In this article we will present the 10 worst states for suicide in the United States. Click to skip ahead and see the top 5 worst states for suicide in the US.
The US is currently the worst affected country in the world with reference to the Covid-19 pandemic, with over 6.7 million cases and nearly 200,000 deaths. Because of this, since March, the US has been in a state of lockdown, even though many restrictions have been lifted in most states now. Having to spend 6 months in isolation without being able to meet your friends and loved ones is an extremely hard thing for most people to do, which is why there has been a historic rise in depression in the country.
We all know that there is a major connection between depression and suicide, with people who are depressed much more likely to commit the act. And with depression rising as mentioned, the likelihood of significantly increased suicide rates is no more a remote possibility. Of course, we will only truly know the actual impact of Covid-19 once the pandemic subsides, the debris is cleared and studies are undertaken, which does not seem to be happening anytime soon.
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Even before the pandemic, the US has had a high suicide rate, even though it does not make the list of 10 countries with the highest suicide rates in the world. It is the 10th leading cause of death in the country at an overall level, and on average, 123 Americans commit suicide every single day, or around 45,000 deaths annually. I cannot even imagine the mental state of a person whose only option is to kill himself, and yet people consider them as cowards or someone who has ‘taken the easy way out’. Unless this despicable mentality is eradicated, we will never be able to truly understand why people commit suicide and hence, will never be able to reduce this rate.
For our rankings, we have referred to the Center for Diseases Control and Prevention and their statistics for 2018, which is the latest year for which information is available. We have ranked each state according to its suicide rate and total number of suicides as well, and then gave 70% weighting to the suicide rate (as it’s more indicative of the situation) and 30% to the total deaths by suicides. So let’s take a look at the states which need to do a lot more for mental health, starting with number 10:
10. Nevada
20.8 people per 100,000 commit suicide, leading to a total of 657 deaths in the state in 2018. This is despite the fact that Nevada is the only state to reduce its suicide rate from 1999 to 2016. It is the second leading cause of death for ages 10-34.
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