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Suicide In New Mexico

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Imagine living in a world of constant chaos with having no relief from hearing voices, hallucinations, mood swings (highs and lows), anger, confusion, violence, and erratic sleep patterns. People with serious mental illness continue to deal with a few or all the symptoms listed. According to the Kim Foundation “An estimated 26.2 percent of Americans ages 18 and older or about one in four adults suffer from a diagnosable mental disorder in a given year. When applied to the 2004 U.S. Census residential population estimate for ages 18 and older, this figure translates to 57.7 million people” (thekimfoundation.org). Many times these people see no end in sight causing them to become destructive and violent towards family, friends, and others …show more content…
Some of these deaths are due to mental health reasons. According to the New Mexico Department of Health Annual Report 2013 Injury Deaths And Alcohol-And Drug-Induced Deaths, reports “The Homicide rate was 26% higher and the Suicide rate was 65% higher than the U.S. rate. For suicide the ratio was 3.2 to 1” (New Mexico Department of Health, 79). Suicide deaths are the result of using firearms, alcohol-induced, drug-induced, and injury at work. Willging & Semansky (2014) write when referring to New Mexico “The state, which leads the country in deaths related to alcohol, drugs, and suicide, is distinguished by longstanding shortages of specialty behavioral health care and low spending on services for adults with serious mental illness, children with emotional disturbance, and persons with substance use problems (Willging & Semansky, 2014). Mental health patients taking medications mandated by the state could reduce the amount of suicides. Marzuk et al. (1995) talks about suicide rates among victims in New York City, “Fewer than one in six individuals who committed suicide in New Yourk City were taking prescription psychotropic medicaitons in the period immediately before their death. Among the others, we could not distinguish those who were non compliant from those who were not receiving pharmacologic treatment. The few other studies available also report low rates of treatment of suicidal individuals in the year before their death” (Marzuk et al., 1995). Mandating people to take medications will reduce deaths among mentally ill population in New Mexico and across the United

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