By Andrew Solomon — 2014
Every forty seconds, someone commits suicide. In the United States, it is the tenth most common cause of death in people over ten years of age, far more common than death by homicide or aneurysm or aids.
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CLEAR ALL
The pattern of highly accomplished and successful people committing suicide is transfixing. It assures the rest of us that a life of accolades is not all that it’s cracked up to be and that achieving more will not make us happier.
Look more closely and you’ll see.
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In the documentary “The Weight of Gold,” Phelps presents a stark picture of the mental wear and tear Olympians endure.
Michael Phelps, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history with 28 medals, has acknowledged that after the 2012 games, his longtime depression was so overwhelming he thought about killing himself.
Demand from patients seeking help for their mental illnesses has led to underground use in a way that parallels black markets in the AIDS pandemic. This underground use has been most perilous for people of color, who face greater stigma and legal risks due to the War on Drugs.
Studies of polar researchers, astronauts, and others in isolation shed light on possible effects of social distancing, including increased forgetfulness, depression and heart attacks.
Some people harbor the illusion that rest is a luxury they do not have time for, but the reality is that rest is a necessity.
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The bodies of lonely people are markedly different from the bodies of non-lonely people.
Sadness is a central part of our lives, yet it’s typically ignored at work, hurting employees and managers alike.
If we can process our regrets with tenderness and compassion, we can use these hard memories as a part of our wisdom bank.
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