Did you know suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States? The most embarrassing fact of suicide in Hot Springs County, Wyoming, though, is that it currently ranks #1 in the nation.
Nationally, as of February 2020, Wyoming ranks #1, leads the pack in suicides. As you can see in the chart, Hot Springs is #1, and Fremont County ranks #2. These two counties have switched places in the last couple of years.
How can that be?
A small county of 4,000 people ranks as the highest place
in the nation for suicides!
In this article, we will discuss who is impacted, causes of suicide, and what can be done about it.
To start, below is a map of what we will call the Suicide Belt. The states in dark red rank the highest in the nation for suicides. It is interesting that they all reside in the Mountain States, except for Alaska, and all are very rural. The top four states for 2020 are #1 Wyoming, #2 Alaska, #3 Montana, #4 New Mexico. Fremont and Hot Springs ranking #1 and #2 in the state. In 2018, Wyoming was #3.
The Suicide Belt
The age group with the highest number of deaths are young adults, 15 to 24. Next to accidents, suicide is #2 in this group, homicides #3. Of great concern is the high rate of suicide in American Indian/Alaskan Native young adults, leading with 13.6 per 100,000 in 2017 and 14.1 per 100,000 in 2018. Each of the four states we mentioned have Reservations, which is one of the reasons for the high ranking in these states.
facts and figures of suicide
One person dies by suicide every 10.9 minutes. For every suicide, six people are directly impacted, as in immediate next of kin, and 146 are survivors of loss, relatives, friends, and acquaintances.
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Men commonly have co-occurring alcohol and substance use disorders – they frequently are not recognized as having problems and do not seek treatment.
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Men use lethal methods such as firearms, carbon monoxide poisoning, hanging, or jumping from a height.
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Women attempt suicide more often than men, but are less likely to carry it out.
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Women ages 44 to 64 have the highest rates for their gender.
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People in rural areas generally use a firearm. The distance to travel for emergency care and the inability to get immediate help makes firearms the most lethal means of suicide.
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Economic status is not a predictor; both the lowest-low and the highest-high incomes are associated with suicide.
some common reasons for suicide
A major life crisis can ruin a person’s chances to form healthy social connections and support. If someone in crisis has established resilient characteristics, such as a supportive family, religiosity, and a sound community network, they will come through their crisis just fine. But for someone in a crisis who does not have the support they need, their life spirals downhill, sometimes to the point where they cannot cope any longer. According to the CDC, these are the most frequent reasons people have for taking their life.
Relationship difficulties (42%)
A major crisis (29%)
Alcohol and drug use (28%)
Issues with physical health (22%)
Job/financial setbacks (16%)
Incarceration/legal issues (9%)
Housing instability (loss of housing, homelessness) (4%)
Teenagers, young adults, and women frequently attempt suicide and fail. Attempts are regarded as a cry for help, and our youth are crying out.
Do we hear them?
In the CDC’s report, Stats of the States, a survey of high school students
seriously considered suicide in the last year – 16%
created a plan – 13%
attempted suicide – 8%
157,000 youth ages 10-25 are seen in the emergency room every year for self-inflicted injuries
Youth violence is running rampant in our country today; one out of five students are bullied on any given day; 160,000 children stay home from school each day to avoid their bully. Is daily exposure to violence the cause of youth suicides?
Bullying is a serious problem in our society. The isolation and shame that is created by a bully is oftentimes too much for a anyone to handle, especially a child.
isolation also plays a role in suicide
Now we know generally what causes people to take their life, let us take a closer look at Hot Springs County.
A most beautiful area, the American Indians called it a sacred place. With the blue, red, green and purple colors, the landscape is breathtaking. Hot Springs County is home to its claim to fame “The World’s Largest Hot Springs.” Well, maybe back when the springs were flowing full force, but the hot mineral water has attracted visitors from all over the world for over a century.
Hot Springs State Park is a 10-square mile (64,00 acres) tract of land that was bought from the Arapahoe and Shoshone tribes in 1896 for a value of $60,000, a mix of cash, cattle and food.
This was part of the land that was set aside in the Fort Laramie Treaty in 1868 when Chief Washakie bargained with the government to chose his home. By the time the land was set aside for the State Park, the land designated for the tribes had dwindled from 44 million acres, as set aside in the treaty, to today, with only the 2 million acres that make up the Wind River Indian Reservation (WRIR).
Hot Springs County contains part of the WRIR, and neighbors the ecosystem of Yellowstone Park. The closest town is thirty miles away to the north, and winter travel through the mountain canyon to the south can be quite hazardous in the wintertime.
The point of this story is that this used to be a healing place. Tribes would come from all around and enjoy the hot mineral waters and hold their ceremonies. But today, we are not a peaceful community.
what happens in a small town that feels like Mayberry, USA, on first glance?
What happens is that Hot Springs County is at the top in the nation for suicides!
You are welcome to bend the numbers, and you will find there are counties outside Wyoming that rank higher, but these counties contain an Indian Reservation. The US Census says 94.8% of the residents in Hot Springs County are white and only 1.9% are Native American, so we cannot use that theory here. In comparison, in Fremont County, the white population only makes up 73.7%, and the American Indians make up 22% of the total population. In further comparison, Deer Lodge County, Montana is the only other high-ranking non-Indian county, and has 92.2% whites and 4% American Indian.
The reason those other states do not rank higher is because their rates are dropping and it averages out to where the rates in Wyoming are NOT.
What a thing to be proud of, right? And what are we doing about this embarrassing claim to fame?
Isolation plays a role in suicide in rural communities, but so does the lack of belongingness. It is easy to lose oneself in the city, but in a small town where everyone knows everyone else’s business, some people are ostracized because they do not fit in.
look at the list of reasons people commit suicide again
You will see that, on closer inspection, they all relate to a lack of support, a lack of belongingness. Losing a job takes the same emotional toll as does losing a relationship. What better reason to turn to drugs and alcohol if not to put a salve on a burning emotional wound? Incarceration – how much lower can you go? Especially when the issues that put you there are not addressed – or treated.
The further from emergency care, the less the chance of surviving an attempt on one’s life. Finding professionals in healthcare and mental health who are willing to live in places that are very rural with small populations, wide-open spaces, and far from culture and civilization is problematic.
Unemployment, poverty, isolation, incarceration, trauma, and homelessness seem to be the cocktail mix for suicide. Not all circumstances need be present. For some people, losing a job is enough to send them over the edge.
why does this matter?
Until we take active steps to make life a little easier, and offer genuine help to those in psychological distress, we will continue to see the high rates of suicide. Wyoming has ranked in the top 10 for many years, and we continue to do the same thing we have always done. Not much of anything.
We do not have to have large numbers because we are a small county, but these needless deaths happen much too often. One child, one adult, not getting the help they need when they need it – is one too many.
How many times did the person in trouble reach out for help? How many times did we turn them down? Obviously once too often.
suicide is a societal problem, not a personal one
I would say our community has a way to go to make people feel safe and secure. People targeted by the law live in fear of the police coming into their homes and arresting them for very poor reasons. Caught in a justice system that is hardly just, some days it seems the only way out is death.
The courts are often the first point of contact for someone in a mental health crisis. They have a perfect opportunity to ensure therapy for people, rather than confine them to jail for a needless sentence.
School children are bullied but the teachers say, “I don’t see it.”
The schools also have a perfect opportunity to help children who say they are bullied. It is not the teacher’s job to determine if the child is bullied, but if the child says she is having problems with someone, then the conflict needs to be addressed between the bully and the bullied – not ignored.
shout out for mental health!!
If we are going to solve this pandemic in our society – the pandemic of suicide and severe mental health problems – then we must change the way we approach people.
Professionals that work with the public; police officers, attorneys, social workers; must receive education and training on the effects of trauma and how people behave when they are undergoing a traumatic event.
A person can only take so much stress and grief. When the stress piles on and doesn’t seem to quit, a breakdown is inevitable.
Compassion and understanding go a long way. We can be kinder to people. Rather than criticize, we must offer help and understanding.
What if we put the money into programs that help people through their difficulties, instead of spending the money on incarceration because someone is having a bad mental health day?
The marker of that progress would be happy, contented people, and fewer suicides.
A great goal to achieve.
What do you think?
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Sources for this article
Stats of the States. National Center for Health Statistics. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/stats_of_the_states.htm
USA Health Rankings. USA Suicide (worldlifeexpectancy.com)
WYHealthRankings. Wyoming Suicide (worldlifeexpectancy.com)
Suicide Mortality by State. CDC. National Center for Health Statistics. Stats of the State – Suicide Mortality (cdc.gov)
