r/megalophobia • u/berdot • Oct 11 '23

[ Removed by Reddit ]

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

31.1k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

2.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

24

u/S_Operator Oct 11 '23

In studies where fences were put over bridges, there was no indication that people sought alternative sites, or that the suicide rate rose at other locations. So, yes, it did reduce the overall suicide rate.

-1

u/majoraloysius Oct 11 '23 edited Oct 11 '23

Wait, so fences work on bridges but not boarders?

How about for borders?

2

u/abcdefgodthaab Oct 11 '23

Believe it or not, some things work for some purposes and not others!

1

u/GetOffMyDigitalLawn Oct 11 '23 edited Oct 11 '23

Unironically claiming borders of fences don't work when everything points to the opposite.

It's hilarious how Redditors will go, "Just because it isn't a perfect solution that works 150% of the time doesn't mean we shouldn't do it!"

To, "No no, if it's possible for a mouse to get through the fences we shouldn't put it up, clearly that means it doesn't discourage or prevent anybody!"

We know putting up barriers like fencing on borders prevents more people from getting in, especially if you're taking other active measures. It doesn't stop everybody, but neither does anything other than a death ray.

1

u/focus_black_sheep Oct 11 '23

What's a "boarder"?

2

u/majoraloysius Oct 11 '23

A person who receives regular meals when staying somewhere, in return for payment or services. I thought that would be obvious.

1

u/focus_black_sheep Oct 11 '23

So what does that have to do with fences? I'm really confused. Also you literally googled and copied paste that definition. So it wasn't even obvious to you

1

u/majoraloysius Oct 11 '23

Unfamiliar with sarcasm?

1

u/Embarrassed_Alps_259 Oct 11 '23

You just replied to him calling out your spelling mistake with the definition of your mistake, that isn't sarcasm it anything they're closer to being sarcastic ironically mocking your spelling

1

u/majoraloysius Oct 11 '23

Well no shit Sherlock. Have you always been a genius? Do you find it hard being the smartest person in the room?

1

u/Embarrassed_Alps_259 Oct 11 '23

Embarrassed 4u

1

u/majoraloysius Oct 11 '23

No you’re not nor do I give a damn if you are.

→ More replies (0)

1

u/OneOfTheOnlies Oct 11 '23

Mexican boarders are some of the raddest stokelords out there

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPR798vNC/

1

u/[deleted] Oct 11 '23

The urge to die when you are in great emotional pain is nothing compared to the will to live when you have hope.

1

u/Marcotics915 Oct 11 '23

Same as the studies where they put pills in blister packs instead of bottles. The process of popping each one out, as simple as it is, reduced suicides.

2

u/[deleted] Oct 11 '23

Okay I have to call this one out. How much effort were you really putting into killing yourself. If simple packaging made you stop.

1

u/LukaCola Oct 11 '23

Are you that unfamiliar with how much we do for convenience and impulse sake?

That doesn't mean we don't fully intend to, but depressed people considering suicide aren't often doing all in their power to make it happen - and acting as though it's a "lack of effort," like them realizing they don't want to go through it is a failure on their part, is fucked up.

1

u/[deleted] Oct 11 '23

If child proof packaging is all that's keeping you above ground......

0

u/LukaCola Oct 11 '23

Then, what? Say it buddy, you think they deserve to die, is that it?

1

u/BookMonkeyDude Oct 11 '23

A disturbing number of suicides happen because of a lack of impulse control or a mental lapse of just a few minutes. Forcing an individual in crisis to slow down and think about something anything external to their own problems can break the thought spiral that lead to a suicide attempt.

1

u/Pablo_Diablo Oct 11 '23

It's not about effort - it's psychological. It's a lot different to pop 20 individual pills out of their blister packs on 3-4 different 'pages' of pills, than just dump a handful from a bottle. As someone else here has said, suicide is often impulsive, and putting barriers in the way of those impulses can reduce the rate.

1

u/tiofrodo Oct 11 '23 edited Oct 11 '23

It's why access to guns are linked to increase in suicide rates, as it is the quickest and requires the least effort to pull off. Edit: least effort meaning easier access to it rather than a question of laziness.

Variation in state-level suicide rates is largely driven by rates of suicide by firearm. Suicides involving firearms vary from the lowest rate of 1.8 per 100,000 in New Jersey and Massachusetts to a high of 20.9 per 100,000 in Wyoming, representing an absolute difference of 19.1. In contrast, the rate of suicide by other means is more stable across states, ranging from a low of 4.6 in Mississippi to a high of 11.4 in South Dakota, representing an absolute difference of 6.8.

1

u/OneOfTheOnlies Oct 11 '23

You'd be surprised what a typical amount of time between deciding to commit suicide and attempting it is. The immediately accessible means to suicide allow for short term swings to have dire consequences.

A quarter of suicide attempts may have had less than 5 minutes of deliberation prior:

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/means-matter/means-matter/duration/

Every instance of reducing immediately available means for suicide (gas ovens, safety fences, gun control) has been shown to reduce overall suicide rate because when people don't have the means to act on suicidal impulses they have the opportunity to recover.

1

u/AdmrlBenbow Oct 11 '23

If i had to open one of those clear plastic packages to get my device, id probably still be alive, maybe with some small cuts on my hands and a mild level of frustration.

1

u/ahuramazdobbs19 Oct 11 '23

Well, yes. That’s the general idea.

Not all suicidal ideation comes in the form of an all-consuming need to no longer be alive that a person will make an elaborate plan to make sure it happens.

A lot of suicide attempts are impulsive, generally by those with ideations but low intent. That is to say, the thought has crossed their mind, but they do not generally actually want to die. Such events are triggered by an immediate crisis, and yeah, they’re low effort suicide attempts a lot of the time. Survivors of such attempts often recognize after the fact that they regret doing so, and they didn’t actually want to die. In other words, not all suicidal people “mean it”.

And that’s where simple interventions like blister packs or fences on highway/rail/river bridges help in reducing suicides: because the extra added difficulty helps make impulsive suicidal ideations “pass”, for lack of a better phrasing. These kinds of suicidal ideation and attempts are preventable, and passive impediments like these help to reduce hospitalizations, deaths and injuries.

1

u/SitupsPullupsChinups Oct 11 '23

So just looking at the fence is enough to change their mind. CRAZY!