A crise econômica e a explosão dos suicídios na Grécia

A crise econômica e a explosão dos suicídios na Grécia

A Grécia tinha uma das mais baixas taxas de suicídio da Europa (há alguns anos, era de 2,8 por cem mil. A taxa continua entre as mais baixas mas teve um incremento considerável nos últimos anos. Por quê? Chama a atenção a coincidência entre o crescimento da taxa e o crescimento da crise econômico-financeira grega. Somente entre janeiro e maio de 2011, segundo Helena Smith, escrevendo no The Guardian, o aumento da taxa teria sido de 40% em comparação com o mesmo período em 2010.
A principal religião da Grécia é a ortodoxa, cuja atitude em relação ao suicídio é radical: não admite um ritual religioso no caso de suicidas. A crise também se reflete no número de chamadas a instituições de auxilio a possíveis suicidas: uma delas, chamada Klimaka, diz que aumentaram dez vezes. São chamadas tanto de homens quanto de mulheres e, em tempos de crise, desemprego, medo de desemprego e temas relacionados passaram a ser os mais frequentes. A taxa de desemprego de 2011, 18%, é três vezes a do Brasil. O suicídio, com frequência, dá aviso e os consultórios de psicólogos, psicanalistas e psiquiatras estão lotados.
O suicídio é um dos lados da moeda; o outro é o crime, que também aumentou muito. Outro indicador é a pauperização, o crescimento no número de mendigos e de sem-teto.






As poverty has deepened, unemployment has hit an unprecedented 18% (with over 42% affecting the 25 to 40 age group) and crime has skyrocketed in a country heading for a fifth straight year of recession. Greece's social fabric is fraying in ways once unthinkable. With the homeless now exceeding 20,000 in central Athens alone, funding cuts disproportionately affecting welfare services and drug use on the rise, the economic crisis has morphed increasingly into one of mental health with depression, neuroses and cases of self-harm also surging, according to experts. Psychiatrists have reported a 30% increase in demand for their services over the past year with most patients citing anxiety and depression brought on by financial fears for the decision to seek help.

Child helplines have similarly been deluged by calls. "The crisis is clearly aggravating family relations," Katiana Spyrides, another psychotherapist, said. "In particular we've seen increases in the stress levels of children and adolescents who face new problems, such as seeing their parents imprisoned for economic crimes, or who because of the situation have had to compromise their emotional and other needs."

Psychiatrists say the alarming rise signals an urgent need for a national suicide prevention policy in a nation that until now had discounted the need for one.

"Preventative strategies have to be increased," said Beikari. "Teachers, prison guards, priests, police, professionals in a position to spot those who might be suicidal, need to be sensitised. This is an issue that can no longer be ignored."

Most suicides, attempted and real, have occurred in the greater Attica region surrounding Athens and on the island of Crete where a number of businessmen with no prior history of mental illness have taken their own lives over the last 18 months.

Some text and a heading in this article were corrected on 21 December 2011 because they described Greece's suicide rate as the highest in Europe. The rate is among Europe's lowest, but the rate of increase in early 2011 was high, as the story said elsewhere.`

A Grécia tinha uma das mais baixas taxas de suicídio da Europa (há alguns anos, era de 2,8 por cem mil. A taxa continua entre as mais baixas mas teve um incremento considerável nos últimos anos. Por quê? Chama a atenção a coincidência entre o crescimento da taxa e o crescimento da crise econômico-financeira grega. Somente entre janeiro e maio de 2011, segundo Helena Smith, escrevendo no The Guardian, o aumento da taxa teria sido de 40% em comparação com o mesmo período em 2010.
A principal religião da Grécia é a ortodoxa, cuja atitude em relação ao suicídio é radical: não admite um ritual religioso no caso de suicidas. A crise também se reflete no número de chamadas a instituições de auxilio a possíveis suicidas: uma delas, chamada Klimaka, diz que aumentaram dez vezes. São chamadas tanto de homens quanto de mulheres e, em tempos de crise, desemprego, medo de desemprego e temas relacionados passaram a ser os mais frequentes. A taxa de desemprego de 2011, 18%, é três vezes a do Brasil. O suicídio, com frequência, dá aviso e os consultórios de psicólogos, psicanalistas e psiquiatras estão lotados.
O suicídio é um dos lados da moeda; o outro é o crime, que também aumentou muito. Outro indicador é a pauperização, o crescimento no número de mendigos e de sem-teto.
Uma pesquisa sistemática, levada a cabo por David Stuckler (Cambridge University), Martin McKee (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) e Sanjay Basu (University of California San Francisco), foi publicada em Lancet, e trata das consequências da crise financeira na área da saúde: aumentam os suicídios, aumentam as tentativas de suicídio, aumentam vários tipos de doença mental, sobretudo as depressões. Dois dos países mais duramente atingidos pela crise, a Grécia e a Irlanda, foram os que tiveram as maiores elevações nas taxas de suicídio. Os dados desses pesquisadores, são mais moderados do que os publicados no The Guardian, mas se referem ao período de 2007 a 2009.
Há mais: os membros mais recentes, como a Hungria e a Lituânia, que são países que, historicamente, têm altas taxas de suicídio, foram menos afetados – houve um aumento inferior a 1% nas taxas – mas os membros mais antigos foram mais atingidos, castigados por um aumento de quase 7%.
Não há duvida de que a crise afetou o bem estar social e psicológico das populações afetadas. O suicídio é a sua dimensão mais radical, mas há muitas outras. A crise não se mede, apenas, em Euros.
GLÁUCIO ARY DILLON SOARES IESP-UERJ

The suicide rate in Ireland jumped 16 percent between 2007 and 2009 as the economic crisis hit.

The New York Times reports that suicides that have increased in Europe, especially in countries such as Ireland, Greece, and Italy, where economic struggles have become a fact of life over the past few years.

"Suicide by economic crisis" is the phrase being attached to the recent rise in European suicides. Small-business owners and entrepreneurs are among those in the increased rates of suicide.

The New York Times reports that, "In Ireland, the phenomenon has been linked to what some therapists call Celtic Tiger depression, the period after 2008 characterized by an influx of middle-aged male patients who complained about sleeplessness and a lack of appetite in the aftermath of that nation's destructive boom-and-bust real estate market."

Ella Arensman, director of research at the National Suicide Research Foundation said that a study in Cork reached out to people who had lost relatives to suicide. The study found that "The victims were predominantly men, with an average age of 36. Almost 40 percent were unemployed, and 32 percent worked in construction as plumbers, electricians and plasterers."

She added that generally, those who took their own lives "suffered from a constellation of problems: financial struggles, unemployment, broken relationships and loneliness."

While some opt to take their own life in relative privacy, others choose to make a political statement of it. April 4 saw a 77 year old retiree shoot himself outside of the Greek Parliament, a clear message of the highly vulnerable economic state the country is in.

"A complete picture of the phenomenon across Europe is elusive, as some countries lag in reporting statistics and coroners are loath to classify deaths as suicides, to protect surviving family members."In Ireland, this is a particular problem as the stigma of suicide is still thriving and there lacks standardized reporting procedure for death by suicide.

From 2007 to 2009, suicides among men skyrocketed more than 16 percent in Ireland. Greece and Italy also showed heightened rates of suicide during the same time period.

Researchers, though admitting that suicide undoubtedly arises from an array of different factors, have placed a significant connection between the economic downturn and the rise of suicides in Europe.

"Financial crisis puts the lives of ordinary people at risk, but much more dangerous is when there are radical cuts to social protection," said David Stuckler, a sociologist at the University of Cambridge, who led a study published in The Lancet that found a sharp rise in suicides across Europe in countries now characterized by their economic downturn. The rise in suicide coincided with the countries' economic hardships.


The suicide rate in Ireland jumped 16 percent between 2007 and 2009 as the economic crisis hit.

The New York Times reports that suicides that have increased in Europe, especially in countries such as Ireland, Greece, and Italy, where economic struggles have become a fact of life over the past few years.

"Suicide by economic crisis" is the phrase being attached to the recent rise in European suicides. Small-business owners and entrepreneurs are among those in the increased rates of suicide.

The New York Times reports that, "In Ireland, the phenomenon has been linked to what some therapists call Celtic Tiger depression, the period after 2008 characterized by an influx of middle-aged male patients who complained about sleeplessness and a lack of appetite in the aftermath of that nation's destructive boom-and-bust real estate market."

Ella Arensman, director of research at the National Suicide Research Foundation said that a study in Cork reached out to people who had lost relatives to suicide. The study found that "The victims were predominantly men, with an average age of 36. Almost 40 percent were unemployed, and 32 percent worked in construction as plumbers, electricians and plasterers."

She added that generally, those who took their own lives "suffered from a constellation of problems: financial struggles, unemployment, broken relationships and loneliness."

While some opt to take their own life in relative privacy, others choose to make a political statement of it. April 4 saw a 77 year old retiree shoot himself outside of the Greek Parliament, a clear message of the highly vulnerable economic state the country is in.

"A complete picture of the phenomenon across Europe is elusive, as some countries lag in reporting statistics and coroners are loath to classify deaths as suicides, to protect surviving family members."In Ireland, this is a particular problem as the stigma of suicide is still thriving and there lacks standardized reporting procedure for death by suicide.

From 2007 to 2009, suicides among men skyrocketed more than 16 percent in Ireland. Greece and Italy also showed heightened rates of suicide during the same time period.

Researchers, though admitting that suicide undoubtedly arises from an array of different factors, have placed a significant connection between the economic downturn and the rise of suicides in Europe.

"Financial crisis puts the lives of ordinary people at risk, but much more dangerous is when there are radical cuts to social protection," said David Stuckler, a sociologist at the University of Cambridge, who led a study published in The Lancet that found a sharp rise in suicides across Europe in countries now characterized by their economic downturn. The rise in suicide coincided with the countries' economic hardships.



Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Ireland-sees-a-major-increase-in-suicides-by-economic-crisis-147555955.html#ixzz1sUV9xn97

The suicide rate in Ireland jumped 16 percent between 2007 and 2009 as the economic crisis hit.

The New York Times reports that suicides that have increased in Europe, especially in countries such as Ireland, Greece, and Italy, where economic struggles have become a fact of life over the past few years.

"Suicide by economic crisis" is the phrase being attached to the recent rise in European suicides. Small-business owners and entrepreneurs are among those in the increased rates of suicide.

The New York Times reports that, "In Ireland, the phenomenon has been linked to what some therapists call Celtic Tiger depression, the period after 2008 characterized by an influx of middle-aged male patients who complained about sleeplessness and a lack of appetite in the aftermath of that nation's destructive boom-and-bust real estate market."

Ella Arensman, director of research at the National Suicide Research Foundation said that a study in Cork reached out to people who had lost relatives to suicide. The study found that "The victims were predominantly men, with an average age of 36. Almost 40 percent were unemployed, and 32 percent worked in construction as plumbers, electricians and plasterers."

She added that generally, those who took their own lives "suffered from a constellation of problems: financial struggles, unemployment, broken relationships and loneliness."

While some opt to take their own life in relative privacy, others choose to make a political statement of it. April 4 saw a 77 year old retiree shoot himself outside of the Greek Parliament, a clear message of the highly vulnerable economic state the country is in.

"A complete picture of the phenomenon across Europe is elusive, as some countries lag in reporting statistics and coroners are loath to classify deaths as suicides, to protect surviving family members."In Ireland, this is a particular problem as the stigma of suicide is still thriving and there lacks standardized reporting procedure for death by suicide.

From 2007 to 2009, suicides among men skyrocketed more than 16 percent in Ireland. Greece and Italy also showed heightened rates of suicide during the same time period.

Researchers, though admitting that suicide undoubtedly arises from an array of different factors, have placed a significant connection between the economic downturn and the rise of suicides in Europe.

"Financial crisis puts the lives of ordinary people at risk, but much more dangerous is when there are radical cuts to social protection," said David Stuckler, a sociologist at the University of Cambridge, who led a study published in The Lancet that found a sharp rise in suicides across Europe in countries now characterized by their economic downturn. The rise in suicide coincided with the countries' economic hardships



Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Ireland-sees-a-major-increase-in-suicides-by-economic-crisis-147555955.html#ixzz1sUVZtUII

business flourished during the Celtic Tiger, and failed following the 2008 downturn.

Read more: http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Ireland-sees-a-major-increase-in-suicides-by-economic-crisis-147555955.html#ixzz1sUVnwrFw

Na Irlanda,