Mass Suicide: Causes, Examples

Suicide is a term describing the voluntary cessation of the substance of one's life. Mass suicide - a situation where at the same time, a group of living beings interrupts their lives at will. Most often we apply this concept to people, but it is characteristic not only of them. Say, scientists can tell a lot about the massive suicide of whales that are thrown ashore. The reasons for this act have not been fully clarified to this day.

General view

Mass suicide is less common than solitary, but, as they say, "pours out on the spot". Already being a participant in the situation, it is almost impossible to get out of it. But the single has more positive statistics. As scientists say, most of those who make only an attempt to break their life, survive. However, the risk of recurrence of the situation is high. Almost for all those who have suicide was successful, there is an unsuccessful attempt before it.

As doctors say, any suicide, mass (teenagers, for example) including, deserves the utmost attention of specialists. Moreover, even single cases should be treated carefully, with maximum attention to the person, but survivors of a group suicide attempt deserve a special approach regardless of age, social status, success, self-realization. Everybody needs the help of doctors.

The risk is higher

It has long been known that there are people who are more likely to commit suicide than others. It's no secret that there are associations, groups in which people are mostly registered, ready to commit suicide - single or in a group. It is believed that the risk is greater among women, as they make more attempts. However, alone women often choose ineffective methods, so the mortality rate among men is greater. As they say, a strong sex if it beats, then for sure.

At the same time, people of old age most often end their lives of goodwill. Changes occurred only at the end of the last century, when the first place broke 15-24-year-olds. If before the public did not know the concept of mass suicide of children, then from that time to this day all parents know about it (or should know).

Suicide and man-made causes

Many scientists say that the massive suicide of blue whales is caused by man. It is assumed that this is not at all an unauthorized transformation of life, but only a loss of orientation in space. And this is due to environmental pollution and the impossibility of echolocation for various reasons. The theory is still controversial, has supporters, opponents.

But the fact that technogenic reasons can provoke a person's suicide, for a long time did not attract attention. The turning point was 2011, when a very large accident happened in Japan, the nuclear power plant "Fukushima-1" suffered. The situation provoked 55 deaths in the same year, 24 more in the next, and in 2013 for this reason, the lives of 38 Japanese ceased. Mostly they were men. Statistics clearly show that after years of psychological trauma, provoked by such accidents, still strongly torment people.

Religion and suicide

Traditionally, America is a country where the problem of suicide is not embarrassed to speak out loud. The way of life, the peculiarities of the structure of the society, the activity of the media, which are averse to the topics being bought, has become the reason why any suicide is the focus of attention. What can we say about the attempts that united a group of people? Therefore, today the whole world knows about the massive suicide in Guyana, sensational that the newspapers around the world wrote about it on the front pages.

This happened in the autumn of 1978. The main actors are the sectarians of the "Temple of Nations". Then 918 people, including children, died at the same time. Among the bodies were found babies. For the entire twentieth century, it is this case that can rightly be called the most famous. In many respects, it was precisely because of this incident that any sects began to be negatively affected, regardless of their orientation. The story is rather confusing, and to this day, apart from the official one, there are at least three versions of the development of events. Of course, someone blames the authorities for the incident and the special services that literally carved out a small city for a thousand people. However, most people are inclined to think that the reason was in the religious leader, who, after a conflict with the authorities of the country, decided to end his life, not only his own, but the commune as a whole.

Today?

No less sensational, however, locally, only in Russia, was the case with the so-called death groups. It was possible to identify, as the official theory says, communities in social networks that initiate mass childish suicides. It is believed that the people behind this do not receive anything, but only help others - those who want to interrupt their lives, but can not muster the courage. However, this is their position, declared there, on social networks. They can not go out in reality ever, because the actions they commit are a criminal offense.

The situation that aroused public resonance with the death groups attracted attention not accidentally. According to some analysts, these communities not only provoked a deterioration in the mental state of children, but also led to mass suicide. At least 130 children and teenagers perished. However, social networks cover not only Russia, but also other countries, and modern children are perfectly able to "sweep up traces", including on the Internet. This means that much more people could have suffered.

The theory of mass suicide

There are many sources that confirm that imitation of suicide can provoke attempts to commit suicide in groups of people. The most unstable to this effect are adolescents. The research on the authorship of Karstensen, Phillips, dedicated to this topic, was published in 1986. In particular, they established a connection with the television programs and news. The more such programs teenagers see, the higher the frequency of suicidal attempts.

Some news has mostly led people into an unstable state. So, mass suicide was noted in connection with the death of Marilyn Monroe. True, this is not the first time, when an artist has touched mentally infatuated inhabitants. Thus, even the great Goethe, who in 1774 published The Sorrows of the Young Werther, received accusations of provocation. The popularity of the work in Europe was off scale, but at the same time it had a negative effect - the suicides that most affected the young men increased. This provoked even the introduction of a new term - the "Werther effect". Today, it is understood as an imitative influence provoking a voluntary interruption of life.

The Werther effect

This phenomenon has been preserved to this day, although the society has changed very much in the past time. Statistics obviously prove that the frequency of suicide is higher, the more it is reflected in the media. Also, psychologists know: when in a certain community (for example, an educational institution) one commits suicide, there is a high probability that others can repeat his deed.

Grouping is a psychological reaction, especially characteristic of adolescents as psychologically vulnerable, unstable members of society. But among those whose age is 21 years and older, the probability of interruption of life due to the Werther effect is much lower.

Psychology and Laws

And to this day there is no single position that psychologists, psychiatrists of different countries, as well as legal experts, adhered to. On the one hand, it seems obvious that we need methods for regulating the media, various public publications, as applied to the present - social networks, in order to reduce the Werther effect to a minimum. At the same time, there are rights and freedoms declared by the Constitution, there is the right to speak and freedom of choice, which is unacceptable in a modern democratic society. This puts lawmakers in a dead end - how to save young people and not cause a wave of protest?

Probably, one day this problem will find its solution. In the meantime, we only have to study the cases of mass suicide, known to human history, to be terrified by it and thereby protect ourselves from the repetition of such acts. And besides, be attentive and caring with others - in a word, human. It's no wonder that the scientists in chorus say that the increase in the number of suicidal attempts is provoked by the isolation of a person in society. Yes, we are many, but we are far from each other. Perhaps this is the root of the disaster.