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submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by TankieTanuki@hexbear.net to c/doomer@hexbear.net

Deaths of Despair = Suicides + Alcohol-Related + Drugs

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[-] kefir__@hexbear.net 24 points 3 months ago

Non US guy here - why did the rate peak in 1900's and why did it decrease in 1930's? I thought that's the Great Depression?

[-] Euergetes@hexbear.net 26 points 3 months ago

1933 was the New Deal. it didn't help all americans and it took years to be implemented but it very meaningfully improved the lot of millions long before the economy "recovered" (corporate profits) with the outbreak of WW2

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 18 points 3 months ago
[-] Euergetes@hexbear.net 14 points 3 months ago

Prohibiton was implemented in 1920 and reversed in 1933

[-] GalaxyBrain@hexbear.net 2 points 3 months ago

I guess to be more clear, people were drinking super fucking hard leading up to prohibition and even when repealed there were a fair bit of people it did work on who kept sober, like, say youre a 12 year old in 1920 and 25 in 1933, there is a decent chance that booze just wasnt really part of your upbringing and also now you can't afford it anyway. It wasn't like the streets were flooded with whiskey and everyone became drunks again immediately, ww2 did that and even then, it is absolutely fucking crazy how mainstream absolutely hardcore alcoholism was in the US prior to prohibition. It led to people trying cool new drugs like heroin instead. There are interviews with heroin users in the 40s and 50s who said it got big among the youth of the time cause they saw thr destructive effects alchohol had on their parents and felt at least nodding out essnt hurting anyone else

[-] TankieTanuki@hexbear.net 17 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

The Great Depression started in 1929 and slowly resolved throughout the thirties.

DeepSeek said the spike in the 1900s was caused by the stresses of rapid industrialization and urbanization, which were mitigated in the 1910s by Progressive Era reforms.

Edit: And WWI. beanis

[-] LangleyDominos@hexbear.net 9 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

~~Don't forget WWI~~ I guess the spike happens before that nvm.

[-] TankieTanuki@hexbear.net 15 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I was including it as one of the mitigating factors. That's what I thought you meant, actually.

The Shared Sacrifice of the World Wars: While tragic, wars can create a powerful sense of collective purpose and social integration, which Émile Durkheim's theory suggests lowers suicide rates.^[Slop machine]

The same theory of collective sacrifice explains why the Arduous March didn't fracture social cohesion in the DPRK.

this post was submitted on 02 Nov 2025
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