Anti-Aging Remedies

Depression and Suicide

According to Albert Camus, there is only one truly philosophical question, and that is suicide. Hamlet would have agreed (and he wasn't even near 40, despite the maturity of all the actors who have played him in the twentieth century). Like dementia, the desire to terminate your life is a behavioral symptom that may be linked to more than one problem, frequently occurring as a part of major depression, alcoholism, or schizophrenia.

Statistics confirm that aging has at least a circumstantial relationship with suicide, with the rate highest in the 65 and over age group. Suicide is 25 percent more common among white males age 65 to 74 compared with those who are 18 to 24, and over 70 percent more common among white males age 75 to 84 compared to the 18- to 24-year-old group. It is often difficult to tell just how much "disguised" forms of suicidethose that are simply not reportedinflate these statistics. One person may leave a lengthy suicide note, and another may jump off a building (both fairly obvious). Another may simply get drunk and drive his car into a bridge abutment (hard to tell). In the latter instances, the causes we often accept are "icy road," "falling asleep while driving," or "DWI." The truth may be more like, "fed up with life, family, job, self." But the ultimate response is, "what a sorrowful thing to do for you and for us."

The message: Don't kill yourself, because those you punish are your loved ones. Despite multiple causes, the common denominator of suicidal depression can be summarized in one phrase: Those who commit suicide share a belief that their lives are no longer worth living. Why, we ask, should people feel that way more strongly as they age?

Illness certainly can play a part. Very few people in old age are well one moment and dead the next. Death can be a long, drawn-out process, and a terminal or debilitating illness is more the norm than not. In these instances, depression may not always be a factor in suicide. Some people, most notably members of the Hemlock Society, matter-of-factly decide to exercise the one control over the universe that they believe they must always self-determine: whether they live or die. This is where Camus's observation applies. Yet because most very ill people generally prefer to hope for recovery and live, this belief is certainly not universal. I have personally struggled with why someone with the most bleak cancer would be willing to risk nausea, no white count, and infection on the slim chance he could live. Perhaps this is the human condition.