this post was submitted on 26 Mar 2024
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[–] [email protected] 126 points 7 months ago (10 children)

If you're having trouble understanding what this map means, it means that the suicide rate for men is higher than for women everywhere, notably 5 to 6 times higher in Eastern Europe and Russia, and 8 times higher in a couple of Central American countries and West Africa.

I wonder what makes men the world over decide that suicide is the best option.

[–] [email protected] 92 points 7 months ago (3 children)

I would imagine toxic masculinity.

Men are encouraged to be stoic and not express their emotions.

Most men don't have a single friend they can talk openly about their emotions with.

[–] [email protected] 57 points 7 months ago

They are also told their entire lives that everyone relies on them and then are publicly shamed if they fail. Plus being first in line for any violent conflict, where they might lose the few friends they have and no outlets since showing any weakness is punished.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago (2 children)

It's interesting how terms like toxic masculinity lead to instant downvotes from a certain type of person but if you make the exact same comment without it you get zero downvotes.

It's almost like people have been conditioned to be reflexively averse to specific words without actually understanding what they mean.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 7 months ago

It's just a poor term overall. To a lot of people it sounds like masculinity itself was toxic and bad, instead of pointing to a toxic form of it.

Should just have a better, less confusing word for it.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago

Toxic masculinity was a term coined by men wanting to be free from the expectations of the patriarchy. It's beyond heart breaking that so many men parodoxically react with anger to this phrase. Double so while bemoaning the lack of mental health options for men.

My good dudes, you're literally building the cages for yourself.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 7 months ago

Not just that. In 90% of suicide attempt, the decision was made within an hour before the attempt. Impulsivity is a component and men are more impulsive. We also see that people with ADHD are more likely to attempt suicide too. Not only that, women who take the pill are 2x more likely to attempt suicide and 3x more likely to succeed. This is because estrogens stimulate the frontal lobe and are needed for emotional stability and cognitive control. Which is also why girls outperform boys on average in academic settings as well.

This means the difference isn't just a social issue. Suicide rates have been increasing for both men and women in the western world the past 20 years. Thankfilly, that doesn't mean we can't improve it.

But we can't expect it to ever be 50/50. Unless ofcourse we make women's lives worse. But that's not solving men's problems.

[–] [email protected] 33 points 7 months ago (2 children)

I wonder what makes men the world over decide that suicide is the best option.

Because if you don't have a partner and high paying job, you aren't just worthless, you are a burden.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 7 months ago

Hey now, you can have both of those things and still be a burden.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 7 months ago (2 children)

Men are overly hormonal. Domestic abuse, war, homicide.... They should take a more logical stance instead of being a slave to their feelings.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

What a great specimen of Finnish self-aware sarcasm.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (2 children)

You're saying that men should sever their feelings? How is that even possible? What do you feel like is the right way to do that?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 7 months ago

Its a joke. The point is that women are often being told that they are too emotional (as opposed to the very logical men), even though men are often the ones with violent outbursts.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 7 months ago

No my friend, but assuming that feelings, emotions, and hormones are something negative that need to be ignored or done away with is an artefact of patriarchy and we can throw that whole shit away.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Women actually attempt suicide more. Men just die from it more. This is mostly because men tend to use firearms and women tend to use poisoning/overdose (not necessarily narcotics)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35598742/

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/4009420-more-women-attempt-suicide-more-men-die-by-suicide/amp/

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

Shit life syndrome

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago

We are not as good at voicing our issues with a committed support network and we are way better at following through on suicidal ideation.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I wonder if evolution isn't at play. Females killing themselves off is an awful reproductive strategy. Males doing the same is not such a big deal.

If I'm not clear: A woman takes about a year from attempting to get pregnant to gestation to birth to recovery. I could impregnate hundreds of women in a year. And so could any other man. We're simply not as valuable.

And yes, men have plenty of value outside sperm donation, I was trying to shine a harsh light.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

You're right. Estrogens play an important role in brain development. They stimulate a few regions in the brain, which include parts of the limbic system and the frontal lobe. Both playing a huge role in emotional stability and impulse control.

Now what we see in both primates and humans, is that when males get frustrated, they will seek out a weaker opponent to unleash it on. This usually is a juvenile or their mother. Females are weaker, and don't have many targets to terrorize. They absolutely would if they could. So estrogens play a role in self control.

Women inherited this benefit. The emotional and cognitive control that estrogens enhance, is why women are less impulsive, have lower expression of aggression and perform much better in schools. This is because estrogens stimulate brain development in girls and it gives them an advantage over boys.

We also found that men with normal testosterone levels have this effect too. In pretty much all animals where we studied this, higher levels of testosterone correlate with higher levels of aggression. Not only that, in both humans and rats, t-levels fluctuated based on social hierarchy. Changing as status changes. This may have to do with self preservation and making sure you don't piss off a stronger opponent.

But in humans, slightly higher levels of testosterone correlate with less aggressive behaviours. This is because when men and women produce more androgens, they produce more estrogens. And so the self-control for men increases.

Furthermore. Women who take the contraceptive pill are twice more likely to attempt suicide and 3 times more likely to succeed than women who don't take the pill. This is why estrogens are added to prevent depression. A well known side effect of the pill.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Thank you for explaining it.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 7 months ago

I wonder what makes men the world over decide that suicide is the best option.

No one cares, and life is cruel and cold. The end.