M.D. In late July, the U.S. Surgeon General released a report on national strategies to combat suicide. One strategy was to decrease the stigma associated with suicide, having suicidal feelings and receiving treatment for mental illness and substance abuse. A recent State opinion piece misinterpreted this as a potential step toward making suicide a socially acceptable alternative or to absolving people of responsibility for working to recover from their illness. Decreasing the stigma associated with having a mental illness or suicidal feelings will not make attempting suicide more socially acceptable. It will only make getting treatment more acceptable.
Suicide is a serious public health issue.
Our rate is slightly higher than the national average, although it is showing a slight downward trend. The rate for South Carolinians between ages 20 and 44 is holding steady at 10.8 suicides per 100,000 people. Most suicides are associated with a serious depressive disorder or substance abuse. The combination of major depression and substance abuse is especially lethal. Fortunately, with medication and psychotherapy, the treatment success rates for serious depression is 85 percent.