We're killing ourselves more often

A recent report of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that suicides in America are up 25 percent since 1999 across most ethnic and age groups. This has occurred despite the fact that more people are seeking treatment for depression and anxiety, and treatment for those conditions has become more widely available. Dr. Clay Routledge, a behavioral scientist, thinks that our life styles have changed so much that we have lost a sense of the meaningfulness of life. Americans today, compared with those of past generations, are less likely to know and interact with their neighbors, to believe that people are generally trustworthy and to feel that they have individuals they can confide in. He and his colleagues feel that close relationships with other people are our greatest existential resource.