Suicide deaths in the United States (US) reached an all-time high last year or in 2022, according to the data presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC.
The data suggests roughly a 2.6 percent increase in suicidal deaths in 2022 compared to the year prior, or in 2021, to be exact.
US Suicide Deaths Reach All-Time High
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 13: Exterior of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) headquarters is seen on October 13, 2014 in Atlanta, Georgia.
As per NBC News, the CDC has released data indicating that suicide deaths in the US soared to an all-time high in 2022. The grim statistics unveiled in a recent report shed light on the ongoing crisis, wherein tens of thousands of Americans die each year.
The findings paint a distressing picture: suicide rates have surged unprecedentedly, raising concerns about mental health nationwide. According to the data, many lives were lost to suicide in 2022, surpassing any previous records.
The public health agency says that around 49,000 people tragically died from suicide last year. It is the highest number of suicide deaths ever recorded in the US. According to Reuters, CDC data shows that the increase is a 2.6 percent jump from the figures from last year. In 2021, the number of suicide deaths in the US was 48,193.
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Mental Health Crisis in the US
US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra (L) speaks alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (R) during the launch of the State Department's Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy at the State Department in Washington, DC, August 1, 2023.
NBC News notes that experts blame a couple of issues on the alarming surge of suicides in the country. They attribute the growing trend to the rampancy of depression and the lack of access to mental health services.
In a recent statement, US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra says, "Nine in [ten] Americans believe America is facing a mental health crisis." Becerra stresses, "The new suicide death data reported by CDC illustrates why." He also pointed out that many folks still find asking for help a sign of weakness.
As Forbes reports, suicides in the US have consistently risen in the past several years. From 2001 to 2021, the CDC says that the suicide rates jumped by roughly 31.8 percent.
Alarmingly, the CDC disclosed that firearms were involved in more than half of the suicide deaths in the country last year. American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Senior Vice President of Research Jill Harkavy-Friedman, emphasized that the main driver of the rise in suicide is the widespread availability of guns in the US.
A recent John Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solution study suggests that gun-related suicide is the main driver of the startling rise in self-inflicted deaths.
If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, please reach out for help. Kindly be in touch with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255.
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