This headline from CNN showcases something beyond COVID-19 that is rampaging in an entirely different way:
In Japan, government statistics show suicide claimed more lives in October than COVID has over the entire year to date.The monthly number of Japanese suicides rose to 2,153 in October, according to Japan’s National Police Agency.
As of Friday, Japan’s total Covid-19 toll was 2,087..
You may know of this scourge existing close to you, or in your own family, and ponder why only Japan is making headlines. They are very progressive in reporting this.. Japan is one of the few major economies to disclose timely suicide data, while other countries lag behind by months or even years.
And during a time when global lockdowns and job losses are mounting, there is undoubtedly plenty of evidence to suggest that mental health could be another victim of the coronavirus.
FLYING BLIND
They write that prevention is key in mental health services while we wait for “a clearer picture.”
Widely reported studies modelling the effect of the covid-19 pandemic on suicide rates predicted increases ranging from 1% to 145%,6 largely reflecting variation in underlying assumptions. Particular emphasis has been given to the effect of the pandemic on children and young people. Numerous surveys have highlighted that their mental health has been disproportionately affected, relative to older adults,37 and some suggest an increase in suicidal thoughts and self-harm.8
If the clearer picture we are getting from Japan is an indication, it’s not a good sign.
The BMJ goes on to report,
Nevertheless, a reasonably consistent picture is beginning to emerge from high income countries. Reports suggest either no rise in suicide rates (Massachusetts, USA11; Victoria, Australia13; England14) or a fall (Japan,9 Norway15) in the early months of the pandemic. The picture is much less clear in low income countries, where the safety nets available in better resourced settings may be lacking. News reports of police data from Nepal suggest a rise in suicides,12 whereas an analysis of data from Peru suggests the opposite.10
JAPAN’S PROBLEM COULD HERALD A GLOBAL SCOURGE
From CNN:
Compounding those worries about income, women have been dealing with skyrocketing unpaid care burdens, according to the study. For those who keep their jobs, when children are sent home from school or childcare centers, it often falls to mothers to take on those responsibilities, as well as their normal work duties.
Increased anxiety about the health and well-being of children has also put an extra burden on mothers during the pandemic.
The pressures are equally difficult on children in Japan
As pandemic restrictions take children out of school and social situations, they’re dealing with abuse, stressful home lives, and pressures from falling behind on homework, Ozora said. Some children as young as five years old had messaged the hotline, he added.
School closures during the pandemic in the spring have contributed to homework piling up; kids also have less freedom to see friends, which is also contributing to stress, according to Naho Morisaki, of the National Center for Child Health and Development. The center recently conducted an internet survey of more than 8,700 parents and children and found that 75% of Japanese schoolchildren showed signs of stress due to the pandemic.
ABUSE ANOTHER FACTOR
Another piece of information from the United States that seems to be more current. The New England JOURNAL OF MEDICINE wrote about a pandemic within a pandemic, in this situation abuse.
In the summer, NBC NEWS was among those reporting alarming anecdotes from inside ERs around the nation.. but they cautioned that there was no hard evidence or data to back up any statistics showcasing a true rise in abuse. Reporter Julie Ingram wrote,
As official reports of abuse dropped across the country, calls to the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline increased. The 24/7 anonymous hotline saw an increase in calls by 31 percent in March, 17 percent in April and 43 percent in May when compared to 2019, according to Chief Communications Officer Daphne Young. Childhelp is not affiliated with protective services agencies and takes calls from anywhere in the U.S.
“We’re getting much more intensified calls, more abuse disclosure, and stories of sexual abuse and much higher anxiety calls from people who are suffering,” Young said.
If there was a rise in the severity of abuse cases during state shutdowns, it isn’t reflected in state agency data. In most states, reports to child protective agencies that meet the state’s definition for abuse or neglect have to be selected or “screened in” for investigation. These more serious reports dropped by nearly the same amount that total reports did, NBC News’s analysis showed.
As a reminder..
- Contact your doctor or a mental health professional to help you cope with suicidal thoughts.
- Call a mental health crisis number or a suicide hotline. In the U.S., call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 any time of day — press “1” to reach the Veterans Crisis Line or use Lifeline Chat.
- Call 911 or your local emergency number.
- Reach out to a close friend or loved one.
- Contact a minister, spiritual leader or someone else in your faith community.
