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Something interesting (and somewhat shocking) I discovered about China:

  1. Suicide is now the biggest single killer among young Chinese people
  2. Every year more than a quarter ofa million people in China are taking their own lives
  3. Unlike almost everywhere else in the world, more women than men commit suicide
  4. Suicide now accounts for a third of all deaths among women in the countryside
  5. There are more than two million attempted suicides a year in China, more than a quarter of a million of them successful.
  6. In a study that is going to be published in the Lancet, researchers found that there was a significantly lower rate of mental illness among those commiting suicide in China than in the West (90-95% of Westerners commiting suicide versus only two-thirds of those in China)


But the biggest single reason why so many suicide attempts in China are successful is their method. Nearly two-thirds of them are by consuming pesticides and powerful rat poisons which are extremely easy to buy in China.


In China, there is also a lack of social and religious taboos against taking one’s own life. “In some particular villages it almost becomes normalised. If a young woman is having trouble, this is one way she’ll express her displeasure,” Dr Phillips said.

Published in Blog

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