If it feels like more people are committing suicide, sadly, you are right

FALL RIVER/BOSTON/BOURNE, MA – As someone who often gets notified of, and reports on, deaths, it has felt in the past few years that there has been an uptick in deaths by suicide, so I decided to research the statistics and sadly, I was right.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the age-adjusted suicide rate rose 30% from 10.4 deaths per 100,000 population in 2000 to 14.2 in 2018, before dipping slightly to 13.5 in 2020 due to pandemic-related factors. However, rates rebounded to 14.2 in 2022 and remained steady in 2023, with provisional 2024 data suggesting a further uptick to 14.7. This equates to over 49,300 deaths in 2023 alone, or one every 11 minutes, making suicide the 11th leading cause of death overall.

Just in the matter of a few days, recently, a local 24-year-old man and a Fall River mother ended their life, according to reports. It is tragic and sad to lose a family member in any fashion, at any time, but suicide around the holidays just seems to hit harder.

On Tuesday, an off-duty officer stopped a man from jumping off of the Bourne Bridge.

I wish I had the answer. I just know that whatever we are doing isn’t working. At least not well enough. I wanted to bring this problem to light because often when reporting on a death, I generally know when gathering information if suicide is the cause, but it’s not something you can report on unless you are 100 percent positive that is the reason for the death.

The Massachusetts 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is a network of local crisis centers that are available 24/7 to provide support for youth and adults who are in any kind of emotional crisis. Using the 988 Lifeline is free and confidential.

To contact the Lifeline, call or text 988.

For more information, and to access the online chat feature, visit their website by clicking here: https://988lifeline.org/get-help/what-to-expect/