to die from an attempt.

According to the SAMHSA, almost twice as many women seek counseling than men do. This is also likely why women are more likely to be diagnosed with a mental health disorder than men are. Women are seeking help, but also attempt suicide more frequently than men. However, their attempts are less lethal and have been considered to be emergency distress signals, parasuicidal pauses, or suicidal gestures (Freeman et al., 2017). Men may view suicide as an independent solution to their distress rather than making an effort to seek a solution with the assistance of a helping profession. Regardless of gender, suicidal thoughts and attempts may be more common when feelings of not mattering or anti-mattering are present.

Mattering or Anti-Mattering?

Recognizing that mattering, as a construct, describes attachments to others, Flett et al. (2022) developed a scale that assessed a person’s feeling separate from and insignificant to others. They noted that individuals who “anti-matter” to others will exhibit a negative self-worth unlike those who believe they do matter to others. The five questions on this scale explore beliefs about how much they feel they matter to others; whether others care about what they have to share; and feelings of insignificance and invisibility. People who score high on the anti-mattering scale also have a desire to avoid unpleasant or adverse engagement with others.

In a study that explored online posts from a suicide watch site, the construct of anti-mattering was touched on in 70% of the over five hundred thousand posts that were analyzed (Deas et al., 2023). While the authors don’t believe that anti-mattering in itself is a predictor of suicide, they noted that it may be experienced in combination with other factors that exacerbate the incidence of suicidal ideation, as Flett did.

These other factors included loneliness; stress from others; shame; talking in absolutes (all or nothing); mental health and current stressors; loss; and hopelessness. When you feel that you are alone, that no one cares about what you’re feeling, thinking, or doing, and stressors are piling up, it can feel like there are no solutions. That’s when your next move should be to seek support in figuring out how to cope more effectively with the challenges you’re facing.

Putting It All Out There Online

In another study that looked at online posts, Ophir et al. (2020) found out something that might seem unexpected. Individuals who were truly at risk of suicide did not use suicide-related words in their posts. Instead of mentioning words related to death, their posts most frequently included words that were negatively charged including curse words; words describing emotional distress and words describing physical illness and pain.

Let People Know They Matter and Listen to What They’re Saying

Be alert to any changes in the vocabulary and intensity of a friend or loved one's feelings when they are coping with feelings of desperation or depression. If their words indicate a sense of helplessness or feeling that there is no solution to their current problems, encourage them to seek help from trained professionals. We all send out signals of our mood state, but sometimes they may be more significant than first realized.

If you are considering suicide:

• Call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: 988
• You will be connected to a trained counselor at a suicide crisis center nearest you.
• (They are part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)

If you are in the company of someone who is actively contemplating suicide:

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• Get help from a trained professional as quickly as possible. The person may need to be hospitalized until the suicidal crisis has passed.
• Encourage the person to call a suicide hotline number: 988 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (800-273-8255) to reach a trained counselor. Use that same number and press "1" to reach the Veterans Crisis Line.